This PowerPoint was presented at the NCTM Research Conference in Denver on April 2013.

2. Teacher Leaders
• Are in a unique position to inspire change
given that they are close to the ground and
understand the context of teaching
(Lieberman & Miller, 2004).
• Are grounded in a culture of trust and
shared goals of improving student learning
(Crowther, 2009).
• Have a ―particular knowledge, interest and
expertise in mathematics content and
pedagogy‖ (Reys & Fennell, 2003).

3. Becoming Teacher Leaders
Given that elementary teachers tend to less
interested in mathematics than other
subjects (Wilkins, 2010) we wondered:
• Who are the teachers who become
leaders?
• When and how did they gain knowledge,
interest and expertise?
• How might we identify future teacher
leaders in elementary mathematics?

4. Paths to Leadership
• Scholarly Activities of K-12 Mathematics
Teachers
o Identify the range of scholarly activities
related to mathematics teaching and learning
o Examine the perceived impact of these
activities
• Data Collection
o Online survey (60 participants)
o Semi-structured telephone interviews by 14
self-selected participants
• Participants
o Classroom teachers (67%), curriculum

5. Data Sources
• Laura – Assistant principal, K/1 teacher
for 25 years
―I‘m like a trained monkey. I can do it by a
formula and by what I was told but I could never
really understand anything that I did.‖
• Susan – District math consultant, 4-6
teacher for 24 years
Susan shared a frustration in not understanding
mathematics as a student that eventually led
her to ―absolutely hating it.‖

6. Looking back at points along a
path
• Igniting an initial interest in mathematics
• Shifting identity through increased
confidence as mathematics learners
• Collaboration within networks of learners

7. Igniting interest in
mathematics
• Teacher leaders emerged after more the
20 years of classroom experience.
• Prompted to engage in professional
development related to district initiatives to
improve student learning.
o Laura: It ―opened up my mind to some ideas and I
started seeing math differently.‖ Facilitator training
―was the strongest PD I‘ve ever been involved in.‖
o Susan: Small changes—introducing a mental math
component—that made significant differences to
student attitude and engagement.
• Focus on student learning allowed
teachers set aside own sense of
vulnerability and take teaching risks.

8. •
Shifting identities through
increased confidence as
learners
Through professional development
teachers realized that ‗weaknesses‘
weren‘t due to personal inadequacy or
incapacity to learn mathematics.
o Laura: ―I was like ‗I don‘t get it, I don‘t get it, I
don‘t get it‘ …‖ but then things would begin to
make sense. ―I felt so empowered … I had that
rush feeling again of learning.‖
o Susan: Learned mathematics symbolically and
through memorization. It was a revelation to her
in one workshop where she learned square
numbers formed squares.
• The desire to learn and the empowering
feelings of learning helped teachers set

9. Collaboration within
networks of learners
• Leaders did not see themselves at the
front, but were always alongside others
forming a collaborative network for
learning and support
o Laura held study groups with colleagues at
school –bringing in an article, a new
manipulative. Together they established a
―culture of learning.‖
o Susan engaged in collaborative planning with
teachers in a school. They learned through
and with one another.
• Through collaborative networks they

10. Conclusions
• Neither Laura nor Susan actively pursued
involvement because of a passion for
mathematics.
• They did not step forward but were thrust
forward as teacher leaders.
• Their paths to leadership were not solo
adventures.

11. Invitation …
• How can we prompt leadership
opportunities in our own contexts?
• What insights can you share about the
processes by which teacher leaders in
elementary mathematics emerge?
• How we might foster opportunities for
potential leaders in their earlier years of
teaching?

12. • Crowther, F. (2009). Developing teacher leaders. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• McGarvey, L., Sterenberg, G. & Long, L.S. (in press). Teacher
paths to becoming an elementary mathematics leader.
Teaching Children Mathematics.
• Sterenberg G., McGarvey, L.M., & Long, J.S. (2012).
Scholarly activities of mathematics teachers. Ontario
Mathematics Gazette, 51(2), 338 – 347.
• Eliopoulos, R., Long, J.S., Marynowski, R., McGarvey, L.M. &
Sterenberg, G. (2012). Scholarly teaching in school
mathematics. delta-K, 50(1), 5-8.
• Lieberman, A. & Miller, L. (2004). Teacher leadership. San
Fancisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
• Reys, B.J. & Fennell, F. (2003). Who should lead mathematics
instruction at the elementary school level? A case for
mathematics specialists. Teaching Children
Mathematics, 9(5), 277-282.
• Wilkins, J. L. M. (2010). Elementary school teachers' attitudes