The Teacher Credibility and Collective Efficacy Playbook, Grades K-12, Mar/2020

Explore the powerful synergy between your credibility with students and your collective efficacy as a member of a team.

What’s the connection between teacher credibility and collective efficacy in schools? Highly credible teachers can’t reach their full potential without engagement in a collective of other teachers. And collective efficacy is difficult to achieve when teachers are not credible with their students.

The Teacher Credibility and Collective Efficacy Playbook illuminates the connection between teacher credibility and collective efficacy and offers actions educators can take to improve both. When you increase your credibility with students, student motivation rises. And when you have evidence of your ability to impact student learning, and partner with other teachers to achieve this, your students learn more.

A one-stop resource for educator’s intent on improving teacher practice, this powerful guide includes:

1. Specific actions teachers can take to become more trustworthy, competent, dynamic, and responsive in the eyes of students, and more confident impacting learning as a member of a team
2. Coaching videos from the authors that outline key concepts, share thinking and experiences, and challenge teachers to take steps to build credibility and collective efficacy
3.  Tools for teams to use to polish their collective effectiveness through better communication and problem-solving
4. Reflective writing prompts, pause and ponder tasks, self-assessments, and data collection tools that help teachers grow professionally

Jumpstart learning and achievement in your classroom and school by increasing your credibility with students and the collective efficacy of the team of educators at your school.

About the Authors:

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He has served as a teacher, language development specialist, and administrator in public schools and non-profit organizations, including 8 years as the Director of Professional Development for the City Heights Collaborative, a time of increased student achievement in some of San Diego’s urban schools.  Doug has engaged in Professional Learning Communities for several decades, building teams that design and implement systems to impact teaching and learning.  He has published numerous books on teaching and learning, such as Assessment-capable Visible Learners and Engagement by Design.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She has been a special education teacher, reading specialist, and administrator in public schools. Nancy has engaged in Professional Learning Communities as a member and in designing schoolwide systems to improve teaching and learning for all students. She has published numerous books, including The Teacher Clarity Playbook and Rigorous Reading.

Dominique Smith is a social worker, school administrator, mentor, national trainer for the International Institute on Restorative Practices, member of ASCD’s FIT Teaching (Framework for Intentional and Targeted Teaching®) Cadre and Corwin’s Visible Learning for Literacy Cadre. He is passionate about creating school cultures that honor students and build their confidence and competence. He is the winner of the National School Safety Award from the School Safety Advocacy Council.

Smith′s major area of research and instruction focuses on restorative practices, classroom management, growth mindset, and the culture of achievement. In addition to his school leadership responsibilities, he provides professional learning to K–12 teachers in groups large and small on many topics that address classroom and school climate and organization. He is a regular presenter at many conferences, including ASCD’s annual conference.

He is the coauthor of the ASCD book Better than Carrots and Sticks: Restorative practices for positive classroom management and has written articles for Principal Leadership and School Leadership.

Smith earned his master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California and is a doctoral student in educational leadership at San Diego State University.