ED 596:  Innovative Leadership Course

October 23, 2023 through December 15, 2023

(8-Week Asynchronous Course)

The MPA and Thomas College have partnered to offer a 3-credit graduate course for any educator that can be used toward a Graduate Degree or for recertification!!!

Cost:  $1,650

($550/credit at the University of Maine Cost)

(Thomas College lowered the tuition to match the UMaine Graduate costs – which are covered by the majority of educator contracts!) 

Description of the Course:

In this asynchronous course, students will have access to online activities and conversations, weekly assignments, interviewing practicing educators, and research how change effects and impacts the brain.  As students become innovative leaders ~ they will learn, think, lead, and model in order to support agile, effective, and resilient learning experiences for staff members and students.  This will then have a domino effect – thus creating a culture of sustained innovation.  The final project for the course will include creating an innovative plan to overcome a challenge that they are currently facing in their school and/or place of business.

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Explain, discuss, interpret, and apply innovative leadership.
• Analyze the specific challenges in their school, identify the strengths in themselves and others to then create a plan to overcome those challenges.
• Identify and work with those who will be able to best create, implement, and review a plan which will assist in overcoming a challenge the school and/or district is facing.
• Examine the process for creating shared direction and commitment needed to create and implement something new that adds value to the school and/or district.
• Locate, identify, and appropriately apply a variety of resources to inform and assist in formulating appropriate responses, solutions, and procedures.
• Acquire and update the knowledge and practical skills for applying innovative leadership to overcome a challenge facing their school.

Rationale for This Course:

“Traditional” manners of learning, leading, and becoming certified need to be more flexible to meet the needs of Maine schools.  Society is changing at such a rapid rate, that by the time one decides to become certified and go through the process to become certified, the needs of schools and students have changed.  Administrators need to know how to think innovatively – lead innovatively – be the role model for their staff and students and shift education in a way that meets the needs and demands of the students of today and tomorrow. 

This graduate course will teach upcoming and veteran administrators how to think innovatively and lead their staff in new and creative ways which will in turn teach their staff how to think and act innovatively.  As a result of this course, every staff person and student in every school who has an administrator who takes this course will benefit.  This would be open to not only people in the state of Maine, but potentially to others who are interested in educational leadership – thus increasing the recruitment in the profession.  This course could also be used toward recertification for current Maine educators which will continue to support the retention of educators in the profession.

This course provides a working knowledge of innovation as it affects and continues to impact public education.  Knowing what the needs and challenges are of the school, how to identify those who will help, then shifting the neuropathways in the brain to overcome these challenges, are some of the skills that will be learned.