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Conference Material
Mathematics and Science Enhancement (MASE): An inquiry into teaching and learning
"Pros and Cons of Using Teacher Leaders"sharing questions, lessons learned and progress to dateby Linda Gregg Notes and overheads for a presentation at the Lessons Learned Conference June 5 & 6, 2000
Project: An inquiry into teaching and learning An inquiry into professional development Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada
"How do we shape leadership development?" "How do we build capacity?" "How do we ensure substantive professional development as we scale up every level of the project?" Who are the leaders? MASE leaders are all of the following. overhead #1: MASE Leaders
Classroom teachers - lead by example, communicate with parents, professional development strengthens their voice, advocates (essential to project success) School team leaders - communication link between MASE staff and school staff Area teacher leaders - leaders for all schools within the six geographic divisions of the district District teacher leaders - classroom teachers who lead MASE PD sessions Principals and Assistants - 6-8 three-hour leadership development sessions per year Administrators - support project goals, attend national and or local sessions What are the roles of MASE leaders? MASE leaders have the following roles overhead #2: Leadership Roles
The question then was "How do we scale up the leadership development process for future leaders?" The design that evolved has two components, leadership development sessions and a mentorship process. We have found that just as children learn by doing, teacher leaders learn by leading. Overhead #3: Tiered Leadership Development There are four tiers in our leadership development plan:
Initially, we believed that teacher leaders needed to learn and use the curriculum materials with their students, participate in content courses, and in about two years would start leading sessions. We found however, that many never felt they were "ready". We are now having more success teaming novice leaders with expert leaders in the mentorship process so they begin early in the process learning by doing with the support of an experienced leader. "Leading" has become more about sharing the process and learning together, developing a learning community. An example of a mentor and leadership team would be a TOSA and a new teacher leader who co-facilitate the session with a novice leader who observes the session as a future leader. Another example would be a project consultant and TOSA collaborating to mentor leaders by teaming to design a course syllabus, implement, evaluate and refine a session or series of sessions. Leadership Development is challenging, and it has generated questions such as: 1) What do you do with a shrinking group of teacher leaders? Attrition is a continuous concern. Leaders move, have children, become administrators, TOSAs, and middle school science and mathematics teachers, and they "burn out." Over time, the original leadership groups were shrinking. At first, we questioned, "Could we add new teachers with the experienced leaders? New teachers have missed so much. How could they catch up? Do we begin new leadership groups? The experienced leaders would not want to go back . . ." We have found that we could successfully integrate new teachers into the leadership group over time and that revisiting topics and issues actually strengthened the expertise of seasoned leaders. As novice and experienced leaders teamed in the mentorship process, the newer leaders actually proved to be an asset. Many novice leaders were coming to the process with greater awareness and expertise as a result of their participation in MASE sessions and implementation of resources and strategies with students. The district culture in the past has been to rely on seasoned teachers for leadership. We are finding that first-year teachers are eager to join the project and become leaders. By the third year, these young teachers are quickly becoming expert leaders and are accepted by peers and experienced teachers. They want to learn and are open to standards-based teaching and learning. 2) What are the benefits that motivate teacher leaders to continue in their leadership role? Teacher leaders tell us that one of the main reasons that they continue in the leadership groups is the opportunity to learn from and with nationally recognized experts. Many form a close working relationship with one project consultant over time in a study group setting. Teacher leaders also collaborate with one or more consultants, learning and frequently contributing to the work of the consultant(s). They say the collaboration benefits them as learners and supports them as professionals. Other professional advantages include attendance at national workshops, seminars, and conferences, collaboration with national experts in field-test projects and leadership stipends. There are too few benefits for leaders. Their work is challenging; we are really asking them to take on a second job. Leadership development is a continuous process. It is not easy; it is critical. It is a key to maintaining substantive professional development while scaling up. Building leadership capacity is a key to sustainability and the future.
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