Teachers as Leaders by Carlene Murphy

Teachers as Leaders

by Carlene Murphy

Is "all teachers are leaders" simply a catchy phrase or does it have real meaning in practice? Is it an assumption? If so, who makes that assumption? Does it mean that teachers are leaders of students? Does it mean that teachers are leaders of their peers? Does "all" mean "all"? Are teachers natural leaders? In what situations do teachers lead? Do teachers have to have permission to lead? Who would be in a position to give permission? How do other teachers feel about teachers who assume positions of leadership? What is a position of leadership? What other questions does the phrase "teachers are leaders" raise?

I work with teachers on a daily basis as an external consultant to schools. I have been a director of staff development in large urban area for over twenty years and continues working in that field. Now, I work for ATLAS Communities, a national comprehensive school reform design. Our work is with teachers in schools that want to become more effective schools in serving the needs of its students. Reform means to change. Therefore, we work with teachers who have decided that the adults working in schools must change to meet the demanding needs of today's youth or they have been told to change. Either way, "to change" either on a personal level or organizational level is a hard rock to swallow. We know that change is not an event. Change, especially in schools, usually happens over time. Change, according to one dictionary, means to do things differently. And, who is it in schools that we generally hold responsible for changing? Students? Surely. But whom do we hold responsible for changing what students do? Right. Teachers. So, who leads the teachers in making these giant leaps into a new world? Well, we are going to share an approach to professional development that assumes all teachers are leaders in reforming or changing schools and that has practices that support that assumption.

Murphy's Whole-Faculty Study Groups (2001) is an approach to professional development that is the cornerstone of professional development in ATLAS Communities' schools. Whole-Faculty Study Groups (WFSGs) means that all teachers are members of small groups, no larger than six, that meet at least twice a month to focus on teaching and learning. These small groups, or study groups, stay intact for at least one school year. The study groups are a routine feature of the school year after year. From one year to the next, the composition of the study groups may change but whether the school will or will not have study groups is not a question. All teachers are members of a group that stays together and meets for as many as 36 hours over the span of a school year or for as few as 18 hours over that period of time. Who decides what the groups will do and who manages or leads the study groups? The teachers.

There are five principles that guide the WFSG process.

Students are first.

Everyone participates.

Leadership is shared.

Responsibility is equal.

The work is public.

Getting WFSGs Started
It is the third and fourth principle that we will underscore. Teachers, along with the principal, are responsible for getting the WFSG process in place at the school. A group called the Focus Team is the principal and several teachers. It is the unit that gets WFSGs started and assesses progress during and at the end of a school year. There are no criteria for the selection of the team other than members represent a cross-section of the grades at the school. Principals and others will ask, "What teachers should we ask to be on the Focus Team?" Our answer is, "It does not matter. Whoever is available when the we schedule the initial training for the teams from schools." This answer is usually met with some skepticism. Most principals do not practice the belief that all teachers are leaders. What does the Focus Team do?

Attends local training on how to design and lead the whole faculty through a workshop for faculty's understanding of WFSGs

Leads the whole faculty in sessions to define WFSGs, review the research supporting them, develop understanding of their functions, and present the 15 guidelines for WFSGs

Leads the whole faculty through a process of identifying the instructional needs of the students that will determine what the study groups will do and how the study groups are organized.

Leads the whole faculty through a process at the end of the school year to assessing student learning as a result of the study groups

Deciding Who Leads the Study Groups
Because shared leadership is a principle of WFSGs, members share leadership of a study group by rotating the role of leader. Leadership roles take practice and the only way to get practice is to do leadership tasks. The principle of shared leadership is based on the belief that all teachers are leaders. The current norm is not expecting all teachers to be leaders.

At the first study group meeting, members establish a schedule for the rotation of leadership. The schedule is written in the log from the first meeting. Each member serves as study group leader on a rotating basis. This approach assumes that that all teachers are leaders. The leadership rotation may occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Once a group forms around a student need, group members decide what the rotation will be. Leadership is shared to avoid having one member become more responsible than other members for the success of the group. All members are equally responsible for obtaining resources and keeping the group moving toward its intended results and desired ends. Individual members should look to themselves and each other, not to a single person for direction. This sense of joint responsibility for the work of the study group builds interdependence and synergy within the group. When every group member feels equally responsible for the success of the group, there is a higher level of commitment. There is no one leader to blame for the failure of the group to accomplish its goals; all must share the burden of any failure or joy of accomplishment. The most positive feature arising from the use of the rotation approach is the important assumption that anyone from the study group can represent the group at any point in time, expanding the effective capacity for leadership at the school. When a member takes a turn as leader, it is expected that person will

Confirm logistics with study group members (e.g., day, time, location, what to bring)

Check the log from the last meeting to confirm what the focus of the next meeting will be

Check to see if it is time to revisit the action plan and the group norms

Start and end the meeting on time

Remind members that stray from the focus of the meeting to refocus

See that the study group log is completed and members and the principal receive a copy

Share any comments from the principal or other support persons that may have been made on the log from the last meeting

The leader of a study group requires no special training. The work of the group gives the group its direction. The focus of a study group is on the work of the group not on that of any individual member. All members are equal in status and in responsibility for the work and success of their study group.

When we first share with teachers that the leadership of the study groups will be rotated, there is general fear. We hear, "Oh, I can't do that." Or, "I can't lead my peers". We are always amazed by such attitudes. Many teachers genuinely fear leading a group of colleagues. We think that is because this has not been an expectation and they have not routinely had the opportunity. In most schools, only a few teachers are considered "leaders of adults" and only they are given special opportunities to lead.

How Individuals are Considered
The most important role in study groups is that of individual member. If the study group is productive; it will be because every single member does his or her part. It will be because each member participates and is willing to give his or her colleagues what they require to be successful. The success of WFGSs rest of the shoulders of each individual member. WFGSs are only as successful as each member feels success. Each member of a study group has students for whom he or she is responsible. The critical end result of WFSGs is that each student learns more. This student focus, requires that teachers enable each of their students to learn more. The individual study group member

Respects norms established by the study group

Takes a turn serving as leader, recognizing that leadership is a shared responsibility

Takes a turn representing the study group at an Instructional Council meeting and shares with the study group what he or she learned

Participates in the development of the Study Group Action Plan and commits to its actions

Takes responsibility for his or her own learning and for seeking resources for the study group

Takes responsibility for regularly bringing student work to the study group meeting

Shares with the study group what he or she has done in the classroom as a result of the study group work

The Importance of Equality
It is more productive if individuals do not feel intimidated, hesitant, or anxious about differences in job titles or certifications, experience, and degree levels among group members. No one is deferred to because of rank or other factors. Contributions from each member are encouraged and respected. Co-mentoring is a term we will use to indicate that in the WFSG process members of the group all mentor each other. The study group functions under the belief that all members have something valuable to contribute to the study group and then provides an opportunity for all to share fully their ideas and experiences. This approach provides an environment for appreciative understanding, empowers its members, and enables the group to reach a higher level of synergy and meaningful productivity. It is the shared leadership and equal-status principle and a strong content focus that lessens the need to train groups in group dynamics. With a strong sense of individual responsibility and an action plan for accomplishing specific results, the focus is on what the group is doing and not on the characteristics of individuals. If the work of the group is substantive enough and tied to what teachers and students are doing in the classrooms, the related dynamics will hold the group together. As the individuals are progressing on the work of the group, they are developing trust and rapport with each other and learning how to work together cohesively within the context of their study. Thus, co-mentoring becomes a routine activity, as illustrated by the frequency of observing in each other's classrooms. Through these observations the teachers learn more about each other's students and can better address the needs of all the students in the members' classrooms. Without the element or condition of equality, co-mentoring isn't possible. Co-mentoring accepts that one study group member may be more skillful in one area than another study group member but that expertise does not put that person in a privileged position or status.

Communication Among the Study Groups
The Instructional Council (IC) is a representative from each study group that meets every 4 to 6 weeks during the school year. The IC oversees the total process, maintains WFSGs during the school year, and requires no special training for participation. Persons attending the meeting will most likely be different each time the IC meets. Members of study groups rotate who attends an IC meetings. For instance, if there are six members of a study group, one member would only attend every sixth meeting of the IC, meaning that most members will attend only one IC meeting per school year. Persons who attend the IC meeting are referred to as representatives, not members. Instructional Council representatives

Represent each study group (one representative per study group)

Rotate membership, except for the principal

Meet once every 4 or 5 weeks (dates are on the school calendar), with the first meeting held immediately after the study groups have met twice

Review action plans

Share what each study group is doing, including successes and challenges

Plan celebrations and whole faculty sharing times

Take at least fifteen minutes of their next study group meeting to share information

May take a study group meeting to teach their study group a protocol or lead their study group in learning more about a given topic

Chart changes in student learning and keeps student data on the table

The Importance of the Roles in ATLAS Communities
Equality within the context of the WFSG approach means that all the members of a study group equally share the tasks of leadership. This is true in all aspects of the ATLAS Communities design. All teachers serve as leaders. All teachers take a turn at representing the study group at Instructional Council meetings. All teachers learn to facilitate a protocol. The leadership function is shared in all aspects of WFSGs and in all aspects of ATLAS. Recognizing all teachers in the study groups as equals means equal in status, equal in responsibility, and equal in ability to lead.

Teachers are leaders on the Focus Team and the Instructional Council. Teachers are leaders in the individual study groups. All of these units of the organization support schoolwide change. How these and other units interact in a seamless and supportive way determines the success of any comprehensive school reform design. ATLAS Communities is a design that specifies procedures, such as with WFSGs, that insure teacher leadership.

We believe that all teachers are leaders and if given the opportunity will surely lead any reform or change effort. At the end of a school year, when we ask teachers, "What do you like about study groups?" Invariably, one or more will say, "The rotation of leadership!"

References

Murphy, C. and Lick, D. (2001). Whole-Faculty Study Groups: Creating Student Based Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Press.

About the Author:

Carlene U. Murphy was an elementary teacher for fifteen years, coordinator of programs for the gifted for five years, and director of staff development for fifteen years in the Richmond County (Augusta, GA) Public Schools. In 1992, Carlene was awarded one of the National Staff Development Council's highest honors, The Contributions to Staff Development Award. She is currently a staff development specialist for ATLAS Communities and works with all ATLAS schools in the implementation of whole-faculty study groups.

You may contact Carlene by writing to her at 961 Heard Avenue, Augusta, GA 30904, or by emailing her at CarleneMurphy@mindspring.com

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