Meeting School Leadership Challenges of Online Education with Design Thinking during COVID-19

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge base on the ways in which assistant principals view their roles, and on the potential challenges involved in a distributed leadership model. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a narrative capture method, in which assistant principals from two large urban school districts were asked to relate and self-interpret two leadership stories through a web-based narrative capture form. A total of 90 stories were collected from 45 assistant principals. Participants rated their stories based on a set of leadership indicators (including method of decision making and type of teacher interaction present in the story, among others); the results were analyzed statistically. Findings – Overall, participants tended to view their roles in terms of instructionally focussed leadership. However, leadership challenges emerged in several areas of leadership practice, including operational management and teacher professional development (PD). Demographic factors were found to influence leadership perceptions and practices. Research limitations/implications – This study begins to fill the empirical gap on assistant principal leadership roles, practices, and perceptions. Further research, using other methods (e.g. observation), is needed to collect evidence of in situ leadership practices of assistant principals, and how those practices impact and relate to school objectives for teaching and learning. Practical implications – The study sheds light on the leadership development needs of assistant principals and on the importance of ongoing, tailored PD, based on factors including where leaders are in their careers and how they envision their roles. Originality/value – This paper contributes to nascent scholarship regarding assistant principal school leadership.

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DESIGN-ED: a pedagogical toolkit to support K-12 teachers’ emergency transition to remote online education

Information and Learning Sciences ◽

10.1108/ils-04-2020-0103 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 121 (5/6) ◽

pp. 331-339

Author(s):

Paul Flynn

Keyword(s):

Online Education ◽

Design Research ◽

Design Thinking ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Iterative Refinement ◽

Design Development ◽

Content Type ◽

Online Engagement ◽

Educational Engagement ◽

K 12

Purpose K-12 educators face persistent and nascent challenges as they grapple with making an emergency transition to remote online modes of engaging with their students. Crossing the digital divide that exists between multi-site educational engagement is challenging. This paper aims to address the particular challenge of maintaining or, perhaps re-conceptualising, the constructs that support social interaction in the face-to-face setting. A second pressing challenge is considering issues of equity when making the emergency transition to remote online engagement that are, in the physical classroom, somewhat mitigated by practitioners and the systems that support them. Design/methodology/approach DESIGN-ED is the output of a design-based research study. Findings However, in the rush to support this transition, it is possible that such challenges could be exacerbated if practitioners are not supported by a sustainable pedagogical process to frame their engagement with K-12 students in remote online formats. This paper explores these nascent challenges, presents a conceptual framework and explicates a subsequent design research model the form of a practitioner focussed “toolkit” that has the consideration of equity at its core. The “DESIGN-ED Toolkit” adopts and adapts a contemporary, effective and rapidly iterative design process from industry known as design thinking. Research limitations/implications The core components of this this process (empathy, definition, ideation, prototype and test) are pedagogically translated for use in complex and dynamic educational settings such as remote online engagement. Practical implications Lessons learned from the design, development and iterative refinement of this toolkit over three years are presented, and affordances of engaging with such a process are explored. Originality/value Lessons learned from the design, development and iterative refinement of this toolkit over three years are presented, and affordances of engaging with such a process are explored.

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SETTING UP BLENDED LEARNING AT SCHOOL: LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE

SOCIETY INTEGRATION EDUCATION Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference ◽

10.17770/sie2018vol1.3161 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 240-253

Author(s):

Maija Kokare ◽

Karlis Strautins

Keyword(s):

Blended Learning ◽

School Readiness ◽

School Leadership ◽

Curriculum Design ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Evaluation Tool ◽

Leadership Challenges ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

Leadership Management ◽

Study Results

Effective, meaningful and balanced use of information communication technologies (ICT) for teaching and learning is essential for meeting challenges of 21st century; however, practices of blended learning (a combination of face-to-face and online instruction) in Latvia are rather developed by particular teachers than organized as evidence-based policies of ICT integration in teaching and learning at schools. The research is aimed to explore the issues related to setting up blended learning as school policy from leadership perspective, and is designed as the case study by combining: 1) piloting results of the program “Curriculum design for Blended Learning” for leadership teams (5 secondary schools in Latvia); 2) developing the self-evaluation tool for school readiness for blended learning; 3) analysis of the main leadership challenges for setting up blended learning in schools. The study results contribute ongoing processes of introducing blended learning at schools by linking both leadership, management and pedagogical perspectives.

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Integrating design thinking into instructional design: The #OpenTeach case study

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology ◽

10.14742/ajet.6667 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 33-52

Author(s):

Caitríona Ní Shé ◽

Orna Farrell ◽

James Brunton ◽

Eamon Costello

Keyword(s):

Instructional Design ◽

Online Education ◽

Design Thinking ◽

Potential Method ◽

Online Course ◽

Instructional Designers ◽

Course Materials ◽

Thinking Process ◽

Is Design

Online education is becoming the norm in higher education. Effective instructional design methods are required to ensure that “ever-connected” students’ needs are being met. One potential method is design thinking: an agile methodology that stresses the importance of empathy with the student. The #OpenTeach fully online course was designed using design thinking principles and delivered in Spring 2020. This article reports on a case study which focused on the use of design thinking to design and develop the #OpenTeach course. The five iterative stages of design thinking (empathy, define, ideate, prototype and test) were integrated into the design and development of the course materials. The findings of this study indicate that the use of the design thinking process may be used by instructional designers to achieve empathy with their learners, which will ensure learners successfully engage and achieve the learning objectives of the course. Implications for practice or policy: A rich case study of the successful integration of design thinking within the instructional design methodology of an online teacher education project is valuable to educationalists who wish to follow a user-cntred empathetic approach. Instructional designers should focus on empathising with their student cohort to successfully engage students in the content that has been designed, and developed, as part of an online course.

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Dinamika Komunikasi Pendidikan pada Era Disrupsi

ALHADHARAH JURNAL ILMU DAKWAH ◽

10.18592/alhadharah.v19i2.3896 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 64

Author(s):

Rahmad Rahmad

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Online Education ◽

Design Thinking ◽

Education Data ◽

Library Research ◽

Rapid Changes ◽

The World ◽

Scientific Papers ◽

The Government ◽

The Times

Progress of the era, also known as the era of disruption, is largely human, one of which is education. This change certainly has an impact felt by humans as it is increasingly individualistic and increasingly busy responding to the times. Changes in the world of online education or whatever the government intends to do must certainly accommodate rapid changes in the world that is currently based on information technology. This article uses the type of library research that is a study carried out through data collection related to today's education, data collection or scientific papers that aim to conduct critical and in-depth studies by searching relevant library materials. The results of this study found that students need to be learners who are always hungry for information and become learners who understand and have a variety of approaches such as design thinking (a way of solving problems focused on people centered. Teachers must also have strong scientific competence and have soft skills in the form of critical thinking, creative, communicative, and able to collaborate. n addition it must also be able to spread inspiration for students, be able to be friends with students and of course must be an example.

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School Leadership Challenges in Canada

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.716 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jing Xiao ◽

Paul Newton

Keyword(s):

School Leadership ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Large Scale ◽

School Leaders ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Well Being ◽

Leadership Challenges ◽

Changing Roles ◽

Immigrant And Refugee ◽

Changing Demographics

Educational leadership as a concept refers to leadership across multiple levels and forms of educational institutions. The challenges facing school leaders in Canada center on the changing demographics of communities and school populations, shifts in Canadian society, and workload intensification related to factors such as increasing accountability regimes and changing expectations of schools. Although education in Canada is largely a matter of provincial jurisdiction, there are some similarities with respect to the challenges facing institutions across Canada. While regional differences occur, general trends in challenges can be observed throughout Canada. There are challenges related to the changing demographics and social context that include increases in immigrant and refugee populations, the growing numbers of Indigenous students and the implications of truth and reconciliation for settler and indigenous communities, the increased awareness of gender and sexual identity, and linguistic and religious diversity. There are also challenges related to the shifting policy context and public discourse with respect to the expectations of public schooling. These challenges include the necessity for schools to respond to the mental health and well-being of students and staff, the increasing pressures with respect to accountability and large-scale assessments, and the demands of parents and community members of schools and school leaders. The changing roles and responsibilities of school leaders have resulted in workload intensification and implications for leader recruitment and retention.

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Design Thinking Methodology for Migration of Escape Room Style Educational Game in an Online Environment (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.32095 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tone Vold ◽

Maja Videnovik ◽

Georgina Dimova ◽

Linda Kiønig ◽

Vladimir Trajkovik

Keyword(s):

Online Education ◽

Computer Science ◽

Online Survey ◽

Design Thinking ◽

Sudden Change ◽

Interactive Learning Environments ◽

Educational Process ◽

Educational Game ◽

Educational Systems ◽

Online Environment

BACKGROUND The Corona pandemic outbreak has led to a sudden change in education, closing schools and shifting the teaching online, which has become an enormous challenge for teachers and students. Implementing adequate online pedagogical approaches and integrating different digital tools in the teaching process has become a priority in educational systems. Finding a way to keep students' interest and persistence for learning is an important issue that online education is facing. One possible way for establishing engaging and interactive learning environments, utilizing students’ energy and enthusiasm for educational purpose, is use of game-based learning activities and gamification of different parts of educational process. OBJECTIVE This paper presents how we have used design thinking methodology to migrate escape room style educational game in an online environment. We investigated whether digital educational escape room can be used to increase student engagement in remote teaching and online learning. We also investigate whether we can we design thinking to create an engaging escape room educational game and provide novel educational value for the escape room educational game. METHODS Using design thinking methodology, we managed to understand which game elements were considered most engaging by the students. Starting from students’ perspective we have created a simple digital escape room where students had an opportunity to self-assess their knowledge in computer science at their own pace. Students tested the prototype game and their opinion about the game was collected through an online survey. The test's main goal was not to measure students' achievement but to evaluate the students' perceptions of the implemented digital educational escape room style game and provide information on whether it could increase students' engagement in learning computer science. RESULTS 117 students from sixth and seventh grades filled the survey regarding the achieved students’ engagement. Despite the differences in students’ answers about game complexity and puzzles' difficulty, most students liked the activity (M = 4.75, SD = 0.67 on scale from 1 to 5). They have enjoyed the game, and they would like to participate in this kind of activity again (M = 4.74, SD = 0.68). All students (100% of them) found the escape room interesting for playing and learning. CONCLUSIONS The results confirmed that digital escape rooms could be used as a tool for increasing students' interest and motivation for achieving learning outcomes and gave us an insight in the elements that could be improved in the game.

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How Do International Students Study for Their University Degree Programme Using Technologically-Assisted Tools and Platforms?

10.4018/978-1-7998-8279-4.ch009 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 140-161

Author(s):

Luis Miguel Dos Santos

Keyword(s):

International Students ◽

Online Education ◽

Adult Students ◽

School Leadership ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Chinese International Students ◽

Department Heads ◽

Traditional Age ◽

Overseas Country ◽

University Degree

Due to the current education trend, many students, including traditional-age, non-traditional, returning, evening, and adult students, move from traditional on-campus study to distance learning and online education. The current COVID-19 pandemic offers opportunities for these colleges and universities to expand their channel to international students who cannot come on-campus due to the recommendation of social distancing and the self-quarantine policy. However, it is important to capture the students' comments and opinions, particularly international students who are looking for the living experience in an overseas country. With the tools of qualitative inductive survey and interview sessions, the researcher collected 63 valid data from the Chinese international students. This study provided the blueprint for school leadership, department heads, policymakers, faculty members, and students who are interested in reforming the current curriculum and instruction.

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Evaluating Efforts to Improve School Leadership: Challenges and Recommendations

10.7249/rb9686 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Susan Burkhauser ◽

Ashley Pierson ◽

Susan Gates ◽

Laura Hamilton

Keyword(s):

School Leadership ◽

Leadership Challenges

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Teaching health professionals how to tailor gender-affirming medicine protocols: A design thinking project

Perspectives on Medical Education ◽

10.1007/s40037-020-00581-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 324-328

Author(s):

Kinnon R. MacKinnon ◽

Lori E. Ross ◽

David Rojas Gualdron ◽

Stella L. Ng

Keyword(s):

Online Education ◽

Curriculum Development ◽

Health Equity ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Design Thinking ◽

Continuing Professional Development ◽

Complex Case ◽

Medical Decision ◽

Patient Centred Care ◽

Novel Approach

Abstract Background Content knowledge surrounding transgender (trans) medicine is currently lacking in the formal medical education curricula. Evidence indicates that the main protocols used to assess and refer trans patients for gender-affirming medicine are misunderstood by health professionals, and require flexible adaptation to achieve health equity and patient-centred care. Approach A free online educational tool for gender-affirming medicine, The Path to Patient-Centred Care, was developed to teach learners how to adapt assessment protocols. Resource creation was supported by a knowledge translation grant that endorsed design thinking, a human-centred and solutions-focused framework recommended for use in curriculum development. Evaluation The Path to Patient-Centred Care provides learners with information related to key principles of patient-centred care in gender-affirming medicine, including a guide on how to adapt the main assessment protocols to achieve equitable care. The curriculum also includes narratives from trans patients and health professionals that focus on health equity, and a clinical vignette about a complex case, designed to foster critical thinking on medical ethics. Project future directions involve an implementation and evaluation pilot study with a diverse group of continuing professional development medical learners using a mixed-methods program evaluation design. Reflection The use of design thinking to develop this resource exemplifies a novel approach to curriculum development. By using pedagogical strategies that foster critical reflection, this innovative online education tool strives to teach self-directed learners how to provide care that emphasizes trans people’s self-determination and autonomy in medical decision-making.

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