The idea that teachers can, do, and even should take on leadership roles in transforming education seems to be gaining ground.  But we are still in the process of developing a clear understanding of what teacher leadership looks like, how teachers develop into leaders, and the effects of teacher leadership. In the U.S., leadership in education often gets equated with administration -- those who are no longer teaching (or, perhaps, never taught at all).  The term "teacher leader" still seems to refer to something novel, even anomalous. In this session, Nicole will share ideas about teaching and leading and explore the possibility of them as overlapping, complementary, functions.

As the Executive Director of the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation, Dr. Nicole Gillespie leads KSTF in its efforts to strengthen the teaching profession and improve the state of US STEM education. She has been with KSTF since 2004 and was responsible for developing the foundation’s signature Teaching Fellows program, which is dedicated to developing a national network of leading high school math and science teachers. Nicole holds a Ph.D. in science education from the University of California, Berkeley where she conducted research on students’ intuitive understanding of force and the development of model-based reasoning in collective argumentation.

Free and open to the public. Refreshments to follow.