A great resource page for Teacher Leader issues and topics. Great search feature.
"Data shows that many students are not succeeding at
each grade level.
The most direct impact upon student achievement is
the experiences students have each day in
classrooms.
A major objective should be to equip, empower, and
expect staff to implement effective instructional
practices."
This PowerPoint details a typical Instructional Coaching model. I thought it was interesting the way the relationship between teachers and teacher consultant is structured versus the relationship between teacher consultant and administration.
"One of the most compelling rationales for school-based coaching is that many of the more conventional forms of
professional development—such as conferences, lectures, and mass teacher-institute days—are unpopular with
educators because they are often led by outside experts who tell teachers what to do, then are never heard from
again. To be effective, scores of researchers say, professional development must be ongoing, deeply embedded
in teachers’ classroom work with children, specific to grade levels or academic content, and focused on researchbased
approaches. It also must help to open classroom doors and create more collaboration and sense of
community among teachers in a school."
"To be successful in this role, coaches must be skilled in a variety of roles, including public relations guru, communicator extraordinaire, master organizer and, of course, expert educator."
"As a front-running national concern, the issue of improving teacher quality has taken on a controversial
life of its own that extends beyond the world of public education and into our political culture,
where it was a spotlighted feature of the presidential campaign of 2000. On a seemingly nonstop
basis, this core element of schooling in America has become an editorial staple, the rationale for
countless legislative debates, and the subject of numerous books, reports, and commentaries by commissions,
task forces, councils, working groups, scholars, and journalists."