"This Is for You, This Is for Us": Learning as Leadership in an Educator Network

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Reclaiming Our Roles: Teachers Redefining Leadership and Activism (Table 9)

Abstract

What does it mean for teachers to truly lead their own professional learning? This embedded qualitative case study design examines whether and how teachers who participated in a teacher-driven professional learning model felt empowered to drive instructional change within their classroom and across the district. Through analyzing observations, interviews, and documents from three professional learning sites employing this model within a large district, we found that the model scaffolded teacher leadership via intentional roles. Simultaneously, the structure and culture built within each site disrupted hierarchy and resulted in teachers electively changing their practice. This has implications for how teacher agency may be a characteristic of effective professional development, and how such models can transform how teachers lead learning across systems.

Authors

• Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Boston University
  Presenting Author

• Ada Okun, Boston University
  Presenting Author