A new Education Week special report explores the growing interest among many educators and school leaders in altering the conventional understandings around what teachers do. In particular, it looks at the ways districts, schools, and teachers themselves are transforming teachers’ positions—and the types of supports available to them—in order to drive organizational change, build capacity, improve policymaking, and deepen instructional expertise.
The report includes the following features:
Teacher Leadership Makes Inroads, But Strives for Permanency
Those championing the movement see it as a necessary structural change to school systems, and one that is capable of being more than a fleeting trend.
Elite PD Program Seeks to Build Top Teachers’ Expertise
The National Academy of Advanced Teacher Education is built on the idea that the best teachers need opportunities to wrestle with cognitively challenging professional work to improve their craft and spread their expertise.
In Calif. District, Blended-Learning Approach Turns Teachers Into Facilitators
Some teachers say that blended-learning environments, designed to leverage technology and individualize student instruction, can create new roles for teachers as well.
Seeking Greater Influence, Teachers Gain Policy Foothold in Education Department
The Teaching Ambassador Fellows at the U.S. Department Education have sought to bring teacher leadership to federal policy.
Baltimore Program Aims to Give Teachers New Paths, Higher Pay
A new system in Baltimore rewards teachers based on their accomplishments rather than their seniority or credentials, presenting teachers with new options.
Why Schools Need More ‘Hybrid’ Teaching Roles
Too many good teachers are forced to leave the classroom just because they want new challenges and a sense of advancement, English teacher Paul Barnwell says.
What It’s Like to Teach in a Teacher-Led School
Carrie Bakken, a program coordinator and teacher at the Avalon School in St. Paul, Minn., says that working at a teacher-led school gives her a greater sense of autonomy and opportunity.
For more, see http://www.edweek.org/tm/collections/package/transforming-teachers/index.html?intc=thed
