Language matters.
“My students came to me already a year behind in reading. There is no way that I will be able to catch them up.”
“At the end of the day, it is not the student’s fault. So many of them come from troubled homes. Their parents need to be more involved.”
“Before I can teach students Algebra, they need to learn how to turn their homework in on time and remain focused in class.”
Have you heard these statements before? I have. I call this the language of false collective efficacy. These statements and mind frames do not contribute to the notion that, “All kids can do amazing things!” And, “We grow student achievement.” What is the harm of false collective efficacy? False collective efficacy not only doesn’t contribute to collective efficacy, such language can reinforce negative beliefs and behaviors while staff might think that they are actually doing the right thing.
Purposefully developing a shared language around collective efficacy matters. A language that is grounded in collective efficacy includes vocabulary and questions that underpins a focus on continuous improvement, linking the learning needs of students with the professional learning and practice of teachers and leaders.
Yes, this work takes time and attention, so let’s take a closer look at how you might begin!
Here are four general questions that I have found helpful in this work:
- What is working?
- How do we know?
- What could we do better?
- How can we find out?
For example, these questions could be used as a part of the facilitation and decision-making strategies used during grade-level or content teacher team meetings. In my practice, I have placed these questions directly on my meeting documents so that they are situated in a way where they can be applied and team contribution can be captured to monitor implementation progress and impacts on learning.
As you grow in your work modeling, promoting and using a language of shared efficacy, here are more specific statements and questions that you might also try!
- What will we do if students don’t learn what we expected them to learn?
- Productive struggle and making mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow.
- How will we know if students have learned what we expected them to learn?
- The way we talk about learning influences what students think is possible to achieve.
- What do we want students to learn?
- What learning experience and extension can be used so that students are working within their zone of proximal development with the appropriate level of challenge?
Notice that the general and specific examples include language that has an emphasis on student learning, a belief in students and looking at evidence in relation to the impact of teaching and collaborative inquiry.
This post marks the end of our series on collective efficacy. Hopefully, we’ve given you some tangible tools you can use right away. At TeachUNITED, our programs use proven professional development models (job-embedded coaching, peer learning) to teach educators instructional strategies shown to have the highest effect on student success (mindset, personalized and blended learning, data-driven instruction).
If you’d like to know more about our approach to professional development, please contact us and one of our partnership directors will be in touch.