Leadership for Change

In this course, students are introduced to the idea of non-positional leadership - that everyone has the responsibility and ability to lead change, regardless of one’s formal position within the education landscape. They are then introduced to various theories/theoretical frameworks on the problems of change at the individual, group and system level, as well as to the notion of a theoryof-change, including how it differs from theory and its import in shaping and helping to ensure effectiveness of an educational change effort. Special attention is paid to the import of precise problem identification; the need for feedback loops to allow for ongoing adjustment of change designs in response to the unexpected; and to implementation challenges. Students apply their learning by analyzing existing educational change efforts and by designing and defending a theory-of-change that they could potentially implement to improve an identified problem of practice.