CHAPTER 10:  Professional Development, Leadership and Community

Teachers as Part of the Academic Community

Teachers as Learners

Table 10.1 Major Specialized Professional Organizations for Teachers

Teachers as Community Leaders

Important Terms that Relate to Professional Development, Leadership, and Community

Teaching is a profession with many rewards and many challenges.  Among the challenges can be the difficulty of juggling professional roles: as an instructor creating productive learning environments for students, as an advisor to parents and other caregivers, as a colleague, as a resource person for the community, and as a continual learner. 

Teachers as Part of the Academic Community

First and foremost, teachers are experts in teaching practices (i.e., pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge) and in specific content areas. Additionally, teachers have expert knowledge on learners and learning.  Effective teachers understand not only the theories of learning and development (as discussed in Chapter 3 of this tutorial) but also both sides of the debates that surround each theory, the empirical data that support or contradict them, and the implications of those debates and data for educational practice.  They should be aware of a broad range of teaching materials, including current technological innovations and trends (e.g., computer-mediated communication such as chat clients or forums), and should understand the benefits and challenges of introducing them into the classroom.

Teachers need not carry all their knowledge in their heads at all times — effective teachers also typically have access to a set of resources (e.g., research journals, websites, and texts) that they can consult and share.  For example, teachers should know how and where to find state curricular standards, and information about approved texts and activities (see Chapter 6 of this tutorial for additional information about state standards).  Additionally, teachers should know where to find high-stakes test scores for their students and/or schools and how to interpret them.

Although teachers may sometimes feel that they are alone and independent in their classrooms, effective teachers know how to share their expertise within the community of educators.  Among the school support personnel are:

Guidance counselors.  Guidance counselors typically provide advice to students as they make educational and vocational decisions.  Classroom teachers often confer with guidance counselors about class placement or about students’ social or emotional needs.  Guidance counselors may administer and coordinate statewide assessments, and they also sometimes mediate between teachers and parents, IEP team members, who work with classroom teachers while developing individualized plans for students with exceptionalities, and sometimes for others. 

Special education specialists. Special education teachers and teachers of the gifted and talented are licensed teachers who work with students with exceptionalities individually, in small groups, or in specialized classrooms.  Some work alongside other teachers in the classroom, especially inclusive classrooms; others have separate classrooms and coordinate schedules and lesson plans with classroom teachers to develop the most effective program for all students.

Speech or physical therapists.  Speech, physical, and occupational therapists are professional, (usually) non-teaching staff who work with teachers to coordinate support for students’ special needs.  They are sometimes on staff at schools or for districts, but they may also be independent of a particular educational setting.  These therapists often play an essential role as a part of an IEP planning team.  

Librarians or media specialists.  Librarians and library media specialists frequently work with teachers to identify resources.  For example, media specialists can help teachers to identify contemporary videos or computer tutorials to match a lesson plan.  They can also work directly with students, for example to provide guidelines to help them identify whether websites have reliable or unreliable information.

Paraprofessionals.  Paraeducators  or paraprofessionals typically include assistants or aides who work under the supervision of a classroom teacher or other credentialed professional.  Work-study students from local colleges, full-time instructional assistants, translators, and physical aides are all paraprofessionals. Teachers should recognize that many paraeducators plan to become credentialed teachers in the future and should serve as reliable and effective mentors.

Administrative office staff.  Many school staff members offer support for administrators, teachers, and students.  Teachers’ ability to work with and communicate effectively with school nurses, school administrative and office staff, and custodial and cafeteria staff is essential to the smooth operation of a school.

Most important, effective teachers know basic strategies for developing collaborative relationships with their colleagues, administrators, other school personnel, parents/caregivers, and the community so that they can best support the educational process.  Recommendations for successful collaboration include:

·               Identifying the purpose of the collaboration

·               Identifying the stakeholders (i.e., those directly or indirectly affected by the collaboration, such as students, parents, etc.)

·               Developing an action plan to guide interactions

·               Supporting effective communication among the collaborators

·               Seeking support from professionals and paraprofessionals when necessary

Teachers as Learners

In addition to in-service conferences and workshops that are typically part of district teacher support, experiential learning—from student teaching and from supervising one’s own classroom—supplements the education that teachers received during degree and credentialing programs, ensuring that teachers become lifelong learners.

Effective teachers regularly engage in reflective practice to encourage professional growth.  Reflection involves thinking about and analyzing one’s own actions.  Reflective teachers thus set aside time to analyze and critique their lessons, class activities, and other elements of their teaching so that they can improve their effectiveness in the classroom and develop as professionals.  A number of activities support reflective practice, including:

Keeping a reflective journal.  Journaling is a particularly good method to sort out one’s thoughts.  Teachers can privately write self-evaluations (e.g., “Today’s lesson didn’t go well because I …”) or raise questions for further thought (e.g., “Am I really satisfied with my job?” “Am I confident with my own knowledge of algebra?”).  Journals also provide a history of teacher growth; rereading earlier entries can remind teachers of the changes they’ve made and those they have yet to implement.  

Professional observations. Assessment and observation by others, including colleagues, supervisors, or critical friends, supports reflective practice.  Some teachers like to participate in lesson study groups in which peers cooperatively plan and evaluate each other.  Others may ask supervisors (e.g., principals, mentor teachers) to sit in during class and offer feedback or may choose to have a classroom lesson videotaped for later critique. 

Critical incident analysis. Critical incidents are events (typically unplanned or unexpected) that challenge the way a teacher thinks about something, expose a gap in knowledge or a specific belief or bias, or evoke an emotional response.  Analysis involves thinking about what happened, why it happened, how it made the teacher and/or student feel, and what can be done to resolve the situation and/or prevent similar situations in the future.  Critical incident analyses may be a key part of a reflective journal.

Developing a portfolio.  Like journals, portfolios provide a history of teacher growth.  They may include elements such as a resume, certification records, a statement of teaching philosophy, lesson plans, self-developed materials and assessments, graded student work, observational records by peers, and other things that provide evidence of a teacher’s style and achievements.  Teachers should regularly reflect on and update their portfolios, which they may use when applying for new jobs, promotion and tenure, or teaching awards.

Membership in professional organizations. Teachers also learn from affiliations with professional associations that will contribute to their professional growth (see Table 10.1).

From Foundations of American Education. (6th ed., p. 42), by L. Dean Webb, A. Metha, & K. Forbis, 2010, Columbus, OH: Merrill.  To purchase a copy of this book, click here. 

The professional organizations cited in Table 10.1 often host workshops and presentations at national and regional conferences for teacher collaborative learning.  Many associations publish professional journals, such as Teacher Education Quarterly, published by the California Council on Teacher Education.  Many other journals focused on teaching are available from university libraries or direct subscriptions from the publishers; they may be general (e.g., Harvard Educational Review) or topic-specific (e.g., Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching).  These journals usually include theoretical articles on the nature of teaching, trends in education, policy issues and debates on pedagogy, and sometimes specific teaching methods or techniques.

Professional learning communities.  Collaboratively, teachers may share experiences and hone their skills through learning communities or study groups.  Learning communities bring teachers and sometimes administrators together into a network of support; teachers can share anecdotes, experiences, and concerns, and they can share in planning and decision making that affects the entire school or district.  Frequently, schools provide structured time for learning community meetings or lesson study, a form of study group in which teachers collectively design a lesson, watch each other teach that lesson, and then share in discussion of it.

Internships or mentorships. Teachers often work in smaller groups or in one-to-one relationships such as internships or mentorships.  Student teaching is perhaps the most familiar example, but even seasoned teachers learn much from having mentors and from serving as a mentor to new teachers.  In some cases, peer observations or critical friends can be particularly informative in a less formal arrangement.

National Board Certification.  As teachers become more proficient practitioners they have an opportunity to become nationally board certified. National Board Certification is often a two- to three-year process and requires teachers to demonstrate their teaching prowess by collecting portfolio materials and engaging in a number of assessment exercises.   Teachers must apply for and be accepted by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to participate in the evaluation process. More information about National Board Certification can be found at www.nbpts.org.

Teachers as Community Leaders

Teachers provide an essential service to society: mentoring and helping to direct future generations of students.  Teachers are advocates for the teaching profession more generally within the community and nationwide.  They must work in collaboration with parents, community leaders, civic organizations, and others who look up to them for information and to model good citizenship. They must adhere to a code of ethics regulated by the state in which they teach or become familiar with the ethical standards set up by national organizations that represent the teaching profession.

As leaders, teachers have a responsibility to be informed of the implications of major legislation and court decisions relating to education, to follow the laws earnestly, and to convey the standards to others in the community.  Among the issues of importance to teachers and students are

·       Equal access.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifies that federally funded education cannot be withheld from students on the basis of race, color, or national origin.  Title III of this act prohibited state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, religion, gender, or ethnicity. Title IX of 1972 provides prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.

·     Privacy and confidentiality.  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) makes student records open to students and their parents, but it also restricts teachers from disclosing those records to others.  For example, teachers cannot legally post exam grades for all to see or leave graded assignments in a pile for students to pick up.   The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution also protects both students and teachers against unreasonable search and seizure.  Whether school officials can legally search through student lockers or require students to take drug tests are two issues that have received much recent court attention.

·     First Amendment.  First Amendment issues, including freedom of speech, affect teaching practice.  Students’ freedom of speech is guaranteed as long as it is not considered vulgar or offensive and/or it doesn’t interfere with their or others’ learning.  Teachers’ freedom of speech generally has the same guarantees and is often protected by the professional expectation of academic freedom (which is not a legal right).  The U.S. courts continue to define “speech” in educational contexts, including addressing topics such as slogans on student t-shirts and banners.

·     Mandated reporting of child neglect/abuse.  Every state and the District of Columbia has laws requiring educators to report knowledge or suspicions of child abuse.  If a person acts in good faith when making a reasonable report, he or she is protected from retaliation if the suspicions turn out to be incorrect.  In other words, a teacher who believes a child may be abused by his father has a responsibility to report this belief, and, if the belief turns out to be wrong, the father cannot have the teacher fired.

·     Due process.  The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides general guidelines for due process.  Due process is thus a right given to both students and teachers; it includes fair procedures for individuals facing disciplinary actions (e.g., fair and impartial hearing, the right to representation, the right to appeal).  

·     Liability.  Teachers are legally responsible for the safety of the children they supervise.  The school is also responsible for exercising care in protecting students from injury.

·     Corporal punishment.  No federal law in the U.S. bans the use of corporal punishment.  Local school boards typically set the policy for classroom teachers since federal courts and statutes provide little guidance and many states only provide parameters within which schools must operate.  Influenced by religious leaders, some believe that schools must be able to use corporal punishment to exact authority and increase order. Other school leaders see schools as a sanctuary from social violence and would prohibit the use of paddles or straps used on children of any age.  Legal, educational, and social issues continue to fuel discussions on the use of corporal punishment.

·     Licensing.  Every state has teacher licensure requirements, which typically include a bachelor’s degree and no history of felony arrests or child abuse.  Licensure (i.e., competency) exams are also common for credentialing. 

·     Tenure. Tenure is a safeguard that provides job security by preventing teacher dismissal without cause.  Teachers may be tenured following a probationary period of several years and a review of their work; once tenured, teachers typically have an ongoing, permanent position unless circumstances require a reduction in teaching staff or for disciplinary issues.  Tenured teachers generally cannot be dismissed because of their speech (i.e., the topics they teach or examples they use), politics, dress, or other personal characteristics. 

·     Copyright laws. Copyright laws are designed to protect the creators of intellectual property, including videos, texts, computer software, music, and other creative products.  Teachers must follow fair-use guidelines when copying material for students; they cannot simply photocopy multiple articles or chapters of a text, nor can they make one copy and post it on the Internet.  Teachers may legally tape a television show for class use within several days of taping; they cannot, however, legally keep the tape and show it every year.  Librarians and media specialists are good resources for copyright laws, which are complex and frequently updated to address new media and material on the Internet.

Important Terms that Relate to Professional Development, Leadership, and Community

The following terms relate to professional development, leadership, and community; many of the definitions come from the glossaries in:

            Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. In Review of research in education (Vol. 24, p. 293). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

Heward, W. L. (2009). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (9th ed., pp.18−19, 30, and G1−G15). Columbus, OH: Merrill.  To purchase a copy of this book, click here. 

Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2008).  Introduction to teaching:  Becoming a professional (3rd ed.).  Columbus, OH: Merrill. To purchase a copy of this book, click here. 

Ormrod, J. (2008). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill. To purchase a copy of this book, click here. 

 Webb, L. D., Metha, A., & Jordan, K. F. (2010).  Foundations of American education (6th ed.).  Columbus, OH:  Merrill. To purchase a copy of this book, click here. 

Action research. Research conducted by teachers and other school personnel to address issues and problems in their own schools or classrooms.

Code of ethics.  Set of professional standards for behavior of members of a profession.

Collaboration.  Joint communication and decision making among educational professionals to create an optimal learning environment for students and especially for students with disabilities.

Co-teaching.  In co-teaching arrangements, two or more teachers teach together in the same classroom where students benefit from each teacher’s specialty (e.g., a regular and a special education teacher working with regular students and students with a specific disability such as hearing impairments).

Inclusion. The practice of educating all students, including those with severe and multiple disabilities, in neighborhood schools and general education classrooms.

Learning communities. New and experienced teachers working together to pose problems, identify discrepancies between theories and practices, challenge common routines, draw on the work of others for generative frameworks, and attempt to make visible much of that which is taken for granted about learning and teaching.

Lesson study. A form of study group in which teachers collectively design a lesson, watch each other teach that lesson, and then share in discussion of it.

Mentoring. Formal and informal relationships between a beginning teacher and an experienced teacher that are sources of information and support for the beginning teacher.

Paraprofessionals. Trained (training may vary from state to state) classroom aides who assist teachers; may include parents.

Pedagogical content knowledge. Knowledge about effective methods of teaching a specific content area.

Pedagogical knowledge. Knowledge about effective methods of teaching.

Portfolio. Collection of a student’s work systematically compiled over a length of time.

Reflective practice. The process of teachers’ thinking about and analyzing their work to assess its effectiveness.

Team teaching. Teachers share the responsibility for two or more classes, dividing up the subject areas between them.