The Connection Between Teacher Credibility and Collective Efficacy

Teacher credibility, being credible in the eyes of students, has a strong influence on students' learning with an effect size of 1.09. When students see their teachers as trustworthy, competent, and dynamic, learning accelerates. Each of these areas are malleable and are always at play in the classroom. Teachers with low credibility are not likely to impact the learning of their students and are not likely to be valued members of their teams. Teams want members who are credible with their students so that they can learn from one another. In this session, we explore the components of teacher credibility and identify specific actions that can be taken to increase credibility. In addition, we focus on the skills that credible teachers need to work collaboratively with their peers. These communication and interpersonal skills can facilitate teamwork and foster collective efficacy, or block it. When teams have the necessary skills, and they engage in a collective efficacy cycle, mastery experiences are created such that the team’s efficacy is reinforced. As part of this cycle, teams use evidence of impact to extend their collective efficacy.