GSE 570: Selected Topics in Educational Leadership & Administration.
GSE 570 is part of the graduate program offered by the School of Education at Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Official Course Description: This course has been designed to provide the student with the opportunity to examine recent developments in educational leadership and issues related to educational administration:
Understanding the Quebec School Context (Winter '19)
"Leading in a Culture of Change" (Fall '20)
This semester (Fall '20), given what’s going on around the world with COVID-19 challenges, the focus and theme of the course will be on “leading in a culture of change.”(Fullan).
Course Website: https://bit.ly/gse570w20 Mighty Network (https://bit.ly/GSE570f20blogs):
Email: sam.bruzzese@ubishops.ca or back up email --> sam.bruzzese@mcgill.ca
Website: http://sbruzzese.org Twitter: @sam_bruzzese Course hashtag: #gse570
Course will take place on Thursdays from 6 to 9 pm online via ZOOM, starting September 10th. The class will be recorded for students who may be occasionally absent. The following section is in draft mode. Final version will be posted after we meet on the first class.
3 hours in a face to face class is enjoyable due to classroom dynamics, human interactions, and just the plain joy of being together for a common purpose. We are social beings.
However, to recreate this in a 3 hour ZOOM session is next to impossible unless the learning space is radically restructured. As a class we will learn to recreate this space through a combination of synchronous (ZOOM) and asynchronous activities (videos ,blogs, Moodle, Padlet, EdPuzzle, Perusall, etc.)
Initially we will start with following initial breakdown and adjust:
hellos, chit-chat, etc. on Zoom (6 to 6:10)
my short short overview of previous week or things to do (6:10 to 6:30)
small group breakout session 1 (6:30 to 6:50) equivalent of small group in class discussion
whole class reporting back (6:50 to 7:05) Q&A
7:05 to 7:30 main weekly topic by me and or student group facilitating discussion
7:30 to 7:50 health break and/or watch short video to be discussed in the second half of the class in small groups
7:50 to 8:10 small group breakout on week's topic ~ Google Doc to be completed in each small group
8:10 to 8:30 reporting back
8:30 to end ~ wrap up and getting ready for next week
This breakdown is still very very intense ~ my goal to convert 60 - 75 minutes of this to asynchronous activities that students can work on any time during the week by class 4.
Final Class overview ~ the class will run from 6 pm to 8:30. To help fight ZOOM fatigue ~ 30 minutes of class time given to complete social annotation on Perusall asynchronously.
6 to 6:10 hellos, catching up, Q&A
6:10 to 7:00 weekly topic & breakout activity one (20-30 minutes)
7:00 to 7:30 whole class (typically Sam)
7:30 to 8:15 breakout activity two (Sam or student presentations
8:15 to 8:30 Feedback & wrap up
Office hours: online (via ZOOM) and by phone. Details given in class 1.
Students will co-create a seminar on leadership issues within the context of "leading in a culture of change":
The focus of the readings, lectures, and discussions will be on what educational leaders need to know and what to do to lead successfully.
The assumption I make is that leadership skills may be learned.
Throughout the semester we will use several examples (i.e. world leaders) as case studies on effective leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.
The class will work together to develop a deep knowledge and understanding of current leadership practices within various education policy and leadership systems around the globe.
By the end of this course students who fully participate in the class will:
Develop a critical understanding of current issues in educational leadership using a research-based perspective and approach to addressing those issues.
Practice action-oriented inquiry/reflection methods that will uncover useful information for improving practice or policy.
Present current research findings through student presentations.
Develop and teach professional level content if working in a school setting.
Learn to use Fullan's framework for leadership model to help solve critical problems that arise in your work or school environment.
Use technology and social media apps to help you become a 'better' leader.
Other topics TBD by students during the first class.
I am looking forward to working with you over the next few months. Together we will create and build a learning community around the 'big' idea of leading in a culture of change. What does this mean in theory and in practical terms in your present or future job?
As technology touches all aspects of our lives (personal, socially, professionally) leaders today not only need to be comfortable with technology/social media but they are also expected to use it regularly to help their school and organization. Consequently, throughout the semester, you will also learn to use current web 2.0 technologies (on your phone, tablet, computer, and laptop) to help make you a better leader.
When you log in through your Bishop's Moodle Account simply click on a reading:
You will be asked to create a Perusall account. The cost for the text is $20.00 Canadian. To enrich the course texts I have uploaded approximately 20 articles on Perusall.
Students will be expected to pick 1 article per week to read and to comment on Mighty Networks; always good to connect the article with the course text chapter assigned that week.
This means that there will be an average of between 20 to 40 pages of weekly readings. This is a little lighter than typical reading load for a grad class. All readings posted ahead of time so you can get a head start.
