ABSTRACT
The aim of this vignette is to explore the possible development and impact of collective efficacy following the introduction, implementation, evolution, and hybridisation of constructivist instructional models within a secondary (high) school in Australia. Over the last decade, Parramatta Marist High School, a Catholic non-selective boy’s secondary school in Western Sydney, Australia, has undergone substantial whole school pedagogical change ranging from project-based and problem-based learning to the flipped classroom; and most recently, a hybridised approach called ‘flipped-problem based learning’. It is posited that these pedagogical changes have had a profound effect on both teachers and students leading to a growth in the collective efficacy of both, which, in turn, has fostered a motivational commitment to the school’s mission, a shared vision, resilience to adversity, and performance accomplishments. This is most evident in the extensive student academic growth when comparing student performance on state and national testing. This growth in student academic performance has been anecdotally attributed to a number of factors including a strong focus on improving teacher and learner confidence through active learning and collaboration, intensive professional development of staff, as well as the design and redesign of the physical learning environment.
