Running head: REFLECTION ON ROLES OF TEACHER LEADERS 1

Reflection on Roles of Teacher Leaders

Hadley O’Neill

Michigan State University

REFLECTION ON ROLES OF TEACHER LEADERS 2

Common themes I found in the readings this week circled around ideas of intentionality

and respectful relationships in the context of teacher leadership. “Teacher Leadership for

Change” (2014) and “Teachers as Teacher Educators” (1998) extended my ideas around mentors

and purposeful practice and planning. Additionally, I found connections to and clarity in Fairman

and Mackenzie’s (2014) and Kajitani (2015) ideas around teacher-leadership strategies and

standards, respectively.

First, Feiman-Nemser (1998) asserted the importance of making the implicit explicit.

Teachers of reading most likely connected with this notion, as this is something we try to do

daily in our mini-lessons and read alouds; we try to make visible to students what happens in the

heads of proficient readers. And although I am quite familiar with think alouds in the context of

teaching, I had never thought about the importance of this practice in terms of teacher training.

That being said, it makes so much sense! Throughout the article, Feiman-Nemser (1998)

references the invisible intricacies that go into teaching--interpreting student responses, “thinking

on your feet and responding in appropriate ways to an ever-changing situation” (p.69), etc.--and

asserts the value of teachers articulating their internal dialogue to novice teachers.

Likewise, Brondyk and Stanulis (2014) discuss ideas around intentionality in mentorship

but through a different lens, preparation and planning. The authors argue that novice teachers,

just like our students, need focused and consistent support and instruction from teacher-leaders

(Brondyk & Stanulis, 2014). They argue rather than putting out fires on the fly, mentors can

position themselves to actually improve teaching by targeting one teaching strategy and

providing reliable, structured time for training, learning and dialogue (Brondyk & Stanulis,

2014). Again, this resonated with me because of the obviousness of it all--teachers are learners,

so when planning to support them, mentors should, of course, be intentional in their preparation.
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Fairman and Mackenzie (2014) reiterated a norm that I am sure is apparent in most

schools--relationships matter. Lately, school systems, especially those in urban communities,

have shifted their focus in professional development. Instead of learning about instructional

approaches, many schools are discussing and implementing best practices for developing and

maintaining healthy relationships with students. Again, this extended my ideas about teacher-

leaders. Yes, we know how important relationships are with our students, but teacher-to-teacher

relationships are also significant. Fairman and Mackenzie (2014) even found in their study that

informal interactions between teachers are sometimes more impactful for teacher learning,

development and growth than formal professional development sessions led by persons in

leadership roles. It struck me that being a teacher-leader does not necessarily mean holding a

position of power, but influencing and collaborating with those around you in a productive and

meaningful way; and in order to be able to do this, one must have honest, safe and respectful

relationships with their peers. In the absence of strong and supportive teacher relationships, it

will be difficult to attain the Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium’s Teacher Leader

Model Standard 1: Foster a Collaborative School Culture, based on the principles of “collective

responsibility” (as cited in Kajitani, 2015, p. 123).

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References

Brondyk, S., & Stanulis, R. (2014). Teacher leadership for change. Kappa Delta Pi Record,

50(1), 13–17. doi: 10.1080/00228958.2014.871675

Fairman, J. C., & Mackenzie, S. V. (2014). How teacher leaders influence others and understand

their leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 18(1), 61–87. doi:

10.1080/13603124.2014.904002

Feiman-Nemser, S. (1998). Teachers as teacher educators. European Journal of Teacher

Education, 21(1), 63–74. doi: 10.1080/0261976980210107

Kajitani, A. (2015). How do you know whether you're a teacher leader? Kappa Delta Pi Record,

51(3), 121–125. doi: 10.1080/00228958.2015.1056663