Teacher as Researcher: A Path to Teacher Leadership

During a recent conference call, we began by introducing ourselves. We were a mixed group of educators from different levels of the education system. After several people had introduced themselves, it was Hannah’s turn. She gave her name and then said, “I’m just a teacher.” This wasn’t the first time I’d heard a teacher introduce themself as “just a teacher,” but this time it made me wonder what this statement says about how teachers view themselves or how they are perceived by others.

Studies over the last decade have identified teachers as the primary influence on student achievement, and there is increasing recognition that teachers can also be leaders within and outside their classrooms. Teachers sometimes shun the label “leader” because they don’t want their colleagues to view them differently or they believe they must leave the classroom to be a leader.

Definitions of teacher leadership vary. For example, York-Barr and Duke (2004) define teacher leadership as “the process by which teachers…influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of increased student learning and achievement.” Deb Meyer (2019), who teaches graduate courses in teacher leadership at Elmhurst University, adds the idea that “teacher leaders lead alongside others, not from the front. They have their feet firmly planted in the classroom and their eyes on what is possible for all.”

There are several frameworks that describe the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of teacher leaders. For example, Education Elements (D’Ambrosio, 2019) identifies five teacher-leader competencies:

As I coached teachers for the South Carolina Teacher as Researcher initiative during the 2022-2023 school year, I saw them developing each of these competencies. During Marzano Research’s Teacher as Researcher workshops, coaches guide teachers through an instructional improvement process that includes identifying an evidence-based strategy to test in the classroom, implementing that strategy, gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data about student performance and implementation, and reflecting on the results.

During the workshops, teachers share their plans for implementing the selected strategy and the results of implementing it, including what went well with their instruction and assessment and what didn’t. For many teachers, providing colleagues with such a window into their teaching is a new, risky experience and makes them feel vulnerable. To minimize the sense of risk, Marzano Research coaches emphasize that the focus for the first few times through the improvement cycle is on learning the process. When learning is the focus and everyone is viewed as a learner, teachers feel comfortable sharing what worked and what didn’t as they implement their strategies and reflect more deeply on their practice.

The workshop planning and reflection time provides opportunities for teachers to offer suggestions, encourage feedback, and ask questions that help colleagues clarify their thinking. As comments from participants in the South Carolina Teacher as Researcher Initiative show, the experience helps teachers become more reflective practitioners and contributes to their development as teacher leaders.