Unleashing the power of WE - The Heart Work of moving from ME to WE
Sarah Gilman • Cahn Fellow 2023
In the Fall of 2023, Garvanza Elementary faced a challenge of stagnant student achievement, despite pockets of growth and efforts to implement interventions. Teachers were feeling exhausted and frustrated, struggling with burnout and disconnection, all of which hindered collaboration. This issue wasn't due to a lack of effort but rather a lack of cohesive teamwork. Drawing on John Hattie’s research in Visible Learning the Sequel (2023), we realized that fostering collective teacher efficacy—where a group believes in its unified ability to achieve results—was key. A teacher survey revealed strengths in shared belief and collaboration but also gaps in trust, evidence-based evaluation, and defining high-impact teaching. This journey toward collective efficacy became an opportunity to grow our leadership by balancing decisive decision making with collaborative teamwork, ensuring all voices were heard as we worked toward a unified vision.
To address these challenges, we introduced the concept of Collective Teacher Efficacy to our staff, outlined essential elements that foster this type of culture and collaboratively defined each of these elements. Next, we applied our learning as we designed a problem of practice centered on improving students' comprehension of informational text, particularly in identifying key ideas and details, and worked through a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle. Guided by research from Jan Burkins, Kari Yates, and Katie Egan Cunningham in Shifting the Balance K-2 (2021) and Shifting the Balance 3-5 (2024), we shifted our focus to listening comprehension as the foundation for improving reading comprehension. Empowered by this new knowledge, teachers designed assessments and lessons that emphasized interactive read-alouds, teacher modeling, and student application. Through reflective cycles, teachers shared strategies, analyzed data, and refined their practices. As a result, we saw remarkable growth in both student achievement and teacher collaboration across grade levels.
