| Summary: | Teacher leadership has emerged as a component of the movement to increase
student achievement in science and mathematics. The Information Technology in
Science Center for Teaching and Learning (ITS Center) was funded by the National
Science Foundation with the goal of developing science education leaders. This study
explored the changes in teachers' descriptions of their leadership in their school settings
before and after their participation in a science education leadership program and the
aspects of their science education leadership.
A study of teacher-participants in Cohort II of the ITS Center was conducted to
investigate how they demonstrated leadership in their school settings and to what extent
these teachers attributed changes in their leadership to their ITS Center experience.
Participants in this study were 15 classroom teachers who participated in Cohort II of the
ITS Center.
Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used. These teacher-participants
completed a Teacher Leadership Roles Survey as a part of their application to participate and then again one year after their ITS Center participation. Their primary leadership
roles were to serve as a source of knowledge and a generator of new ideas for their
fellow teachers. Their major activity was to develop curricular/instructional materials.
However, the change in their leadership roles and activities was highly variable. As the
literature indicates, demonstration of teacher leadership is highly dependent on context.
The participants who greatly increased their leadership roles and activities moved into
new, formal leadership roles following their ITS Center experience. Participants who
greatly decreased their leadership roles and activities had changed school campuses or
districts.
A case study was conducted of two teachers demonstrating a great increase in
leadership. They identified the components of the ITS Center experience that contributed
to increased leadership roles and activities as: relationships developed with fellow
teachers, graduate students, and university faculty; extended time for engagement in ITS
Center activities; accountability for implementation of ITS Center Instructional
Frameworks and Practitioner Research Plan; and their increased understanding of
educational research and the role it plays in evidence-based decision making.
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