I’ve been thinking a lot recently about collaboration and the energy to teach. We all know that our profession is struggling with an abundance of burnout right now. If you don’t feel it yourself, I guarantee you can see it in the faces and voices of your colleagues. Now, on top of the many issues that are zapping educator’s energy to teach, we are asking them to completely change their instruction and take significant amounts of time to learn about the Science of Reading and how to implement new practices. While most teachers recognize that this work is essential, I think as a profession we need to be thoughtful on how we proceed. We want teachers who are invested, motivated, and collaborative. The way we roll out new “initiatives” has such a big impact on the ultimate impact they have.
Back in 2001, I was just starting my career in education. At this time the impacts for NCLB federal law was just starting to be felt. It was in this atmosphere that Donald Graves wrote the book, The Energy to Teach. In this book he refers to a case study in Maine. He details a procedure where the state invited districts who were doing well and having student success to share their story at a retreat. Brenda Power, a professor of education at the University of Maine, was part of the retreat and noted, “ Teachers in these schools are really a part of a community, and were respected as professionals. While they had latitude and flexibility, they were working from some sort of shared vision or mission.” When you leave a meeting or professional development day, do you feel energized by a shared vision or mission?
This brought me to the idea of Collective Teacher Efficacy. John Hattie, a well known and respected researcher in education, is perhaps best known for his meta-analysis of instructional strategies to determine their effect size on learning. His most recent research tells us that Collective Teacher Efficacy has the highest effect size in student learning with an positive impact size of 1.57. Teacher Efficacy is the belief of one’s own ability to promote positive change for students. However, Collective Teacher Efficacy is the belief of a teacher group about their collective ability to promote successful student outcomes within their school. This means the single biggest indicator for the success of Science of Reading based practices is to create an environment conducive to Collective Teacher Efficacy in schools. Hattie’s research tells us that when educators are given the time and structure to come together regularly, share best practice, dive into relevant data, and put a plan together, this has a major impact on student success.
So, how do we make this happen? How do we best support our teachers as they take on the task of learning SoR research and putting it into practice in their classrooms? The first thing that is needed is at the leadership level. School and District Leadership needs to learn the SoR research alongside their teachers and create time and supports within their school calendar and schedule to support this learning. PLCs can be a wonderful avenue for this. However, teachers need support and training in how to best use this time together. This is where the idea of literacy coaching comes into play. Having a literacy coach to work collaboratively with teachers has been shown to increase teacher knowledge and have a direct impact on Teacher Efficacy. When this coaching happens within the model of PLCs, it can have an even larger impact through helping to create a sense of Collective Teacher Efficacy. Not only do coaches help teachers feel supported in their instruction, through the collection and organization of data they can help teachers see the student successes that result from their change in practice. This is what creates Collective Teacher Efficacy by showing teachers the evidence of the impact of their change. Knowledge of SoR is essential, but Literacy Coaches can help it have the intended impact by supporting teachers through the shift in how to change their practice, priorities, and structures.
But we all know that not every school will have the backing for a Coaching program. What to do then? Well, the group Cult of Pedagogy coined the phrase “find your marigold” when speaking about new teachers about a decade ago. A marigold is a flower that can be planted to protect other plants within its boundaries from weeds and insects. In the field of education, “finding your marigold” refers to surrounding yourself with other educators who feed your energy to teach instead of zapping it. This concept can be applied as you move forward in the shift to SoR based practice: find your marigold. Who are the people in your building who are ready to go on this journey with you? Keep them close and support one another. Finding our marigolds helps build Collective Teacher Efficacy and we know that ultimately positively impacts student achievement.
An alternative to finding your marigolds in your school building is finding them online. There are numerous online communities that support and inspire work based in SoR research. Probably most well known is the Facebook group “Science of Reading - What I Should Have Learned in College,” but there are many others out there, too. Professional organizations, such as the IDA-NNEA, can be another powerful source for finding your marigolds and nurturing your energy to teach and make important shifts in your practice.
I am lucky to work in a building that is full of many blooming marigolds. Working with them when we are given the time and space to do so, energizes my teaching and encourages me to move forward with new ideas. Being on sabbatical, I have missed the energy I get from that staff every day. However, during my sabbatical, I have had the opportunity to speak with numerous people who are working to further the knowledge of SoR research and practice. I find myself leaving each and every one of these meetings with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement about the important literacy work that lies ahead. I get a sense that there’s a beautiful garden of marigolds blooming throughout the country. I couldn’t be more proud to be one of those marigolds and I invite you to join our Literacy Leader NH group to find your marigolds in the state of NH. We have important work to do, and supporting one another while focusing on student achievement is essential for the future of our profession and the success of SoR based practices in our schools.
