Three Days in March: Examining the Adaptive Expertise of a Teacher Leader at a Crucial Moment in a School-Embedded Teacher Preparation Program

ABSTRACT

Using an adaptive expertise lens, the following case study examined a teacher leader's perceptions of three crucial days in his life and practice. From March 13th to 16th, 2020, when his school responded to the COVID-19 virus, David1, a teacher leader, had to move a complex school-university learning partnership from in-person classes to an on-line environment. In the partnership, a graduate-level preservice teacher preparation program was embedded into the daily operation of an innovative project-based middle-school. In this partnership, David wore four hats he taught 6th grade classes, taught a graduate-level technology course at the middle school in the teacher preparation program, co-directed the school university partnership, and conducted professional development for his school and district. In the midst of a rapidly changing global crisis, David had to coordinate changes to each of these four interconnected institutional levels (of which we study the first three). The following research question guided the study What were the key factors that facilitated David's leadership for teacher preparation and partnership success? Three key findings emerged from the research as important contextual pieces that enabled David's adaptive expertise as a teacher-leader -- and which allowed the school-university partnership to continue for the full semester (1) David's deep knowledge of educational technology, (2) his ability to respond to challenges by drawing on foundational beliefs and principles, and (3) the progressive leadership of administrators at multiple levels.