Name:

Isabel Nodarse

Artifact Title: Examining My Role as a Leader in Teacher Development in our Learning
Organization


Artifact Purpose/Description:
The purpose of this artifact is to track my growth as a teacher leader through the community
of learning offered by different organizations in order to impact teacher effectiveness and
student achievement



Why did you choose this artifact (purpose)?
How does this artifact connect to your passion?
What is the story behind this artifact?
In what ways does your artifact address issues of equity in your practice?


Story behind the artifact

As a lifelong learner, I am always eager to attend workshops and seminars that
would contribute to my growth as an educator and as a leader. However, within the last 18
months I have attended a few conferences that directly impacted me as a teacher leader, my
fellow coaches, as well as the schools and teachers I support. Since I was accepted in the
University of Florida Teacher Leader Fellowship program and I have expressed to my leads
and supervisors my goals of furthering my growth in that area, I have been given
opportunities to lead within our department. To that end, I was invited by my departments
supervisor to attend with them a two-day New Teacher Center Leader Network conference
in Chicago (Artifact 6a). The overarching goals for this workshop was to build collegial
relationships within a community of practice, engage programs in continuous program
improvement and accountability through a goal setting process that is grounded in


induction program standards, and build a framework for collecting and analyzing program
data of impact and implementation, and structure opportunities for programs to share and
apply effective strategies. This allowed me to work with my supervisors and program leads
in analyzing data from our program, generating goals from the data, and creating action
steps to improve our coaching practice that is driven by continuous improvement and is
grounded in trusting, respectful and collaborative relationships (Artifact 6e).
Another conference that greatly impacted not only my role as Induction Coach but
that of Teacher Leader as well was the ECET2 Elevating and Celebrating Teaching and
Teachers, held in Orlando, Florida in June of 2017 (Artifact 6b). While at the conference I
was able to attend seminars led by expert teacher leaders across the nation. I was greatly
encouraged see so many workshops around the idea of equity, an area that I am most
interested in. As I listened to the speakers, I had two purposes: one was as learner,
questioning How can I use this with the teachers I support. The other purpose was as leader:
How can I bring this learning back to my department and translate the learning to its impact
on our program.
Finally, in May of 2017, I was honored to not just attend but also be a part of the
International Teacher Leadership Conference held in Miami (Artifact 6c). Not only were we
as fellows presenting our action research to a community of educators but also we had the
opportunity of attending other fellows workshops as well as teacher leaders from across
the globe. The keynote speakers were inspirational and the learnings were impactful. The
workshop that most resonated with me and I not only brought back to my department but
also used in my value creation story was A Dialogue o Purposeful Leadership with Gene
Thompson-Grove (Artifact 6d). Ms. Thompson-Grove shared Simon Sineks The Golden
Circle and she helped me remember my Why. In fact, this workshop was so impactful
that I used the concept of the Golden Circle in one of our Re-boarding meetings for the start
of this school year and was brought back throughout the week to encourage coaches to
remember their why (Artifact 6f).






How does this artifact connect to your passion?

My attendance in these workshops, whether as an active participant or as a learner,
have been a direct result of my participation in the University of Florida Teacher Leader
Fellowship program. Whereas I previously felt that I was a leader because I was
department chair and now an Induction Coach for the district, the fellowship allowed me to
distinguish between someone that is put into a leadership position and some that is a leader.
Each of the institutes and regional meetings I attended contained comprehensive research-
based literature and knowledgeable speakers on the area of leadership. Through a
collaborative community of teacher leaders, I have not only grown in my role as teacher
leader but have embraced its potential impact on my department, the school administrators,
the teachers I support, and ultimately the students. I have set a new goal for myself and
would like to work towards a doctorate in educational leadership so that I can continue
cultivating leadership within our district and ultimately impact education as a whole, not
just in my district.

In what ways does your artifact address issues of equity in your practice?

Each workshop included a focus on equity and addressing diverse learners. The
focus was on developing and implementing a process for improving academic outcomes and
closing achievement gaps through intentional, culturally responsive and equitable practices.
I brought back to my department learning garnered in each conference and used the
strategies shared by the speakers in order to support teachers goals of impacting student
achievement and meet the needs of all learners.


What Teacher Fellow competency does your artifact reflect and how does it relate to
your learning and growth (teacher as instructional innovator, teacher as leader, and
teacher as researcher)?

The artifacts in this section reflect my competency in the area of leadership and
research. It fits under leadership because I attended each of these workshops as not just a
learner but also as an instrument of knowledge. I was able to impact my department and


peer Induction Coachs practice in implementing the practices learned. It also reflects me as
researcher because while attending each conference I was not only learning but it opened
doors for me to research and extend my knowledge beyond what I learned at the
workshops.

How does this artifact reflect your skills as a teacher leader? How does it connect
to/fit into your map of influence?

The artifacts reflect my skill as a teacher leader because I am able to attend the
workshops and return to my department with key concepts and ideas on how to improve
our practice of coaching as well as impact our teachers effectiveness and students
achievement. The map of influence, therefore, is expanded to the 32 schools we currently
support and the teachers and students that are part of those schools.