Extending the Reach of Mathematics Teacher Leaders

本项目将探讨数学教师领导参与系统领导活动的能力发展。培养这种能力的模式将基于这样一个概念，即教师领导工作可以被认为是有层次的，类似于管理层次的概念。在这个模型中，第一级教师领导活动是那些利用教师的知识、经验和动机来支持课堂外有效教学的活动。一级教师领导活动与教师教学关系密切，直接影响教师教学。第二类教师领导活动是那些利用教师领导的知识、经验和动机来改进支持有效教学的系统的活动。该模型基于两种立场：(1)第二级领导活动需要使用与第一级领导活动不同的知识和技能；(2)通过支持教师领导将其工作扩展到第二级领导活动，可以发生生产性系统变革。本项目将发展教师领导参与第二级活动的知识和技能，并进一步理论化和评估教师领导发展中第一级和第二级领导活动的概念化和可操作性。本项目将实施和评估一个教师领导发展模型，该模型将建立一级和二级教师领导各自的领导能力。在教师领导发展模式中，第二级教师领导将接受培训和指导，以1)培训第一级教师领导与课堂教师一起实施专业发展，2)监督更广泛的实施问题，如发展地区对专业发展的支持，支持专业发展评估计划的创建和实施。专业发展将由9个90分钟的课程组成，这些课程将帮助小学教师发展整数乘法的丰富概念。通过实施数学专业发展计划，两组教师领导都将接受培训和指导，以发展他们的知识、技能和倾向，以参与他们的教师领导活动。然后，教师将被定位为利用他们增加的领导能力，参与其他一级和二级教师领导活动，以支持STEM教育的改进。对领导力发展模型实施的评估将有助于该领域了解支持培训有效性的关键特征。此外，作为K-12数学教育大使，二级教师领导将通过二级政策活动，将政策、实践和STEM教育研究联系起来。然后，教师将被定位为利用他们增加的领导能力，参与其他一级和二级教师领导活动，以支持STEM教育的改进。教师领导发展模型的设计可以通过任何STEM专业发展来扩展，当它与一级教师领导的教师领导培训相匹配时。虽然该项目涉及数学教师和教师领导，但它有可能为STEM领域的教师领导力发展和有效性提供信息。

This project will explore the development of mathematics teacher leaders' capacity to engage in systemic leadership activities. The model for developing this capacity will be based on the concept that teacher leadership work can be conceived of as having levels, similar to the idea of management levels. In this model, Tier I teacher leadership activities are those that leverage teachers' knowledge, experience, and motivation to support effective instruction in classrooms outside their own. Tier I teacher leadership activities have a close proximity to and thus directly influence teachers' instruction. Tier II teacher leadership activities are those that leverage teacher leaders' knowledge, experience, and motivation to improve systems that support effective instruction. This model is predicated on two positions: (1) Tier II leadership activities necessitate the employment of knowledge and skills different from those required for Tier I leadership activities; and (2) Productive systemic change can occur by supporting teacher leaders to expand their work into Tier II leadership activities. This project will develop teacher leaders' knowledge and skills to engage in Tier II activities and to further theorize and evaluate the conceptualization and operationalization of Tier I and Tier II leadership activities in teacher leadership development. This project will implement and evaluate a teacher leader development model that will build the capacity of Tier I and Tier II teacher leaders in their respective leadership capacity. In the teacher leader development model, Tier II teacher leaders will receive training and mentoring to 1) train Tier I teacher leaders to implement the professional development with classroom teachers and 2) oversee broader implementation issues, such as developing district support for the professional development and supporting the creation and implementation of an evaluation plan for the professional development. The professional development will consist of a sequence of nine, 90-minute sessions that will support elementary teachers in developing a rich conceptualization of multiplication of whole numbers. Through this vehicle of implementing a mathematics professional development program, both sets of teacher leaders will receive training and mentoring to develop their knowledge, skills, and dispositions to engage in their tier of teacher leadership activities. Teachers will then be positioned to leverage their increased leadership capacity to engage in other Tier I and II teacher leadership activities that support the improvement of STEM education. The evaluation of the implementation of the leadership development model will help the field understand the key characteristics that support the effectiveness of the training. Additionally, in their roles as ambassadors for K-12 mathematics education, Tier II teacher leaders will work at the nexus of policy, practice, and STEM education research through Tier II policy activities. Teachers will then be positioned to leverage their increased leadership capacity to engage in other Tier I and II teacher leadership activities that support the improvement of STEM education. The design of the teacher leader development model can be scaled through any STEM professional development, when it is paired with the teacher leader training of Tier I teacher leaders. Although the project involves mathematics teachers and teacher leaders, it has the potential to inform teacher leadership development and effectiveness across the STEM fields.