Early and Middle Grades Education

The Teacher Leadership/Skills for Teacher Leaders program provides practicing teachers with knowledge and skills to lead from within their classroom, advocate for all students' success in schools, understand their role in educational change, and pursue instructional effectiveness to support all learners

I. Candidates will demonstrate their abilities in & understanding of teacher leadership as the gateway to enhancing instructional effectiveness.
II. Candidates will demonstrate their abilities in & understanding of peer mentoring & its impact on the professional community.
III. Candidates will demonstrate their abilities in & understanding of the role of change in the era of accountability.
IV. Candidates will demonstrate their abilities in & understanding of the school as a cultural & political entity.

As part of the requirements for the completion of the Teacher Leadership Endorsement, graduate students will complete and document a minimum of 7 activities in the field that correspond with teacher leadership skills experiences. Teachers working in school settings while completing the program are encouraged to seek approval to use their school buildings as sites for leadership activities. Teachers will coordinate field experiences in coordination with their school building leaders. Alternatively, field placements may be arranged with the help of the program coordinator or course instructors.

As each activity is completed, teachers must document field hours, activities, and request verification of completion by building leaders or participants. The list of field experiences includes 4 required field experiences that are introduced in the required courses where PDE Skills for Teacher Leaders Endorsement competencies are included. Teachers must complete the 4 required field experiences and 3 additional experiences selected by each teacher. Teachers will present their field experiences portfolio to program faculty prior to recommendation for PDE endorsement.

As part of the requirements for the completion of the Teacher Leadership Endorsement, graduate students will complete activities in the field that correspond with teacher leadership skills experiences. Teachers working in school settings while completing the program are encouraged to seek permission to use their school buildings as sites for leadership activities.

Click here for the Leadership Experiences Table

Portfolio

Students will construct a digital portfolio describing the teacher leadership field experiences they have completed as part of the Teacher Leadership Certificate and PDE Endorsement. Field experience portfolios will be available for other students to view and for faculty to review in evaluation of the TL certificate program. If students prefer that their portfolio not be available for other students to view, they should inform the program coordinator. Students may use pseudonyms or anonymize leadership experiences in their portfolio as they describe their work leading colleagues and initiatives with colleagues during their field experiences.

Presentation

When all courses and field experiences portfolio are completed, students will schedule a time to present their portfolio to WCU faculty members/instructors in the Teacher Leadership program. Presentations will be scheduled through the program coordinator.

1. Introduction page/slide: Introduce yourself, your role, and provide an overview of the 7 field experiences/activities you will be discussing in the portfolio.
2. Field Experiences: Portfolios will include a page for each field experience. Minimally, for each leadership exercise, you will include:
   1. A description of the teacher leadership experience, timeline and explanation of your work. You may include the number and teaching position of the participants, the duration and dates of the experience, and an explanation of your role as leader in each activity. Explain what you have accomplished as teacher leader. Adapt description section as necessary for each selected activity.
   2. Artifacts that illustrate the work completed as teacher leader. Artifacts may include materials constructed as part of the teacher leadership experience, products (deliverables) or planning materials constructed for the task. Artifacts provide insight into the TL’s experience. Include one or more artifacts for each field experience.
   3. A reflection on the experience and your work as teacher leader Consider addressing: What skills did you learn, reinforce, adapt as you worked as teacher leader during this experience? How will this experience shape your subsequent work as teacher leader? What areas will you seek to refine and expand as you continue to lead colleagues and others.
   4. Verification of the field experiences. Verification may be in the form of an email from a colleague, administrator or WCU faculty member who has worked with you during the exercise. Or, you may include materials that verify your participation/leadership.
3. Synthesis/Final Reflection on teacher leadership experiences and plans for future work as teacher leader.