Disrupting Silos: Unpacking Teacher Leadership in an Out-of-District Community of Practice

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Leading, Belonging, and Bearing the Weight of Teaching

Abstract

This study examines the membership of teacher leaders (TLs) in an out-of-district community of practice. Using social network mapping and interviews with nine TLs, we found that sustained engagement in a community of practice (CoP) expanded the TLs’ professional connections across geographic and ideological boundaries and supported their’ transformation from isolated practitioners to connected and confident agents of change. TLs leaned into the collective knowledge of the teacher leadership community of practice (TL-CoP) for support and guidance. Sustained connections within a community of TLs demonstrated the notion that TL-CoPs can cultivate teacher leadership, disrupt professional silos, and advance innovative instructional practices through peer-driven, relational learning.

Authors

• Shanna Dawn Anderson, Montclair State University

• John O'Meara, Montclair State University

• Timothy Aberle, Montclair State University

• Monica Taylor, Montclair State University

• Mika Munakata, Montclair State University

• Emily J. Klein, Montclair State University