The Power of Teacher Networks

Ellen Meyers is a founder and senior vice president of Teachers Network and director of the Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI). Meyers has had a long, distinguished career in education with an extensive list of accomplishments, among them: editor-in-chief of the by teachers, for teachers series of handbooks, including the New Teachers Handbook and How to Use the Internet in the Classroom; co-editor of Taking Action with Teacher Research (2003); producer of the television series "Successful Teaching Practices in Action"; innovator of the award-winning Web site teachersnetwork.org; and developer of Teachers Network’s online courses. Her passion is bridging the gap between schoolhouses and statehouses by empowering teachers to provide a voice in education policymaking. Meyers has a master′s in education from Cambridge College and was recently awarded a certificate in English language teaching from Long Island University. For five years, she was adjunct professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and she has been an instructor of English at Long Island University. Peter A. Paul is vice president of Teachers Network and also serves as national coordinator of the Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI). Additionally, he directs Teachers Network’s New Teacher Resource Program, which helps support thousands of new teachers each year across the U.S. Paul has a concentration in educational policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was inducted as a permanent member into its chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (International Honor Society in Education) and has also received numerous other recognitions, such as citations in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in Asia—First Edition, and Outstanding People of the 20th Century (Cambridge, England). As a licensed elementary and middle school teacher, he has taught at all levels and in mixed environments—including urban, rural, and suburban classrooms—throughout the US and Japan. The son of two teachers and education professors, Paul is the founding president of NCA Schools International—a Northern Japan-based chain of English-language schools. Prior to returning to the US in 1997, Paul did extensive public speaking and educational consulting abroad. David E. Kirkland is assistant professor of English education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in the Department of Teaching and Learning. His research focuses on urban youth popular culture, language and literacy, teacher research, and urban teacher education. For five years, Kirkland taught secondary reading and English language arts in Detroit and Lansing, Michigan. He received his master′s in philosophy from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in language, literacy, and urban education from Michigan State. His professional memberships include American Educational Research Association (AERA), Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Detroit Branch, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and Michigan Council of Teachers of English (MCTE)-NCTE Affiliate Organization. Nancy Fichtman Dana is professor of education and distinguished teaching scholar at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Hannibal Central Schools, New York. Since earning her PhD from Florida State University in 1991, she has been a passionate advocate for teacher inquiry and has worked extensively in supporting schools, districts, and universities in implementing powerful programs of job-embedded professional development through inquiry across the United States and in several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain, and Portugal. She has published 12 books and more than 100 articles in professional journals and edited books focused on her research exploring teacher and principal professional development and practitioner inquiry. Dana has received many honors for her teaching, research, and writing. Among them are the Association of Teacher Educators Mentoring and Distinguished Research in Teacher Education awards, the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate’s David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award, the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward) Book of the Year Award, and was one of three finalist in Baylor University’s prestigious Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching 2020 competition. Before joining the faculty at University of Florida in 2003, she worked at The Pennsylvania State University for 11 years, creating and launching their award-winning inquiry-based Professional Development School program with the State College Area School District. At the University of Florida, she worked to embed inquiry as a signature pedagogy into the undergraduate teacher education program, as well as developed and taught three popular classes on inquiry at the master’s and doctoral levels. In  partnership with the Lastinger Center for Learning, Dana led the development and implementation of inquiry-based professional development for teachers across the state that included  several of the nation’s largest school districts.  Further, she was instrumental in the development of UF’s Teacher Leadership for School Improvement Program and Professional Practice Doctorate in Teachers, Schools, and Society, both national award winning programs that highlight inquiry as a signature program feature and have been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 Online Graduate Education Programs in the nation.

"This book makes a most compelling case for the centrality of professional community to excellent teaching. It provides a ringing clarion call for teacher collaboration and for grounding educational policy in the real world of the classroom and the school. Part how-to manual for building teacher networks and part chronicle of the authors′ successful work, The Power of Teacher Networks sets forth a vision for the transformation of our nation’s schools through the development of teacher voice."

• Foreword by Stephanie HirshPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsIntroduction1. The Case for NetworksWhat Joining TNLI Did for Our WorkWhy Form a Network?Concluding Thoughts2. Creating a VisionNaming the ProblemEnvisioning the FutureSpeaking With One VoiceWhat You Can Do--The Future Is Now3. Finding a VoiceThe Journey BeginsSeeing Teachers as the Solution, Not the ProblemCharting the CourseManaging a Network4. Raising Your VoiceThe Journey ContinuesManaging a Growing Network5. Making a DifferenceA Menu of ActivitiesWhy Teachers Like to Do Action ResearchFeedback: How Do You Know You Are Making a Difference?6. Where Do We Go From Here?A Need for ChangeThe Future of TeachingAppendicesTNLI Recommended Reading ListReferencesIndex