Standard 6 & 7 Metareflection: Communication & Collaboration [EDU 6600: Communication and Collaboration]

Standard 6 Communication: Communicates regularly and effectively with colleagues, parents, and students through a variety of mediums.  Standard 7 Collaboration: Cooperates with other professionals to bridge gaps between schools and community and between departments/disciplines within schools.   Learning about teacher leadership through EDU 6600: Communication and Collaboration has provided me the theoretical background from which […]

Autonomy, Egalitarianism and Deference to Authority

“Blaming school problems on children’s characteristics, lack of resources, politics, societal conditions, and myriad other issues simply incapacitates our efforts to achieve substantive transformation of schools” (McCabe & McCarthy, p. 206). This quotation from chapter 20 of the Hilty reading really lays it out on the table; in order to effect lasting, measureable change in […]

Collaboration Through Peer Review

I have to admit that I’ve never been fond of peer reviewing other students’ projects; it’s time consuming, tedious and distracts me from focusing on my own work. When I receive peer feedback, the comments oftentimes lacked depth and a critical eye for assignment detail. At least, I use to feel this way about peer […]

Community Involvement in School Improvement Plans

Involving parents in positive ways in our school is heavy on my mind this week; I am in charge of coordinating stakeholder participation in my school’s three-day strategic planning session happening the end of this month. Working with my Head of School, we created a list of target parent voices that I asked to represent […]

The Role of Collegiality in School Improvement and Teacher Professionalization

The importance of nurturing collegial relationships in education is becoming increasingly clear to me. In chapter 11 of Professional Development: What Works (Zepeda, 2012) the idea of learning circles as a professional development model is introduced. According to Zepeda (2012) learning circles are a structured process where educators share in a common interest and commitment to a […]

Getting in the Way

As an aspiring principal I like to approach thinking about professional development from the perspective of an administrator, asking questions such as which research-based approaches would I develop with my (future) staff and why; what would my role be given various approaches (coach, participant, hands-off); and how could I best support the development of teachers […]

Trust in the Process, Resources & Time

“I still need a formal introductory training for Atlas. In other words, an organized and thorough explanation and demonstration of what it is and how it works. Will the Q and A be productive for me? I’m afraid it is geared more toward people who are already trained and using Atlas to address issues that […]

Enjoying the Ride: Attending to the Needs of Adult Learners in Professional Development

“All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.” Sir Walter Scott As a learner, I appreciate when theory intersects with practice, especially my own. I’ve been devouring the reading in Zepeda (2012) this week about professional learning, but what has especially caught my eye is chapter […]

Moving Away from Professional-Immolation: Can Teacher Leadership Professionalize Education?

What is the ultimate goal of teacher leadership? According to Hilty (2012), the aim of teacher leadership is really pretty straightforward; the goal is attained when student outcomes are improved: “Being effective necessarily means that everyone in a school participates in the decision-making process and is accountable for student achievement” (p. 125). It seems simple […]

Throwing Out the Baby with the Bath Water

Leadership, in its many forms and permutations really comes down to a basic human desire; to feel a sense of empowerment and control over the direction of one’s life, whether that is in the classroom, home or the greater community. As discussed by Smylie, Conley & Marks (2010) the concerns of teacher leaders are no […]