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1. Positioning of novice elementary teacher leaders in advice and information networks for mathematics

   Nyugen, Phi; Webel, Corey; Dames, Brendan (October 2021, Proceedings of the forty-third annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education)

   Olanoff, D; Johnson, K; Spitzer, S M (Ed.)

   In this paper we examine how teachers who are pursuing their Elementary Mathematics Specialist certification—Elementary Mathematics Specialists in Training (EMSTs)—are positioned in their advice and information networks for mathematics. We analyzed the instructional networks of six elementary schools in one Midwestern school district. Our analysis suggests that EMSTs did occupy central positions in their networks. EMSTs were sought out by more individuals compared to other teachers, and when sought out by others, provided advice and information at a greater frequency than formal leaders. We also considered the school’s informal and formal structure, finding that EMSTs’ positioning was related to the broader school’s information seeking behavior and whether there is a math-specific formal leader 

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2. Of Teams and Ties: The Power of Required Team Membership to Foster Teacher Instructional Support Networks.

   https://doi.org/0013161X18785868.  

   Woodland, R.; Mazur, R. (July 2018, Educational administration quarterly)

   This study examined an urban district’s capacity to diffuse instructional innovations. Social network analysis (SNA) was used to examine the relationship between “informal” teacher support networks and “formal” teacher support networks engineered by administrators through required membership on a team. This study also sought to uncover how school leaders considered study findings in light of their district’s theory of change to improve teacher collaboration. Method: About 1,100 employees responded to a sociometric survey that queried for demographics, team membership, and advice-seeking behavior. SNA methods were used to examine network cohesion (i.e., size, density, isolates, ties) and degree centrality. Statistical analyses (chi-square and multinomial logistic regressions) were performed to examine how team membership were associated with teachers’ advice-seeking behaviors. Visual inspection of sociograms was used to communicate and make meaning of findings with district personnel. Findings: The majority of teachers’ informal instructional support ties were concomitant with shared membership on an administrator created formal team. The majority of teachers who reported that at least one colleague had a strong, positive influence on their practice, also participated in at least one formal team, and believed their team’s collaboration positively affected their instructional practice. Implications: School leaders affect quality of instructional support networks through organizational design. The extent to which teachers are able to access social capital and instructional support is influenced by the choices administrators make about how to structure teacher collaboration. 

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3. “I Didn't Know It Formally”: Shifting Work and Intended Influences of Informal Teacher Leaders in the Third Year of Mathematics Professional Development

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.18340  

   Brown, Karie; Auslander, Susan Swars; Vo, Michael_Cao Hung; Bingham, Gary E; Fuentes, Debra S (January 2025, School Science and Mathematics)

   The development and use of elementary mathematics specialists (EMSs) is an indispensable approach for improving mathematics instruction in schools. This holistic singular‐case study explored the teacher leadership of 26 EMSs across a three‐year period as they developed in their informal teacher leader role during a five‐year mathematics professional development program. To examine participants' teacher leader work and intended influences of these efforts, quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Findings of a teacher leader record show the prevalence, variability, audiences, and shifts in their teacher leader efforts, with the interview data illuminating complexity and extensions. In their advocacy for ambitious and equitable instruction, the EMSs sought to support students, families, teachers, administrators, and community members in particular ways. Shifts were observed as they became more comfortable with their roles and responsibilities as teacher leaders. They were increasingly positioned as holders of expertise within communities of practices in their schools, contributing to more influence in their settings. EMSs reported not only supporting teachers through leading professional development but advocating for students and best practices informally in ad hoc hallway conversations. Notably, the EMSs recognized expertise in fellow teachers and sought to elevate them as leaders. 

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4. Developing and Sustaining Elementary STEM Teacher Leadership Identities

   Napolitano, K V; Gunning, A M; Marrero, M E; Nitecki, E (December 2023, Global education review)

   Growing emphasis on elementary STEM education has pushed elementary teachers to face curriculum changes that focus on standards with which they are largely unfamiliar (Smith, 2020; Trygstad et al., 2013). As a result, elementary students are not always exposed to STEM subjects or integration and miss out on opportunities to access and enjoy the hands-on, inquiry-driven activities that accompany them. This deficit disproportionally impacts high-need, urban districts that serve Black and Brown children and families, thus perpetuating inequities in STEM education and careers (Tate et al., 2012). To address these issues, we designed a Fellowship program that strengthened K-12 STEM teacher leadership in local, high-need, schools. In this paper, we take a closer look at how five elementary teachers took on STEM teacher leader identities and then sustained and strengthened those even as program supports reduced. We asked: How do elementary teachers develop and sustain STEM and leadership identities through participation in a Master Teacher Fellowship? Using positional identity and selfefficacy lenses, we interpreted focus group interviews, coursework, reflections, and Fellowship meeting notes. Findings suggest that elementary teachers developed their identities gradually—first, as they recognized themselves as STEM teachers; next, as they recognized themselves as STEM leaders; and then, as others recognized them as STEM teacher leaders and positioned them to enact change in their schools and to support their colleagues. Implications for teacher educators shed light on how elementary teachers can be best supported in increasing STEM learning for their students across grade levels to effect school change. 

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5. A Model for Selecting Exemplary Mathematics and Science Teacher Leaders

   Nickerson, S.D.; Vaughn, M.; Lamb, L.; Ross, D.; Philipp, R.A.; LaRochelle, R.A.; & Williams, K. S. (January 2018, Journal of school administration research and development)

   Teachers’ situated knowledge of the class- room and teaching suggests that they can play an important role in promoting and supporting change in teaching practice even if they are not formally designated as leaders. We selected 32 secondary mathematics and science teachers and supported them in enriching their instructional practice and in becoming in structionally-focused teacher leaders. We describe the qualities we sought in teachers who were to become effective teacher leaders, and we share the ways in which we assessed those characteristics. We explain our rationale, instruments, and interview questions used in the selection of the teacher leaders. After four years, our teachers have served and continue to serve in numerous formal and informal leadership roles. We offer three recommendations to administrators for nurturing teacher leaders. 

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