Forming leadership groups within a school can help establish norms, set goals, and analyze what in the school could help or hinder efforts. “Fostering a sustainable learning community depends in part on the leaders’ ability to create conditions in which teachers learn to recognize and challenge the usefulness of their existing beliefs and practices in order to improve their student’s education” (Cherkowski, 2012, p. 59). This leadership action plan shows how my leadership team selected a leadership initiative and a collaborative leadership framework for facilitating our work. We laid the groundwork to successfully achieve the leadership initiative, to provide leveled math support/intervention/enrichment to assess if more students are making progress and are appropriately challenged. This analysis allowed our community of practice team to ensure students at various levels are being challenged appropriately, improve student achievement through differentiated instruction, evaluate if work stations can help students become independent/collaborative learners, and create assessments that will monitor progress and help determine where support is needed. References Cherkowski, S. (2012). Teacher commitment in sustainable learning communities: A new “ancient” story of educational leadership. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(1), 56-68

1. Running-head: TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART 3 1
Teacher Leadership in Action: Part 3
Emily R. Sousa
American College of Education

2. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 2
My leadership group is taking on the initiative to provide leveled math
support/intervention/enrichment to assess if more students are making progress and are
appropriately challenged. Currently, we use “Number Corner” that builds conceptual
understanding and procedural fluency in the framework of problem solving through daily
workouts that take approximately 20-30 with our homeroom class. Each month revolves around
different units (geometry, fractions, area, etc.). This is separate from our core math period but
introduces/reinforces topics throughout the year. We plan on keeping this initiative within third
grade until we are comfortable finding if data proves having leveled groups has a greater impact
on student learning. We would like to reach out to other grade levels, colleagues, and even
educators outside our district for support when we have clarified our objectives, procedures,
assessments, data, and results. We have agreed on using a community of practice approach to
this initiative. By establishing norms, setting goals, and analyzing what in our school could help
or hinder our efforts, we are staying organized, using our time efficiently, encouraging trust and
honesty in the workplace, while being open to trying new things. These are all important factors
in our imitative we hope will lead us to success. Table 1 helps lay the foundational needs and
expectations of the group to encourage productivity.
Part 1: Establishing Norms
Table 1: Forming Ground Rules
1. Each person writes down what he or she needs to work productively within a
group.
Emily: Staying organized; having a set agenda and sticking to it. Attendance at
meetings is crucial, and there needs to be a recorded running record of discussed
topics.
Stefanie- Group members need to be willing to try new things and taking suggestions
without taking offense or feeling guarded. This will require participants to be
reflective.

3. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 3
Kaleen (facilitator); educated group members, trust, honesty, willing to research
strategies and work with others inside and outside our grade level, as well as effective
communication skills
2. Each person names one thing from his/her list.
Emily: Time management
Stefanie: Open-Minded
Kaleen: Trust
3. Ask for clarifications
Emily: We are a close group of friends that like to talk about our lives outside of
school, and can get easily off topic. Time is something I am constantly juggling
between priorities; family, sporting events, community events, etc. Since I am on a
tight schedule I need to make sure we are using our time effectively and accomplishing
what we are set out to accomplish.
Stefanie: I am trying different strategies with the current class I am covering as a long-
term substitute. To be honest, I interviewed a few weeks ago for a classroom teacher
position but did not get the position. Although I am disappointed, I am not giving up,
and need to try new strategies. I need to not take advice personally and understand this
is an opportunity from growth. Recognizing my weaknesses and areas of improvement
will help me grow as a teacher.
Kaleen: We need to feel comfortable with each other enough to be honest. Everyone
needs to be on the same page that observations need to be truthful for this initiative to
be successful. Personal feelings should not impact or change results; there needs to be
a mutual understanding we are initiating our goal to improve learning for our students.
We need to be consistent in our efforts.
4. Combine items to make the list more manageable.
List items:
 Willingness to try new things
 Efficient use of time
 Trust
 Honesty
5. Ask if everyone can abide by the ground rules.
Emily: Yes
Stefanie: Yes
Kaleen: Yes
6. Ask if any of the ground rules are hard to follow.
Emily: No
Stefanie: No
Kaleen: No
7. Referto the ground rules as need during group work.
 Group members are honest, motivated, and on task

4. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 4
Creating our protocol allowed group members to agree on expectations. Depending on
others to follow through with these expectations requires trust. This is a key element between
members and groups in social systems (Solomon & Flores, 2001). Trust is essential in sustaining
positive relationships, communication, and efficient organization. At first I found it difficult to
find a way to share what I feel interferes with our ability to complete tasks, because I did not
want others to take it the wrong way. I value our relationships, and enjoy our conversations that
help make the school day less stressful, but oftentimes feel I don’t want to be rude redirecting the
group.
Another factor to our ground rules is honesty. We need to be honest and identify when
something is not working. Starting the inclusion room for reading with a Special Education
teacher with 11 students with needs was difficult with the lack of resources and support needed
for it to run effectively. I was working endlessly long hours, and even taking time away from
other subject areas to make it work with what I was given. My mentor teacher gave me the best
advice; be honest and acknowledge when something is not working. Some things are not within
my control. Following their advice, through observations of the pupil services director, it was
then agreed more support was needed, which helped improve the learning for all students.
Taking on a leadership role and starting this initiative made me feel uncomfortable at
first, but also empowering. I am proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone and
was surprised to see how my colleagues were motived by the same factors. “A major part of
learning to adapt to new professional roles is figuring out how to identify as a professional in that
role amidst many and often competing expectations.” (Ronfeldt, 2008, p.2). I feel confident that I
will keep an open attitude and not feel defensive or intimidated by the results, or feedback from
the other members. In return, I need to give honest evaluations of what I observe in peers’

5. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 5
classrooms. “Fostering a sustainable learning community depends in part on the leaders ability to
create conditions in which teachers learn to recognize and challenge the usefulness of their
existing beliefs and practices in order to improve their student’s education” (Cherkowski, 2012,
p. 59).
Part 2: Goal-Setting and Force Field Analysis
Within this stage our Community of Practice team agreed to specific goals and objectives
for the initiative. We created a force field analysis to identify factors that may improve or
prevent success of the initiative. This gave us the opportunity to find how we can, “Collaborate
and work together to create learning communities guided by shared beliefs about teaching and
student learning, based on mutual trust and respect, and grounded in current evidence-based
research and practitioner knowledge.” (Vernon-Dotson, 2012, p.38). Our results are shown
below, in Table 2.
Table 2.
Initiative:
 Create a Community of Practice (COP) Group within our third grade
team that focuses on improving math progress through leveledmath
support.collaboration and planning among content and grade levels
while integrating meaningful technology into classroom lessonplans.
Goals of Action Plan:
 Create leveledmath support that provides more thorough and targeted
preparations, lessons, activities and discussions to challenge students
appropriately
 Teachers among grade level team will productively collaborate and plan
on a regular basis
 Teachers will create and use assessments to evaluate if students progress
is evident from leveledmath groups
Objectives:
 Members of COP will identify ways to differentiate instruction to best support
their math group
 Teachers will use unit pre-assessments scores to decide groupings of students
 Groups will be re-evaluated with each unit. (6 units in the school year)

6. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 6
 Teachers working within the COP will meet at a minimum of once per week.
Meetings should include an agenda and a short survey at the conclusion of the
meeting. These will be held during the first half hour of prep on Tuesday.
 Teachers will use exit tickets, unit assessments and checkpoints, as well as
participation during discussions and activities to assess student progress.
Driving Forces Restraining Forces (Barriers)
 Communication: Frequent
planning/common prep time
 Organization
 Collect & Analyze data
 Student motivation
 Student choice
 Differentiation
 Creativity
 Staff has an attitude of wanting to
improve student progress in math and
strengthen foundational skills
 Staff likes helping each other and
offers support
 Different teachers can offer different
strategies that might engage students
 Students will be seen by more than
one teacher which can help create
 Reluctant/Lack of confidence (in
students)
 Behavioral issues (in students)
 Time to find activities that are
appropriate and engaging for students
 Time (will 25 minutes, including
transitioning, be enough time to make
an impact? )
 More support needed for numerous
needs (Will Special Ed staff be
available with their new schedule next
year? Currently there are 11 students
requiring math support for next year)

7. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 7
conversations about how to help
specific needs
Our driving forces I feel revolve around our belief in student-centered learning. As a
team, we are always looking for ways to motivate and engage students while encouraging
higher-level thinking. Student progress depends on their motivation, and their want to succeed.
We have researched, and applied the strategy of offering more choices in other content areas. We
would like to find ways to integrate student choices into our leveled math groups. This is a
strategy many researchers find beneficial because, “Learning to make choices in a supported
environment (e.g., the classroom) where students can be taught how to identify, select, and
initiate choices can lead to increased social competence, decision-making, and other self-
determined behaviors. (Ennis, 2017, p.42). Many of our driving forces revolve around our want
to find ways to tailor instruction to best meet the needs of our students.
As mentioned above, our barriers that are within our control, we are hoping to decrease
through the use of student choices and differentiation. We originally decided on this initiative
because we felt there was a small number of students that were leading the discussions and
activities within our “Number Corner”, a math supplemental program we are using to reinforce
skills. We felt we had a large number of students that do not have strong basic foundational skills
that enable them to keep up with Number Corner. For example, they need more practice
recognizing and identifying fractions before being asked to put them in order or understand
equivalent fractions.
The eliminated factors, time and support, are a constant barrier in many content areas. As
a team, we feel we always need more time to find appropriate resources, prepare materials, plan
our lessons, and follow up with exit tickets, or a reflection. Hopefully by meeting weekly, we can

8. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 8
help stay organized and not feel as overwhelmed. The time we have allotted for math groups is
short, but are trying to find ways to get the most out of it. For example, since we will be starting
math groups right after recess, we can have our classes line up by which math group they are in,
that way we can avoid the transitioning in the halls. Also, by keeping materials in their math
level room, they will be less likely to waste time going back and forth between rooms to get their
needed materials.
Since time is going to be a barrier that I cannot change, and I do feel I prioritize my
responsibilities, I am focusing on my ability to adapt to new situations that arise. For example, if
the Special Education teacher gets pulled last minute before inclusion math and there is not a
substitute, I need to understand this is not my fault, and it is not something I am responsible for
fixing. It is my job to voice my concern if I feel the students are affected, and document how
frequently this has been happening. But I am losing when I try to take on too much, more than I
can handle just to “stick to the script”. McCarthy (1987) and Lumsdaine and Lumsdaine (1995)
stress that classroom teachers are crucial to instructional improvement and student achievement.
They found high achievement is restricted unless the teacher is able to change their behavior as
needed. This evaluation is necessary because teachers must be stimulated to evaluate personal
skills.
Part 3: Team Tasks and Evaluation Planning
Assigned Tasks
 Planning: Looks ahead at monthly units, as well as weekly activities; brainstorms how
lessons can be differentiated to meet the needs of the different leveled groups. (For
example, lower group: focus on whole numbers, the next group works with fractions, the

9. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 9
following group with decimals and percents, and the last group pre-algebra.) Also sends
reminders about weekly meetings and an agenda of what to bring. (Emily)
 Recording: Uses a google document to script notes, ideas, progress, and barriers made
throughout the process (Stefanie)
 Observations: If Special Education staff is available, creating a rubric of what things to
look for to determine effectiveness of lessons and activities (Jess: became part of our
Community of Practice group when she joined to talk about next year’s inclusion math
classroom)
 Assessments: Creating exit tickets, copying pre-assessments, checkpoints, and post-
assessments (as well as scoring guide), reflection questions to ask students in our
classrooms, as well as survey questions to ask our peers to determine effectiveness of
initiative. (Kaleen)
 Facilitator: assigns tasks, encourages group members to follow an appropriate pacing
guide, checks in with members to ensure the following tasks are being kept up-to-date,
asks leading questions that help determine positive outcomes and barriers found moving
through the initiative (Kaleen)
Evaluation Methods
We will need to ensure triangulation of data through using a variety of qualitative and
quantitative data. Determining if our initiative is successful will rely on collecting baseline data.
I feel we could use our Pre- and Post- Assessments from this current school year to determine
percent of increase with our heterogenous mixed leveled students. It will also be decided at our
next meeting if we would like to keep our homeroom for the first month of math support to help
get a baseline we can then compare the leveled math groups to.

10. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 10
Our qualitative assessments will include weekly reflections completed by students. This
questions might ask students new strategies learned, or what motivated them to succeed. Teacher
surveys and feedback from observations will also be reviewed to determine if adequate progress
is being made, and areas of improvement. Teachers can assess student participation and
responses in class discussions, as well as in small group and independent activities to evaluate
their understanding.
Quantitative assessments will include exit tickets that will focus on weekly targeted
skills. Pre- and Post-Assessments from the Bridges (math core program) and Number Corner
(supplemental resources provided through the core program Bridges) will be used, as well as
checkpoints from both programs. As mentioned earlier, results will be compared from the
baseline and the leveled math groups.
Reflections
This initiative is something our grade level has complained about frequently over the past
few years. When I first started teaching five years ago, there was a math intervention block of
time in the schedule, over the years it evolved into students on computers clicking through
questions with little interaction. We have been voicing our concerns that we would benefit from
a math coach, as we feel students are coming into third grade lacking the foundational skills
needed. Also, we have been asked over the years how students with strong math skills are being
challenged. Through this initiative, we realized we don’t necessarily need a coach to tell us what
to do, but an organized plan that identifies our targets, objectives, and is proactive in its efforts to
identify driving forces as well as protentional barriers. All this requires is passion, motivation,

11. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 11
designated time, and desire for student success. These are core characteristics that are needed in
a teacher that promotes and encourages success in their students.
Conclusion
As a parent of a student in my own grade level, I feelthis initiative hits close to home. My eight
year old daughter is strong in math. I have heard her complain over the years that she is bored in math at
times, and gets tired of being paired with other students that require her to do all the work. I’ve also seen
her thrive this year, as my mentor teacher allowed her to lead her class number corner math support. Our
initiative, to create a more engaging math extension curriculum that incorporates differentiated
instruction to help students succeed and be appropriately challenged is something I wish we
developed sooner. I am excited for the new school year to come to put these ideas to use. This
analysis allowed our community of practice team to ensure students at various levels are being
challenged appropriately, improve student achievement through differentiated instruction,
evaluate if work stations can help students become independent/collaborative learners, and create
assessments that will monitor progress and help determine where support is needed.

12. TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN ACTION: PART
3 12
References
Cherkowski, S. (2012). Teacher commitment in sustainable learning communities: A new
“ancient” story of educational leadership. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(1), 56-68
Ennis, R. P., Jolivette, K., & Losinski, M. (2017). The effects of writing choice prompt on the
written narratives of students with emotional and behavioral disorders: A case study of an
abandoned single-case design. Behavioral Disorders, 42(4), 185-195.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0198742917709471
Ronfeldt, M. S. (2008). Crafting core selves during professional education (Order No. 3332915).
Available from Education Database. (304469197). Retrieved from
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/ace.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docvie
w/304469197?accountid=31683
Solomon, R. C., & Flores, F. (2001). Building trust in business, politics, relationships,and life.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Vernon-Dotson, L. J., & Floyd, L. O. (2012). Building leadership capacity via school
partnerships and teacher teams. Clearing House, 85(1), 38-49.
Lumsdaine, M , & Lumsdaine, E. (1995). Thinking preferences o f engineering students:
Implications for curriculum restructuring. Junior Engineering Education. 78(7). 674-681.