This book offers a concise, step-by-step guide to the collaborative inquiry process. It supports facilitators in ensuring that the work of their teams is purposeful, productive, and impactful. By following the systematic approach outlined in the book, facilitators will gain a better understanding of the stages of collaborative inquiry and how to implement it as a powerful design for professional learning and a high-leverage strategy for school improvement.

Foster reflective teacher leadership and make real change happen! Teachers are powerful change agents in the on-going process of school improvement. This insightful, must-read guide helps school leaders shape the development of a sustainable professional learning culture. Practical suggestions and in-depth research shed light on your path as you explore the benefits and challenges of adopting authentic teacher collaboration across schools and districts. A follow-up to Jenni Donohoo's best-selling Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitator's Guide to School Improvement, this book will quickly move you from theory to practice. Learn valuable lessons from leaders' experiences in the field and discover: A rationale and framework for engaging in inquiry The vital conditions needed to ensure systemwide collaboration Common pitfalls and the four stages of school improvement Included are Cardwork Strategies with explicit actions and phrases to improve professional practice. Use this insightful guide to develop teacher leaders who lead and learn productively! "The concept of collaborative inquiry is increasingly bandied about these days with little precision. In one fell swoop, Donohoo and Velasco change all that with this succinct, hard hitting, complete, powerful, and, above all, accessible book on collaborative inquiry." -Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus OISE/University of Toronto "Donohoo and Velasco guide readers through an inquiry process that can strengthen every professional learning community. They provide the 'how' to teacher collaboration and shine light on the path that will get us all there." -Douglas Fisher, Professor San Diego State University

Improve student outcomes with collective teacher efficacy. Is your school climate promoting meaningful change? Recent research suggests that Collective Efficacy (CE) is the number one factor influencing student achievement. CE-the belief that, through collective actions, educators can influence student outcomes and improve student learning-is changing the educational ecosystem. A faculty with high Collective Efficacy show greater effort and persistence, willingness to try new teaching approaches, and attend more closely to struggling students' needs. This book presents practical strategies and tools for increasing student achievement by sharing: Rationale and sources for establishing CE Conditions and leadership practices for CE to flourish Professional learning structures/protocols that promote CE If educators' realities are filtered through the belief that they can do very little to influence student achievement, then it is likely these beliefs will manifest in their practice. Help teachers develop mastery and CE by employing these key strategies. "Acclaimed staff developer and experienced educational consultant Jennifer Donohoo puts the sword to the mistaken idea that the best way to improve teaching is by evaluating individuals. Donohoo takes an old idea-collective efficacy-strengthens it with a rigorous research base, and brings it alive through her countless observations of teachers' practice. Collective Efficacy is about the overwhelming power that teachers have to improve student learning and achievement when they work together, explore every avenue open to them, and persist relentlessly once they have found the best ways forward. This book will turn many people's assumptions about how best to improve student achievement on their head. Probably one of the very best education books of the year." Andy Hargreaves, Brennan Chair in Education Boston College

Inspiration and Guidance to Develop Collective Teacher Efficacy Collective efficacy, or a shared belief that through collective action educators can positively influence student outcomes, has remained at the top of a list of influences on student achievement in John Hattie's Visible Learning research. Collective efficacy has been embodied by many educators, though collaboration tends to be focused on building community and relationships, which alone are not enough to move the needle on student achievement. This book contains stories of collective efficacy in schools where it has been actualized in practice, and includes: * Real-world case studies of teams who have fostered and sustained collective efficacy * Practical guidance for building collective efficacy through professional learning designs * Tools that can be adapted for specific needs or local contexts Through these accounts, readers will gain a better understanding of ways to capitalize on the reciprocal relationship between student achievement and collective efficacy by having a clear understanding of what collective efficacy looks like and how it can be accomplished.

Harness the power of collective efficacy to achieve quality implementation! Designed to overcome a common barrier to successful implementation of school improvement efforts--entrenched belief systems--this book digs deeper into the power of collective efficacy. Teams with a strong sense of collective efficacy devise ways to make "what's supposed to work" actually work, and find ways to exercise control over challenges that surround them. In addition to the examples from both inside and outside of education, readers will find * Ways to create environments that tap into mastery as the number one source of collective efficacy * Methods to strengthen vicarious experiences through observational learning * Examination of social persuasion and affective states as additional sources of collective efficacy Expanding on this critically-important topic, this book accentuates the importance of collective efficacy as the single most important driver of student achievement and the key to successful implementation. This book is the spark you need to look at implementation in a completely new light.