"Every Teacher a Leader" by Barbara Levin and Lynne Schrum is a comprehensive guide designed for educators at all levels, emphasizing the intrinsic leadership qualities inherent in every teacher. This book argues that when teachers cultivate specific leadership skills, knowledge, and attitudes, they can significantly transform school culture for the better. It is a resource for teachers aspiring to take on new roles and for administrators seeking to foster leadership qualities in their staff.

Key features of the book include:

1. Practical Guidance: The book offers practical advice on essential leadership skills necessary for teachers, such as running meetings, teaching colleagues, giving feedback, conducting needs assessments, delivering effective professional development, resolving conflicts, and employing technology.

2. Interactive Elements: It contains well-tested content and activities, reflective writing prompts, scenarios for discussion, and self-evaluation tools. These elements are designed to facilitate deeper understanding and application of leadership concepts in educational settings.

3. Support for Both Teachers and Administrators: The book includes two companion guides, one tailored for teachers and the other for administrators, ensuring comprehensive support for school-wide leadership development.

"Every Teacher a Leader" underscores the impact of teacher leadership in enhancing the educational experience, stressing that when teacher leaders collaborate effectively with school leaders, it leads to improved outcomes for teachers, leaders, and students alike.

"Dive into Inquiry" by Trevor MacKenzie is a compelling and insightful book that aims to revolutionize the traditional learning model by embracing an inquiry-based approach. The book is particularly well-suited for middle and high school educators and is highly recommended for pre-service teachers and educational programs.

The core philosophy of the book is to integrate the concept of student voice and choice with structured support to optimize learning experiences. MacKenzie guides educators on how to transition from a conventional teaching model to one where inquiry is at the forefront, fostering student agency and engagement every day. This balance of meaningful pedagogy, engaging narratives, practical processes, real student examples, and comprehensive lesson plans provides a roadmap for implementing inquiry-based learning in the classroom.

The book's strengths lie in its practicality and inspiration. It equips educators to design inquiry units that gradually shift the control of learning from the teacher to the learner. By exploring students' passions, curiosities, and interests, and aligning these with essential questions, units of study, and performance tasks, the book offers a dynamic and interactive educational experience. MacKenzie presents various types of student inquiry and a framework to co-construct a robust Free Inquiry unit, complete with helpful illustrations, essential question examples from diverse disciplines, practical goals, and QR codes linked to powerful student learning examples.

"Dive into Inquiry" is not just a guide; it's a transformative tool that energizes, inspires, and transforms classroom environments. By empowering students to take ownership of their learning and encouraging teachers to facilitate rather than dictate, this book is a valuable asset for any educator striving to become a leader in STEM and foster a culture of curiosity and exploration in their classroom.

"Developing Coaching Skills: A Concise Introduction" provides a thorough yet succinct exploration of coaching methodologies and their practical applications. Key features of the book include:

1. Comprehensive Overview of Coaching: The book offers a detailed explanation of how coaching works, making it accessible to both new and experienced coaches.

2. Practical Coaching Tools and Questions: It includes over 200 coaching questions and tried-and-tested tools that can be implemented immediately.

3. Essential Coaching Skills Development: Readers learn to master all phases of the coaching process, including effective conversation techniques, active listening, goal-setting, giving constructive feedback, and supporting behavioral change.

4. Best-Practice Insights and Practical Exercises: The book provides insights into how experienced coaches work and includes practical exercises to develop personal coaching skills.

5. Bonus Learning Materials: Additional resources are available on the companion website.

This book is an indispensable resource for aspiring and practicing coaches, leaders, and students of coaching. It guides readers on what effective coaching entails, how to make it a habitual practice, and how to bring out the best in others​.

In the context of a teaching fellowship, "Developing Coaching Skills" can be exceptionally beneficial for educators, especially those in STEM fields, seeking to enhance their leadership abilities. The skills and methodologies outlined in the book can be applied to action research within the fellowship, aiding in the development of more effective teaching strategies, enhancing communication and collaboration among colleagues, and fostering a more supportive and productive learning environment for students. By integrating the coaching skills learned from this book, educators can become more adept at guiding students in inquiry-based learning, encouraging critical thinking, and facilitating the development of essential STEM skills.

"The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures" by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless presents innovative and practical methods for engaging groups of any size in productive and innovative activities. The book is structured into four parts:

1. The Hidden Structure of Engagement: This section provides the conceptual framework and vocabulary of Liberating Structures, contrasting them with conventional methods and highlighting their benefits in transforming collaboration, learning, and solution discovery.

2. Getting Started and Beyond: It offers guidelines for applying these structures in various settings, from small group interactions to large-scale initiatives, encompassing meetings, projects, problem-solving, and more.

3. Stories from the Field: This part shares global user stories demonstrating the versatility of Liberating Structures across different sectors, including healthcare, academia, military, and business.

4. The Field Guide for Including, Engaging, and Unleashing Everyone: The final section details how to use each of the 33 Liberating Structures, providing step-by-step instructions and expected outcomes.

In the context of a teaching fellowship and STEM leadership, the strategies from this book can be instrumental in facilitating effective meetings and enhancing action research. Educators can create more engaging and inclusive environments by applying Liberating Structures and encouraging active participation and innovative thinking in their teams. These methods can be particularly useful in brainstorming sessions, collaborative research projects, and strategy development, fostering a culture of open communication and collective problem-solving in STEM education.

"Results Based Facilitation: Book One: Meetings That Matter" focuses on transforming meetings into effective, action-oriented sessions. Key aspects include:

1. Intentional Planning for Results: The book emphasizes the necessity of intentional planning in meetings, focusing on collective alignment, action, and impact, with a set of competencies for achieving measurable results​

Effective Conversations and Processes: It views meetings as a series of conversations, advocating for processes that engage, honor, and challenge participants to foster discovery and action​

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Components of Productive Meetings: The book outlines that meetings should lead to understanding, relationship building, problem-solving, conflict resolution, decision-making, and commitment to accountable actions​

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Role of a Skilled Facilitator: A designated facilitator with listening and speaking skills is essential. This person should support partnership conversations, design, preparation, and interaction, and contribute to moving towards action​

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Neutrality in Facilitation: The facilitator should maintain neutrality, focusing on supporting the partnership’s goals without pursuing personal agendas, ensuring tasks align with the partnership's purpose within set boundaries​

In the context of a teaching fellowship, particularly for STEM education leadership, these principles from "Results Based Facilitation" can be instrumental. By applying these methods, teacher leaders can conduct more effective and result-oriented meetings, crucial for collaborative action research and strategy development. These skills enable STEM educators to facilitate discussions that lead to innovative solutions, enhance team dynamics, and improve the overall quality of educational initiatives.

"Results Based Facilitation: Foundational Skills Book One" by Jolie Bain Pillsbury is a comprehensive guide that offers a hands-on method for enhancing the effectiveness of meetings and conversations, whether in one-on-one or group settings. The book is designed to enable practitioners to practice skills for achieving better results in their work. It is particularly useful for anyone involved in facilitating meetings or participating in them, as it was designed and developed by Pillsbury herself​.

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As a tool for becoming a better teacher leader, particularly in the context of STEM education, this book offers valuable insights and practical skills that can be applied to design and facilitate more effective and result-oriented meetings. By incorporating the principles and techniques from "Results Based Facilitation," teacher leaders can enhance their ability to guide discussions, collaborate more effectively with colleagues, and drive meaningful action and innovation in their educational settings.

"Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t" by Simon Sinek is a book that delves into the attributes of effective leadership. Sinek explores how successful individuals and organizations develop cultures of trust and sacrifice. The book's title is inspired by a Marine Corps practice where officers eat last, symbolizing their commitment to putting the needs of those in their care above their own. This act of sacrifice is a cornerstone of the book's philosophy.

Key points from the book include:

1. Empathy and the Circle of Safety: Sinek highlights the importance of empathy in leadership. He uses the story of Captain Mike “Johnny Bravo” Drowley to underscore this point, explaining how leaders should protect their team members from external dangers and internal competition to foster a secure and productive environment​

Biological Basis of Human Behavior: The book discusses the biological underpinnings of human behavior, emphasizing the role of endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin in shaping our experiences and responses to different situations​

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Trust in Leadership: Trust is identified as a critical element in leadership, with its absence leading to issues like high turnover rates in organizations​

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Generational Differences and Ideologies: Sinek discusses how the ideologies of different generations, particularly the Baby Boomers, have shaped modern workplace dynamics, often leading to cynicism and self-interest​

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Dangers of Abstraction and Dehumanization: The book cautions against the abstraction of human beings into mere figures or ideas, a practice that can lead to decisions focused solely on profit, at the expense of ethical considerations​

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Destructive Abundance and Leadership Lessons: Sinek introduces the concept of destructive abundance, where profit is prioritized to the detriment of employee well-being. He proposes five leadership lessons to counteract this trend​

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Challenges of Technology Addiction: The book addresses the impact of technology addiction, especially among Millennials, on the ability to build a collaborative and empathetic society​

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Conclusion on Empathy and Trust in Leadership: Sinek concludes by reiterating the importance of empathy and trust in leadership, encouraging leaders to adopt more meaningful roles​

For teachers and educational leaders, "Leaders Eat Last" offers valuable insights into creating a supportive and nurturing environment in the classroom and with colleagues/administrators. By embodying the principles of empathy, trust, and sacrifice, teacher leaders can foster a culture of collaboration and mutual respect. This approach can lead to improved teamwork, more effective communication, and a stronger sense of community within educational settings. The book’s emphasis on understanding the biological and psychological factors that influence behavior can also help teachers better connect with and support their students, thereby enhancing the overall learning experience.

"Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners" by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison is a book that presents a research-based approach to teaching thinking, developed at Harvard's Project Zero. The book focuses on enhancing students' thinking and comprehension abilities through a collection of varied practices and thinking routines. These include small sets of questions or a short sequence of steps, as well as the documentation of student thinking. The approach encourages the expression, documentation, discussion, and reflection of students' different viewpoints, thereby making their thinking visible and aiding in the development of their thinking dispositions​.

The book offers 21 strategies for engaging students and encouraging them to think more creatively and to share their thoughts, aiming to provide a better understanding of how students think. These techniques are designed for practical application in various classroom situations to elicit discussion, debate, reflection, and creative thought. The authors' approach is relevant not only for teachers but also for educational administrators and adult educators, who can apply variations of these exercises for older learners in the workplace​.

In professional development and classroom settings, this book can be particularly useful for teachers. It encourages educators to move beyond rote learning and standardized testing approaches, focusing instead on fostering deep thinking and understanding in their students. Teachers are advised to ask questions that do not have easy answers, demonstrate curiosity in students’ responses, and encourage creative, critical, and nonlinear thinking. These practices are meant to make thinking visible in the classroom and draw out students’ thoughts into the open​.

For professional development, "Making Thinking Visible" serves as a guide for teachers to refine their teaching methods, aligning them with modern educational expectations such as the Common Core, Concept Based Curriculum models, and Project Based Learning. The book's clear and conversational tone, coupled with real-world examples from global classrooms, provides a mentor-like guide for teachers to experiment with and safely navigate their own instructional journeys. This makes it a valuable tool for educators seeking to enhance their teaching practices and build stronger learning communities within their classrooms​.

The book's impact in education is further emphasized by its adaptability across different grade levels and content areas, offering easy-to-implement classroom strategies. It also includes a DVD with video clips showing Visible Thinking in practice in different classrooms, providing a practical resource for teachers to visualize and implement these strategies effectively​.

In my research on publishing guidelines for the Science Teacher, I ran into this article as it was used by the NSTA website as an example "annotated sample manuscript".  It was exciting to see that it was published by people who work at Rice University. The following is my review of article tone and audience. 

The article is written for 9-12th science educators based on indicators on NGSS and Common Core State Standards at the high school level.  This article is intended to be read and used by science educators and it is outlined so that it can be followed step by step.  The activity in this article does require materials and they are outlined at the beginning after the introduction.  The rest of the article takes the reader through the activity with many figures that give extra resources for teachers to use such as links to virus videos originally used, pictures of the materials and examples of notes from a student, rubric and connections to NGSS and Common Core State Standards.  

Article Citation

Crawford, C., Beason-Abmayr, B., Eich, E., Scott, J., & Nichol, C. (2015). Going Viral. Science Teacher, 81(6), 51–56. 

I. Introduction - This introduction describes the two purposes of the activity while describing some basics of viruses to understand why they were important to study.  It also describes active learning as a strategy in completing the lesson.  

 II. The activity  – This section describes how the lesson is started with a Virus video and the materials needed.  It explains that there is a lock and key analogy that will run through the activity.

a. Part 1: The hook  – This section explains to teachers how they can explain each component of the activity.  There are teacher statements that can be given to direct the activity so that students understand the viral analogies.  

b. Part 2: The hunt  – Precisely describes the fact that students will be on the hunt for their host cells.  It also gives a safety note since students will be moving around in the classroom.  

c. Part 3: The infection  – Once students have found their host cell and infected it by opening the lock they view videos.  Directions are given to teachers about how to set videos on the laptop to complement another set of students since they will be working in groups for a presentation later.  

d. Part 4: The dispersal  – This section explains to the teacher that there is a rubric that can help students prepare for the presentation.  The Next Generation Science Standards are also brought up as it relates to practicing scientific communication.  

III.  Assessment  – There is a description of objectives that students should have been able to complete by the end of the lesson.  There is also a description of two types of formative assessment used and suggestions for further summative assessment.

IV. Teacher Feedback  – The author took into account teacher feedback from the teacher’s who took the lesson and tried it out in their classroom.  

V. Conclusion  – This section describes that the NGSS crosscutting concept of structure and function was used in the lesson at a higher level.  It concludes that the lesson addresses and ends with a quote from a teacher on how it allowed students to embrace the role of the virus.