Teacher Leaders and Student Achievement: can the dots be connected?

: Calderone, Kent, Green (2018)

explored the impact of teacher leadership in middle school for advanced and non-advanced math and
science students. The participants were 173 eighth-grade students and eight teachers, four were identified
as teacher leaders and in charge of the experimental groups. The setting was the classroom and utilized the
explorer test results to compare the two groups. The findings were that teacher leaders have been found to
improve instructional techniques in their coworkers. However, the non-advanced science groups had
equivalent scores but the advanced science experimental group led by teacher leaders performed
significantly better than the control group. In the non-advanced math classes, both groups performed
similarly. However, in the advanced math groups, the students with a teacher leader also performed
significantly better than the students without a teacher leader. The authors suggested that teacher leaders
have a greater positive impact when teaching advanced math and science. However, the authors stated that
the sample size is relatively small and other factors such as the student's previous teachers and courses
may have had an impact on these results. They also mentioned that there may be variations in the strengths
of the teacher leaders selected that may have impacted the results. It could be possible that teachers who
opt to teach advanced classes may have a deeper level of content knowledge and possibly have an
advantage in possessing more teacher leader characteristics. It was also mentioned that students who opt
to take advanced courses may be more intrinsically motivated than students who do not take these classes.
This literature is related to CSTP 1, 3 and 4 in that teacher leaders should have a significant understanding
of their subject matter so they can more effectively organize and plan instruction for students. As a teacher
leader, this article reminds me that a teachers growth and development can have an impact on your
students and that having a vast amount of content knowledge is important for all teachers.
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The association between teacher leadership and student achievement: A meta-analysis: Shen, Wu, Reeves,
Zheng, Ryan, Anderson (2020) explored the association between teacher leadership and student
achievement. The participants were subjects in the 21 studies that met the authors’ criteria for analysis. The
findings were that there is a small positive relationship between teacher leadership and student
achievement. Results were stronger in the areas of math than reading. Teacher leadership was also found
to have the greatest impact when teacher leaders facilitate improvements in instruction and curriculum. The
author’s suggested that effective school leadership comes from a variety of sources and should not be
heavily dependent on the principal as they are only one person. The author’s also stated that
interdependence between the principal and teacher leadership is important. Collaboration between
colleagues is also extremely important in guiding teachers to improve their teaching practice. Allowing
teachers the authority and autonomy to select and develop curriculum is also extremely important. This
literature is related to CSTP in that the author’s analyzed student success and saw how teachers who can
collect and analyze student data to guide their instruction had greater impacts on their student’s success.
The association between teacher leadership and student achievement: A meta-analysis - ScienceDirect

These two articles suggest that teacher leaders do have a positive impact on students and that effects are
more noticeable in advanced math and science classrooms for a variety of reasons. However, the most
impactful quality a teacher leader can have to positively influence student success is learning to assess
student learning and using the information to effectively guide instruction. However, Calderone, Kent,
Green recommend doing more research as their sample size was relatively small and other outside factors
could affect the results of the data. Shen, Wu, Reeves, Zheng, Ryan, Anderson recommend that teacher
leadership has positive impacts on school improvement and that working in interdependence with your
principal is highly recommended. They also suggest that teachers are allowed autonomy and and
collaborate regularly with colleagues to continually grow in the teaching practice. As a teacher leader, these
articles have shown me how important it is to have the qualities of a teacher leader and that learning to
assess student data and use it to guide your instruction promptly is extremely important.