As many schools nation-wide address school reform through restructuring large schools into smaller learning communities, it is necessary to identify the structures and supports necessary to promote effective collegial interactions. Successful implementation of a small school design relies on the ability of a group of teachers to come together and develop into a functioning and cohesive learning community. This process requires multiple forms of structural supports; time and professional resources are 2 examples which have the capacity to foster collegiality among teachers. In addition to structural supports; tools can also be utilized by a community to facilitate the level of collective inquiry necessary to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their small school model.; This dissertation examines the role technology-based tools played in supporting the collective work of a teacher community as they examined the effectiveness of their small school design. The research questions explored the forms and functions of technology-based tools utilized by the teacher community to examine practice and to share expertise. An interpretivist case study design utilized data generated through surveys measuring faculty trust and collective efficacy, interviews with teachers in the small school, field observations, and document analysis.; This study intended to illuminate how technology tools were employed by a community of high school teachers to collectively negotiate meaning in their collective examination of teacher practice and the relationship of collective efficacy and relational trust to the collaborative process. One goal of this study is to provide leaders of small schools with an overview of structural designs that can effectively support the level of collaborative work necessary to sustain school reform.
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