From Guided Teacher Into a Leader: A Three-Stage Professional Development Model for Empowering Teachers

• In Event: Teacher Leadership and Professional Development

Abstract

A three-stage model for a professional development (PD) training of experienced teachers that prepares them to become teachers' leaders is presented here. The model is composed of “basic training” stage, tutor-teachers stage, and field-implementation. The study was based on two open questionnaires combined with interviews of participants and the course's leader. Teachers' views were classified into three categories — as learners, as educators and as leaders. Results show that participating in this PD model enabled teachers to unify into one community with similar goals, increased their self-confidence, empowered them as teachers by improving classroom function, and intensified their abilities to act as teachers' leaders. This model, although tested on environmental science teachers, it is applicable to any teacher community.

Authors

• Anat Abramovich, Technion Israel Institute of Technology

• Shirley Miedijensky, Oranim Academic College of Education