Course Content

We will cover some of the following leadership issues during the semester. The students will pick between 6 to 8 of the following topics during the first class  for possible class presentations and/or research papers:

• 1. 21st-Century Learning (Existential Issues of Education)

  2. New Pedagogies for Deep Learning

  3. Curriculum change and leadership

  4. Defining Student Success

  5. Community Engagement and Student Engagement

  6. Culture, Cultural Competence, and Leadership Abilities 

  7. Language Policy and Identity Issues

  8. Social Justice in Education (definitions & approaches)

  9. Building Consensus and Team Building

  10. Education for Environmental Sustainability (Selwyn)

  11. Indigenous Education

  12. LGBTQ+ issues in schools

  13. Technology and School leadership

  14. Inclusion

  15. Student Learning and leadership

  16. Educational Policy and leadership

  17. Any major leadership issue that needs to be dealt with at one's school or center

Instructional Method:

This course is a knowledge and research-focused course meant to provide students with a solid understanding of the Montreal school context from a leadership perspective. 

To that end, each class (starting with class 5)  will generally be divided into 2 segments geared towards building knowledge, as well as research and critical analysis skills.

The segments are:

• 1. Instructor facilitated ---> lectures, readings, discussions, case studies and vignettes (~85 min)

  2. Student-initiated ---> guest lectures/videos/learning activities (~85 min)

     • The student-led seminars will be undertaken in an “apprenticeship model,” where the instructor will work with students and provide feedback to ensure a high-quality class relevant to an important issue (for more details see assignment section of the class website).

Evalution / Assignments (finalized during the first class)

• Perusall readings & annotations (25%)

• Collaborative Work (20%):

  • small gr. discussion 

  • vignette/case study exercises

  • Self eval rubric 

• Group Presentation on local leadership issue (25%)

• Reflective Journal (30 % )

• This mark breakdown will be adjusted/changed depending on student background and expertise.

Assignment details: https://sites.google.com/mcgill.ca/edem606/assignments

Course Requirements during fall/ winter semesters

• Perusall readings & annotations (25 marks)

• Collaborative Work (30 marks):

  • small gr. discussion (15 marks)

  • Twitter (5 marks)

  • Mid-term case -study (10 marks)

    • class 6 ~ asynchronous  ~ pick 2

• Presentation/workshop on leadership issue (30 marks)

• Final mini-reflection (15 marks)

• This mark breakdown will be adjusted/changed depending on student background and expertise.

Classroom Etiquette Statement

“In keeping with the professional culture of teaching and learning, the Faculty of Education community believes that our teaching and learning spaces should model such professional environments. As a community, we are committed to creating authentic opportunities where understanding of teaching and learning is co-constructed between instructors and students. In order for us to create these learning environments, we are expected to demonstrate awareness of, respect for, and commitment to the behaviours and actions of professionals. As members of the Faculty of Education community, we are expected to be accountable to ourselves and others and to be engaged, collegial and accessible. By doing so, we are more fully able to share together in the types of critical dialogue, creative thinking, and reflective practice expected of professionals.” 

This course will use myCourses and Perusall for assignment submission and feedback. 

I will engage in two rounds of course feedback before the final course evaluations. This will allow me to make adjustments to the course based on the students' needs. I will explain the feedback process in class. 

Please Note: Mobile computing or communications devices are permitted to be used in class as long as they are used for the course content. We are trying to model social media use by school administrators (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and the best way to do is to use it! 

Attendance is required in this course: Students are expected to arrive on time, remain for the full class period, and actively participate.