MITx: 11.154x Launching Innovation in Schools

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 (Available September 19, 2017)
• Unit 1: Launching Innovation in Schools (September 28, 2017)
  Assignment 1.1: Description of a Powerful Learning Environment (suggested due date: October 11, 2017)
  Assignment 1.2: Defining a Problem of Practice (suggested due date: October 11, 2017)

- Welcome Live Event with Course Staff - September 29, 2017, 6:00 PM UTC

• Unit 2: Bringing People Together Around Ideas They Care About (October 12, 2017) 
  Assignment 2: Asset Map & Reflection (suggested due date: October 18, 2017)
  

- Live Event: Unhangout - October 17, 2017, 3:00 PM UTC

• Unit 3a: Refining a Vision & Unit 3b: Getting to Work (October 19, 2017) 
  Initial Action Plan Parts 1 and 2 (suggested due date: November 1, 2017)
  
• Unit 4: Working Together Through Ups and Downs (October 26, 2017) 
  

• Unit 5:  Measuring Progress & Adjusting (November 2, 2017)
  Assignment 5: Initial Action Plan Part 3 (suggested due date: November 8, 2017)

• Unit 6: Sustaining Innovation in Schools (November 9, 2017)
  Assignment 6: Final Deliverable (suggested due date: November 13, 2017)

- Wrap Up & Share Live Event - November 14, 2017, 2:00 PM UTC

Course concludes November 16, 2017. Certificates generated around November 24, 2017.

COURSE CALENDAR

The calendar below includes course events and suggested due dates. If you have questions, look at the list of dates above.