Chapter 4: A Collaborative Teaching Journey by Graduate Faculty: Building a Principal Preparation Program Through a Team Approach

Five professors in a principal preparation program collaboratively designed instruction for a teaming approach to course delivery, curriculum alignment, and student field supervision. Students in a 15-month job-embedded principal intern residency program learned through a cohort model taking 9 hours through four consecutive semesters (36 hours). Course delivery included all five professors each semester in a virtual delivery model. The steps identified in this work included customization of a team’s vision and strategy using audits to focus on the impact and metrics of the team, a selection process free of biased interviewing, regular evaluation of performance, and ongoing open and honest dialogue. Following Year 3 of their teaming work, the professors agreed to an introspective study on the collective efficacy of their team to improve their practice. A case study approach was utilized to collect information related to collective efficacy. An outside researcher from another university created and performed interviews with each of the five professors. Each participant reflected on the findings from emergent themes: teamwork, individual strengths, and structured versus unstructured management.

Professors in an online principal residency program designed studentcentered instruction through a faculty teaming approach to meet evolving expectations of course delivery, curriculum alignment, and student field supervision. The purpose of this case study research was to probe the perceived collective efficacy (Bandura, 1997) of individuals engaged in a university team teaching format of course delivery using the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs; DuFour & Eaker, 1998).

This 3-year case study was seen as a necessary step toward the improvement of the team’s processes and goals. The educational leadership professors taught in a job-embedded principal preparation residency program operationalized as a team that included diverse professionals for large-group instruction, academic writing, grant applications, program alignment, and day-to-day operations. Students in principal licensure and master’s degree 15-month job-embedded principal residency program learned through a virtual cohort model framed through a PLC lens. Students in the residency were enrolled for 9 hours in four consecutive semesters and engaged with faculty who taught, coached, and led the residency program through their own PLC framework delivering virtual coursework, adapted to a just-in-time instructional approach. The teaching and faculty collaboration adapted and grew through quarterly feedback cycles with students and instructional alignment of schools where interns served. Faculty planning, implementation, and institutionalization of their instructional teaming efforts brought the reflection and examination of collective self-efficacy, “representing the group’s shared belief in its joint capabilities to organize and execute the course of action required to provide given levels of attainment” (Bandura, 1997, p. 477).