The Efficacy of Success

Therefore taking people on the journey is of vital importance, but it is only the first step. We must ensure that we are clear, consistent, and purposeful in our communications at every level while also intently driving the mechanisms of success so that we are fostering every opportunity to build not only a positive culture in our schools but also improve outcomes for learners. Collective teacher efficacy, as highlighted by Hattie has the largest effect size and is therefore, one of, if not the, most impactful intervention in an organization; “A shared belief that through collective action, they can positively influence student outcomes."

By eliminating the possibility of illusion it is made simpler when you make use of the tools of technology at your disposal to work to assist you in your goal(s). There are many ways you can use a wide variety of mediums to communicate such as via digital newsletters, video (and face-to-face!) briefings/training, parent webinars, short videos as reminders, forums for stakeholders, digital signage, feedback using survey tools and more.

Above all, ensure you reach, as much as possible, a consensus as a staff body as this has an implicit and direct impact on achievement.

Empower Teachers, Curate Cohesive Knowledge

Provide as many opportunities as possible to give a voice to teachers so that there are opportunities to participate and feed into school-wide decisions. Along with this, seize every opportunity to curate a carefully constructed professional learning cycle to build skills and knowledge over time. This is important so that you are crafting a learning network within your school(s). Build into the process opportunities to develop teaching techniques where colleagues have the opportunity to share their learning and the impact it has had on their teaching and its impact on student learning.

Developing solid systems and processes for your context, which teachers can feed into collaboratively while collecting quantitative and qualitative data will help you to identify progress and adjust your trajectory accordingly to meet your strategy.

Ask yourself, is your environment psychologically safe and transparent where you create the conditions for true collaboration? By encouraging teachers to work towards a coherent and cohesive approach to teaching, you will help them to see that this isn’t a one size fits all approach, but one which acknowledges the nuanced needs of each curriculum area.