Teacher

This leadership book provides techniques on understanding what type of help is needed and how to offer it in professional relationships, which can be applied to teaching, teamwork, and organizational leadership.

A collection of articles from Harvard Business Review, these resources address how team leaders can create high-performing teams. Topics include eight ways to build collaborative teams, the tough work of turning around a team, building the emotional intelligence of groups, and what to do when teams cannot decide. 

This book by the director of teacher leader development at Teach Plus focuses on solutions for teacher leaders to common problems they may encounter in building a team that improves student learning. 

Through a series of case studies as well as protocols for analyzing the cases, the authors of this book about leading teacher teams provide detailed information about various strategies that they have seen work in the field, including how teacher leaders can support active participation, grow meaningful team roles, and set clear performance expectations.  

This book about how to successfully negotiate a coteaching relationship includes several strategies that are relevant for teacher leaders. Topics include establishing roles and responsibilities, delegating tasks, goal setting, negotiating conflicts, and addressing scheduling issues. 

After observing teacher leaders lead several hours of professional learning with their colleagues, the authors of this article report on their findings regarding effective strategies that teacher leaders can use when they facilitate the professional learning of their colleagues. The article outlines the relative success of a variety of strategies, such as using humor, including teachers from all content areas, and giving participants a chance to practice their new learning.

The Iowa General Assembly approved $50 million for the first year of implementation of the Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, a new career ladder that rewards effective teachers with leadership opportunities and higher pay. In the new system, teacher leaders take on a range of responsibilities, including helping colleagues analyze data and fine-tune instructional strategies, as well as coaching and coteaching. All 346 Iowa districts applied for planning grants, and the state selected 39 districts to participate in the first year of the system. 

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) profiled five districts, including information about their professional learning cost structures and funding strategies. Each district, funded primarily from federal and local funds, had different student characteristics, including enrollment size, operating budget, minority enrollment, and student poverty level. 

This report from the Center for American Progress and Public Impact discusses how the federal government could play a critical role in expanding every student’s access to excellent teaching. In the process, federal policies also could help transform teaching into a profession that attracts and keeps more talented people and provides rich opportunities for on-the-job development and sustainably paid advancement for all teachers. 

This ASCD resource concisely lists existing federal programs that support professional development. It briefly describes whether funds are distributed based on formulas that vary according to program requirements, or whether they are available through competitive grant programs.