Every great teacher and every great school constantly work towards creating better learning conditions for students. Just as we hope our students become lifelong learners, we as educators should be constantly learning and improving. This education course is for school leaders of all kinds (from teacher-leaders to principals to superintendents) who are launching innovation in schools—starting new efforts to work together to improve teaching and learning.
 
In this course, you and your classmates will complete cycles of study, experimentation, and reflection to gain confidence and skills to lead instructional improvement efforts. Through experiential activities and assignments, you will begin working with colleagues to envision the next level of work for your team or organization, to launch a new initiative, and to measure your progress along the way. Based on the work of Justin Reich (Teaching Systems Lab, MIT) and Peter Senge (MIT Sloan), this course will focus on visioning and capacity-building, with an emphasis on collaboration and building partnerships with stakeholders at multiple levels. 

At the end of the course, you will have started the process of launching an instructional improvement initiative in your school or learning environment, you will better understand yourself as a leader and change agent, and you will have made connections with peers who are also undertaking this important work.

• Unit 0:  Welcome 
• Unit 1: Launching Innovation in Schools 
  Assignment 1.1: Description of a Powerful Learning Environment 
  Assignment 1.2: Defining a Problem of Practice 

• Unit 2: Bringing People Together Around Ideas They Care About
  Assignment 2: Asset Map & Reflection 

• Unit 3a: Refining a Vision & Unit 3b: Getting to Work  
  Initial Action Plan Parts 1 and 2
• Unit 4: Working Together Through Ups and Downs 

• Unit 5:  Measuring Progress & Adjusting 
  Assignment 5: Initial Action Plan Part 3 

• Unit 6: Sustaining Innovation in Schools 
  Assignment 6: Final Deliverable