LEARNING OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES

In this course, students will co-create a seminar on school improvement approaches within their local context:

• read and discuss relevant {research-based] articles on creating and leading effective schools. What does this mean? In education, socially, and politically.

• continue to develop the expertise required to provide effective leadership in educational settings.

• demonstrate their newfound knowledge via Perusall annotations, class discussion and participation.

• demonstrate understanding of the processes of educational change by applying the readings to the creation of Calm Waters School in a project-based constructivist learning environment.

There have been thousands of articles and books written on the subject of school improvement (understanding change, instructional leadership, success plans, using data, improving student learning, leading effective schools, etc. etc.).

This semester (given the COVID disruptions to education systems) I've decided to add well-being to our literature review. I believe it's time to also examine & study the research on SEL, RTI, mindfulness. What works, what doesn't, etc.

By the end of this course students who fully participate in the class will:

• Develop a critical understanding of the research in well-being and school improvement approaches.

• Practice action-oriented inquiry/reflection methods that will uncover useful information for improving practice or policy.

• Present and share findings with the class.

• Develop and teach professional-level content (to be delivered at one's school)

• And perhaps, most importantly, to learn something practical and to have fun while taking this class.

For the major class assignment (40%) ---> the students will undertake a semester-long project (in groups of one or two):

• Create the Calm Waters School school improvement plan that includes the major research findings covered in the course. The plan will also incorporate the research on well-being as an essential component of successful schools.

  • to the best of my knowledge, no one else is creating school improvement plans combining the change literature on school success with the current literature on well-being.

• further details will be shared during our first class on January 22.