Our History

We begin in the present and trace back to our roots. Our model of practice emerges from more than 30 years of work devoted to the professional responsibility of teachers as architects of classroom innovation and supported by decades of research in education and the learning sciences.

HISTORY

30 Years, Advancing Teacher Leadership

Teachers as caring researchers and reflective practitioners, leading innovation in school learning from within their classrooms.

2023-Now

The Teacher Leader Institute (TLI) is the creation of a team of educators who have been working in Africa and the US since 2019. We continuously develop our practices as we expand and deepen our work globally. TLI is the creation of the designer, founder, and former dean of the Master Teacher Program of AL for Education and the talented and committed educators who worked as Fellows in that program. We build on what we have learned and seek teachers and school leaders to join us in this work.

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2021

Fellows are added to the African program to provide support to Lead Teachers as embedded coaches and co-learners, following the success of the New York model.

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2020

The TLI model is adapted to an online model, providing a six-month learning sequence for teachers and leaders across the network of 14 Enko Education schools in Africa. TLI approaches to instructional planning, teacher coaching, and forms of teacher inquiry, or reflective practice, are applied and honed across varied school contexts. The Master Teacher Program, based on the successful work in the school in New York, is launched as a remote learning program.

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2019

The TLI model is adapted and applied by Educator-in-Residence Ric Campbell to teacher and leadership development at the African Leadership Academy, advancing the quality of teaching and learning in collaboration with school faculty and administration. Teacher evaluation is integrated with teacher inquiry practices as defined by the “Professional Development Portfolio.”

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2019-2020

School leader David Penberg and Woodstock Day School teachers engage with the TLI model in a program of professional development that prioritises the practice of teaching as a clinical profession, in which teachers innovate and address challenges through collaborative research. The presence of an on-site facilitator supports sustained learning over time.

Visit Woodstock Day School

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2014-2018

The South Bronx Early College Academy is founded. It begins its work as a middle school, using TLI design principles to position teachers as leaders of classroom learning through deliberate reflective practice. Teacher professional development drives change through a model of teacher inquiry and teacher as leader of instructional innovation, using a design research process to improve student learning outcomes.

Visit SBECA

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2003-2014

The TLI concept and many of its core practices are developed in the creation of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Bard College by Ric Campbell, the first Dean. It continues to be a unique teacher certification and professional development program that emphasises teachers as researchers, applying deep knowledge from their disciplines and the learning sciences to lead school change from the classroom through reflective practice.

Testimonials/Brief Graduate Bios

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Testimonials

This program has provided invaluable benefits: a supportive community of like-minded teachers fostering learning and collaboration. Additionally, it has significantly enhanced my lesson planning abilities, fostering a deeper understanding of my class objectives.

Boyede Adebanjo

School Leader, Beehive School, Nigeria

Teaching a large class was challenging. After participating in the MTP, I changed my approach. I started using group discussions, assigned group leaders, and gave process-oriented feedback to encourage deeper learning.

Arop Prospher

Teacher Leader, COBURWAS, Uganda

The MTP has refined my methods, emphasising active engagement over passive reception, fostering quality learning through student-led exploration. Gone are the days of one-sided lectures; every learner now has a voice in tackling problems within the class.

Bol Abraham

Teacher Leader, Greenbelt Academy, South Sudan