Teacher Leadership

This blog offers three teacher-developed principles for leading transformative learning with colleagues. Readers will learn how honoring teacher expertise, respecting classroom contexts, and inviting critical reflection create spaces where educators thrive—and where leadership ripples outward to the field.

How do early-career teachers develop as teacher leaders? What do they need to understand about their schools and systems to do so? In their final Fellowship year, Knowles Fellows study schools as systems and share stories of leadership in action. This blog shows how knowledge sharing turns everyday teacher insights into leadership that ripples outward—impacting colleagues, schools, and the profession.

What are some impacts of new teachers prioritizing the wisdom of veteran colleagues? This blog explores how intergenerational collaboration not only sustains early-career teachers but also strengthens the fabric of schools as professional learning communities.

How can teachers deepen their understanding of equitable teaching practices? In Year 3, Knowles Fellows dig into that question through collaborative inquiry. This blog shares how Knowles Fellows generate knowledge about the instructional choices they make, the impacts those choices have on their students, and how small adjustments to their teaching practices can support them in meeting the needs of more learners, thereby reducing their reliance on “skillful improvisation.”

What happens when teachers reimagine who does the thinking in their classrooms? In Year 2, Knowles Fellows study the relationship between tasks, talk, and doing. This blog explores how centering student voice, examining classroom power, and refining discourse practices lead to more equitable classrooms—and lay the groundwork for leadership.