102098 – CTL Assignment 2

CTL Assignment 2: Part One – Group Video Presentation

Group Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-OskKZs0P4&feature=youtu.be
Group Details:
 Tutorial – Wednesday, 12:30pm Team A
 Tutor – Paul Rooney
CTL Assignment 2: Part Two – Critical Reflection
Teacher leadership is a vital component within the teaching and learning space, its nature
to generate school development and enact change are key factors that directly affect the
academic outcomes for students. This is supported by a large body of evidence within the
literature that analyses the elements of effective teacher leadership. The unit titled
Contemporary Teacher Leadership has been a key factor in developing my own qualities and
has directed me down the path towards being an effective teacher leader in any educational
setting. This unit revolves around experiential learning as it provides students the opportunity
to gain new knowledge of theoretical concepts, while also providing a method develop
teacher leadership qualities through action research, teamwork and collaboration. This critical
reflection will discuss my personal growth and professional development throughout the unit,
the success of our groups action research proposal and it will also highlight the key factors
which have influenced my personal teaching philosophy, and the implications for my
teaching practice.
Despite the wide plethora of literature that explores the concepts of teacher leadership (Bond,
2015; Boylan,2016; Broemmel, Jordan & Whitsett, 2016; Conway & Andrews 2016; Harris,
2005; Lai & Cheung, 2015; Lovett, Demster & Flückige, 2014; Stosich, 2016), there is not a
single overarching definition that describes teacher leadership. Teacher leadership is
multidimensional and consists of many components and the theories behind teacher
leadership is contingent on the situation. A key concept that helped informed my
understanding of teacher leadership was the ten roles of teacher leaders proposed by Harrison
& Killon (2007), they highlight how the role of teacher leaders involve being a resource
provider, instructional specialist, curriculum specialist, school leader, catalyst for change,
classroom supporter, learning facilitator, mentor, data coach and learner. It is evident that the
qualities and roles of a teacher leader is multifaceted and allowed me to critically reflect on
my own capacity to be a teacher leader. Throughout the course of this unit, I believe that my
ability and capacity to fill the ten roles of a teacher leader have grown. This has been
achieved through the teaching and learning activities provided within the unit as well as my
experience with my second professional practicum. The collaborative group effort to propose
and develop an action research model to improve student outcomes, have provided ample
opportunities to practice being a resource provider, a curriculum specialist, a catalyst for
change along with the other roles that enhances my professional capabilities to be an effective
leader.
In the past, teacher leaders were often only associated with school administrators such as the
Principal and heads of faculty. However, Kale & Ozdelen (2014) posit that a shared
leadership model is more effective to empower the learning community within schools. It is
vital that all teachers within a school take responsibility in improving the learning outcomes
of students not just as teachers, but through the lens of a teacher leader (Kale & Ozdelen,

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102098 – CTL Assignment 2

2014; Lai & Cheung, 2015; Stosich, 2016). Teacher’s should also not limit themselves to
enacting change within their individual classroom but to also collaborate as a faculty and as a
school to help improve the teaching and learning environment (Broemmel, Jordan &
Whitsett, 2016). In addition, teacher leaders should also foster professional development for
other teachers and participate in action research to expand the collective knowledge that may
help inform teaching practice (Kale & Ozdelen, 2014). These concepts were reflected within
our groupwork to develop an action research plan, it was interesting to note how each
individual group member easily adapted and embraced the different roles of a teacher leader
to help foster group cohesion and meet our project goals. Our group used several forms of
ICT to collaborate on our assignments, our primary method of interaction was through Zoom
where we held weekly meetings to discuss the progress of our group goals. We also used
Google Docs as a platform to share and document ideas and content. The collaboration
through ICT methods reflects the reality of teaching as we were a group geographically
separated from each other. Furthermore, the use of Google Docs allowed for distributed
leadership and interdependent collaboration to occur (Conway & Andrews, 2016; Lovett,
Dempster & Flückiger, 2014). Furthermore, the scope of our action research project was
influenced and based on social capabilities continuum which aimed to avoid unnecessary
arguments regarding definitions and outcomes of the projects. As the action research project
could not be implemented into action, we measured our success through our ability to work
as a cohesive unit which harmoniously took on various teacher leadership roles to further our
project goals. Taylor-Perryman, Fu & Sartain (2015) highlight when leadership is effectively
shared between teachers and administration, the working relationships become stronger
which result in higher student achievement and schools retaining highly effective teachers
and promote teacher resiliency. This notion deeply resonates with my personal outlook in
teaching as one of my fears is the high rate of teacher burnout. If school leaders are valued
within the school community, they are more than likely to be motivated to enact positive
changes that will improve the school as a whole (Conway & Andrews, 2016; Taylor-
Perryman, Fu & Sartain, 2016). These concepts have truly informed my future teaching
practice as I will ensure that I am an advocate of developing and enacting positive changes
for any school community that I am a part of, furthermore, it is vital that I remember the
importance of being a lifelong learner and to ensure that I continually develop my own
professional skills as well as foster professional development for my colleagues.
In conclusion, I believe that the experiential learning throughout this unit has allowed me to
grow and develop my professional qualities as a teacher leader. It has influenced my personal
teaching philosophy to include the importance of teacher leadership as a key component to
enact positive changes for the academic success and wellbeing of my students. Furthermore,
the collaborative group work has allowed me to understand the key role that collaboration
between teacher leaders has on job satisfaction as well as developing resiliency. I truly
appreciate what I have learned as well as being fortunate to have shared this journey with an
amazing group.

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References
Bond, N. (2015). The power of teacher leaders: Their roles, influence, and impact.
Boylan, M. (2016). Deepening system leadership: Teachers leading from below. Educational
Management Administration & Leadership, 44(1), 57-72.
Broemmel, A., Jordan, J., & Whitsett, B. (2016). Learning to be teacher leaders: A
framework for assessment, planning, and instruction.
Conway, J., & Andrews, M. (2016). A school wide approach to leading pedagogical
enhancement: An Australian perspective. Journal of Educational Change, 17(1), 115-
139.
Harris, A. (2005). Teacher Leadership: More than Just a Feel-Good Factor? Leadership and
Policy in Schools, 4(3), 201-219.
Harrison, C., & Killion, J. (2007). Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders. Educational
Leadership, 65(1), 74-77.
Kale. M, Ozdelen. E. (2014). The analysis of teacher leadership styles according to teachers’
perceptions in primary schools. Procedia – Social and behavioural sciences, 152, p 227
– 232, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.185
Lai, E., & Cheung, D. (2015). Enacting teacher leadership. Educational Management
Administration & Leadership, 43(5), 673-692.
Lovett, S., Dempster, N., & Flückiger, B. (2014). Personal agency in leadership learning
using an Australian heuristic. Professional Development in Education, 41(1), 1-17.
Stosich, E. (2016). Building teacher and school capacity to teach to ambitious standards in
high-poverty schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58(C), 43-53.
Taylor-Perryman. R, Fu. C, Sartain. J. (2015). Building bridges: Connecting teacher
leadership and student success. New Orleans, LA: Leading Educators

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