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I do not have a school of my own, but I completed my student teaching at Wheelersburg Middle School and in this school building, I saw both collective efficacy and self-efficacy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>All of the teachers that I worked around and collaborated with in the fourth grade definitely showed collective efficacy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>They are all supportive of each other, believe in one another, and are always more than willing to do what is best for the students.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>When changes need to be made, they take all of the students into consideration, as well as one another and how changing the situation will affect one another.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>The principal at Wheelersburg Middle School, Dave, also shows collective efficacy to his staff, from what I observed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>He is very supportive and motivating and he is always willing to listen and help and do anything he can to help his staff and/or help the students.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>For collective efficacy to be present there has to be teamwork and each member of the team has to care about one another and want to achieve a goal that the group has set.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>I could definitely see that occurring at Wheelersburg.</p>
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I think that self-efficacy is something that you have to have in order to be a good teacher, and especially to be a teacher that makes a difference.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>You have to care about others and you have to have the motivation to make a change.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>I feel that all it is obvious when a teacher has high self-efficacy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>You catch the feeling when you walk into the classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>My mentor teacher for my student teaching was Lori Suter.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>I truly have never in my life met someone who has more self-efficacy than her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Not only is it apparent that she knows what she is doing, but also she is always very confident that what she has planned is going to make a difference and help the students learn. She cares about her job more than anything and her motivation and confidence
is sky high.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She is so determined and committed and when you enter her room, you just know those things about her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>She does not need anyone else to tell her that what she has planned is going to work and she does not need reassurance.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>I hope that when the time comes and I am a school administrator, I am lucky enough to have teachers with self-efficacy like hers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>More than that, I am thankful for the experience that I had with Lori because it taught me so much about myself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>I learned so much from her about how to teach and that experience definitely built on my level of self-efficacy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
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I could also observe that the other fourth grade teachers also had high self-efficacy, which I would say was one reason that their collective efficacy as a grade level was so high.<o:p></o:p></p>
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Collective efficacy and self-efficacy are both extremely important in order for a school to run smoothly and for goals to be met.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>All team members have to support one another, as well as be encouraging and willing to help to benefit the team.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Before collective efficacy can be a thing, self-efficacy in each individual of the team or group needs to be stable and established.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>If you have confidence, care, motivation, and drive in yourself, you are more likely to spread that to others and build a strong sense of collective efficacy.<o:p></o:p></p>
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