Explore the web of factors that influence your power as a teacher—and how you can better use that power to foster student agency and empowerment.
Chapter 1. Uncovering Your Instructional Power
Chapter 2. The Power Principle and Teacher Beliefs
Praise for Understanding Your Instructional PowerIn order to get to true equity, we must shift from a narrow focus on best practices to thinking about instructional power. More than just covering content, instructional power, as Reed Marshall outlines in her book, gives teachers a way to think differently about their impact on students in service of developing their agency to become powerful independent learners. — Zaretta Hammond, teacher educator and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall lands a seminal read that is not to be missed! Understanding Your Instructional Power is a unique teacher-oriented book that addresses instruction within the context of power and the impact of teachers' power on students' learning and perceptions of self. The Power Principle matrix should be taught in every teacher training program because it masterfully depicts the power teachers have in instructional decision making—from empowering to disenfranchising. As a former teacher, I appreciate how Dr. Reed Marshall empowers teachers to unleash their skills and knowledge to make a lasting difference in the education of students. This is an important book! — Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, PhD, Dean and Distinguished Professor, School of Education, American University Understanding Your Instructional Power is a brilliant, thoughtful, and practical book designed to guide teachers in believing in and modeling the power of powerful and empowering thinking for themselves and their students. Vignettes, activities, and concrete examples guide teachers in fostering empowered/empowering environments where students' learning is authentic, culturally responsive, and rigorous. I am excited about the promise of this masterful work at helping teachers to be more effective professionals overall, and especially with minoritized students. — Donna Y Ford, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University Feeling frustrated by your lack of power? In Understanding Your Instructional Power, Tanji Reed Marshall demonstrates how teachers actually possess tremendous power to influence the trajectory of their students' learning—for better and for worse. She urges practitioners to reflect upon how they wield this power in terms of both curricular decision making as well as in their minute-by-minute decision making in the classroom. Reed Marshall makes clear that teaching responsibly and ethically is a moral imperative. — Carol Jago, English teacher, past president of the National Council of Teachers of English, and board member of the International Literacy Association Teachers have tremendous power over whether, what, and how students learn. While teachers aim to use that power for good, unexamined cultural differences with their students can lead teachers to inadvertently misuse their power to ill effect. In this useful volume, Reed Marshall mines her rich experience in schools and uses an approachable style to illustrate how power regularly interferes with teaching and learning and to guide readers in self-examining and transforming the influence they have on their students. — Jill Harrison Berg, EdD, author of Uprooting Instructional Inequity: The Power of Inquiry-Based Professional Learning Knowing, understanding, and intentionally using one's instructional power is essential for equitable, high-quality teaching and learning. Thank you, Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall, for the reminder of how we as educators hold the professional privilege of changing students' lives in each moment of planning, preparation, and execution in our day-to-day moments as teachers. Understanding Your Instructional Power is essential reading for teachers and leaders at any career stage. — Lacey Robinson, president and CEO, UnboundEd Tanji Reed Marshall skillfully holds a mirror up for teachers and encourages them to be brave enough to closely examine who they are and how that shapes the decisions they make and the level of agency and empowerment students experience in their classrooms. Her book creates many pause to reflect opportunities for school district leaders and principals to examine their role in creating the conditions for teachers to explore the dimensions of power that shape their decision making. An unpacking of the implications of the Power Principle matrix should be integrated into all professional learning opportunities for teachers and leaders in a school district! — Ann Blakeney Clark, former teacher, principal, and school district superintendent Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall not only exposes how power dynamics in the classroom disrupt a child's education but also provides a clear, impactful guide to help teachers make effective decisions throughout the school day. Any teacher who uses Understanding Your Instructional Power will tremendously improve their teaching and student relationships. I look forward to seeing the results Reed Marshall's work will have on our nation's schools. — Sharif El-Mekki, CEO, Center for Black Educator Development Tanji Reed Marshall's book takes me back to 8th grade when I found my voice and became empowered to speak my truth. Only one teacher, Mr. Lovelace, empowered my agency through high expectations and a meaningful partnership with my family. Reed Marshall breaks down in realistic and tangible ways how, with deep self-awareness and acknowledgement of power, teachers can shift classroom cultures from protective and disenfranchising to agentive and empowering. — Nancy B. Gutierrez, EdLD, president and CEO, The Leadership Academy How are my actions affecting students? The many answers to this question have significant implications for teachers' abilities to support student learning and make schools the equitable spaces they have yet to become. Understanding Your Instructional Power offers a carefully researched rationale for the importance of unpacking power and provides a road map that can help teachers examine their relationships with power and consider how it influences their actions—and how those actions shape students' lives. — Trevor Thomas Stewart, PhD, program leader for English education, Virginia Tech Printed by for personal use only |
In order to get to true equity, we must shift from a narrow focus on best practices to thinking about instructional power. More than just covering content, instructional power, as Reed Marshall outlines in her book, gives teachers a way to think differently about their impact on students in service of developing their agency to become powerful independent learners.
— Zaretta Hammond, teacher educator and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall lands a seminal read that is not to be missed! Understanding Your Instructional Power is a unique teacher-oriented book that addresses instruction within the context of power and the impact of teachers' power on students' learning and perceptions of self. The Power Principle matrix should be taught in every teacher training program because it masterfully depicts the power teachers have in instructional decision making—from empowering to disenfranchising. As a former teacher, I appreciate how Dr. Reed Marshall empowers teachers to unleash their skills and knowledge to make a lasting difference in the education of students. This is an important book!
— Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, PhD, Dean and Distinguished Professor, School of Education, American University
Understanding Your Instructional Power is a brilliant, thoughtful, and practical book designed to guide teachers in believing in and modeling the power of powerful and empowering thinking for themselves and their students. Vignettes, activities, and concrete examples guide teachers in fostering empowered/empowering environments where students' learning is authentic, culturally responsive, and rigorous. I am excited about the promise of this masterful work at helping teachers to be more effective professionals overall, and especially with minoritized students.
— Donna Y Ford, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University
Feeling frustrated by your lack of power? In Understanding Your Instructional Power, Tanji Reed Marshall demonstrates how teachers actually possess tremendous power to influence the trajectory of their students' learning—for better and for worse. She urges practitioners to reflect upon how they wield this power in terms of both curricular decision making as well as in their minute-by-minute decision making in the classroom. Reed Marshall makes clear that teaching responsibly and ethically is a moral imperative.
— Carol Jago, English teacher, past president of the National Council of Teachers of English, and board member of the International Literacy Association
Teachers have tremendous power over whether, what, and how students learn. While teachers aim to use that power for good, unexamined cultural differences with their students can lead teachers to inadvertently misuse their power to ill effect. In this useful volume, Reed Marshall mines her rich experience in schools and uses an approachable style to illustrate how power regularly interferes with teaching and learning and to guide readers in self-examining and transforming the influence they have on their students.
— Jill Harrison Berg, EdD, author of Uprooting Instructional Inequity: The Power of Inquiry-Based Professional Learning
Knowing, understanding, and intentionally using one's instructional power is essential for equitable, high-quality teaching and learning. Thank you, Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall, for the reminder of how we as educators hold the professional privilege of changing students' lives in each moment of planning, preparation, and execution in our day-to-day moments as teachers. Understanding Your Instructional Power is essential reading for teachers and leaders at any career stage.
— Lacey Robinson, president and CEO, UnboundEd
Tanji Reed Marshall skillfully holds a mirror up for teachers and encourages them to be brave enough to closely examine who they are and how that shapes the decisions they make and the level of agency and empowerment students experience in their classrooms. Her book creates many pause to reflect opportunities for school district leaders and principals to examine their role in creating the conditions for teachers to explore the dimensions of power that shape their decision making. An unpacking of the implications of the Power Principle matrix should be integrated into all professional learning opportunities for teachers and leaders in a school district!
— Ann Blakeney Clark, former teacher, principal, and school district superintendent
Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall not only exposes how power dynamics in the classroom disrupt a child's education but also provides a clear, impactful guide to help teachers make effective decisions throughout the school day. Any teacher who uses Understanding Your Instructional Power will tremendously improve their teaching and student relationships. I look forward to seeing the results Reed Marshall's work will have on our nation's schools.
— Sharif El-Mekki, CEO, Center for Black Educator Development
Tanji Reed Marshall's book takes me back to 8th grade when I found my voice and became empowered to speak my truth. Only one teacher, Mr. Lovelace, empowered my agency through high expectations and a meaningful partnership with my family. Reed Marshall breaks down in realistic and tangible ways how, with deep self-awareness and acknowledgement of power, teachers can shift classroom cultures from protective and disenfranchising to agentive and empowering.
— Nancy B. Gutierrez, EdLD, president and CEO, The Leadership Academy
How are my actions affecting students? The many answers to this question have significant implications for teachers' abilities to support student learning and make schools the equitable spaces they have yet to become. Understanding Your Instructional Power offers a carefully researched rationale for the importance of unpacking power and provides a road map that can help teachers examine their relationships with power and consider how it influences their actions—and how those actions shape students' lives.
— Trevor Thomas Stewart, PhD, program leader for English education, Virginia Tech
