INTASC Standard #10: Leadership & Collaboration

The teacher seeks leadership roles and responsibility for student learning and opportunities to collaborate with others to ensure learner growth and to advance the profession.

 

Rationale & Disposition Statement

Teachers, as any person in a position of leadership, depend on a specific skill set. Teacher leaders must be attentive listeners, facilitate group collaboration, and be able to navigate the system to negotiate with colleagues, parents, board members, and districts. As teacher leaders prepare to influence colleagues, the administration, the board, or the district, they must be equipped to thoroughly present their ideas, providing data, example cases, and considering common goals and perspectives of colleagues. In developing an action plan, teacher leaders must be confident in their position, obtain supportive data, compile the perspectives of colleagues, identify common goals for all involved, predict potential problems and provide possible solutions, and gain support for promoting the change.

 

These skills allow for teacher leaders to gain buy-in from other teachers, the administration, parents, district, and community by helping to develop relationships and define common goals for all involved. In order for this to happen, teacher leaders must be throughly prepared to present their case, influence others, and gain support. Sharing ideas with colleagues gains insight to various perspectives, spots potential problems, and defines common goals for all involved. Collaboration with colleagues helps to develop relationships and supportive team members.

 

Application of Standard

I am a firm believer in acknowledging and utilizing the diverse skill set of a group. As 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 states, we all have strengths and weaknesses, but we make up one body. When we are aware of our own and one another’s skills, we can compensate in any areas which may be lacking. In my classroom, we often discuss the effects of Globalization. Students always conclude that while the diffusion of various cultures around the globe makes experiential learning worldwide more accessible, that the infusion of various cultures creates a new, homogenous culture. Cultural lines are being blurred and we are slowly becoming the same. This is troubling considering how much we can gain from diversity.

 

We celebrate individual differences and I help students use their areas of talent to develop personal leadership skills in a safe learning environment. Students learn they can lead in some areas and will follow in others, using their skills to benefit the group as a whole. I also model leadership and collaboraion skills for students by working with visiting artists, sharing my work with the Nebraska Department of Education, and collaborating with the Nebraska Art Teachers Association on advocacy projects.

 

Explaination of Artifacts

Artifact #1

The professional development plan identifies where I am technologically connected and in which areas I am lacking connectivity. This plan was helpful in identifying and meeting goals to become a more connected educator.

 

Artifact #2

The action research presentation provides research supporting the importance of creativity in 21st Century curriculum and explains an action research plan for measuring the creative growth of students throughout a course. 

 

Artifact #3

The leadership style paper reviews various types of leadership styles and how different leadership styles are better suited for particular issues than others. Our leadership styles may need to be adjusted to the situation in oreder to address the issue thoroughly and to achieve the best outcome.