CURRICULUM

The entire MIL program is organized around four strands of leadership:

• Organizing schools and school systems for equitable teaching and learning.
• Planning and implementing powerful curriculum and instruction.
• Supporting ongoing growth of teachers at multiple levels of change.
• Reflecting on and inquiring into problems of practice.

The curriculum is guided by the principle that each course or experience will develop one or more of the core competencies within each strand. All courses will strive for a balanced and representative presentation of issues pertaining to instructional leadership in different contexts, with different students and different content areas.

In addition to the academic coursework (36 credits), you will complete 9 credits leading to an independent culminating project, with the advice and support of program advisors.

You will take courses designed to develop relevant understandings and competencies. Within each of the courses, you will be assessed with an array of methods, including tests, quizzes, papers, projects, presentations (oral and media-based), and observations.

Throughout the program, you will be working on the planning, implementation and reporting of a culminating project (9 credits) that will be guided through a reflective seminar and an action research course (EDC&I 495- Workshop on Improvement of Teaching: Action Research for Teacher Leaders). The project will be grounded in a problem of practice in your own school or district setting. You will present your project in a public setting scheduled in the last quarter of your program. Core faculty and advisors will attend the public presentations, review students' completed project reports, request revisions, and provide final evaluation and approval.

Core Competencies Developed Through the MIL Curriculum

I. Organizing and leading schools and school systems for equitable teaching and learning:
Connecting educational policy, organizational and leadership theory with practice, understanding moral and ethical leadership and applying multicultural education principles and practices

II. Planning and implementing powerful curriculum and instruction:
Demonstrating deep knowledge of selected focus areas, strong pedagogical content knowledge and curriculum knowledge, understanding and application of differentiated instruction and classroom-based assessment strategies.

III. Supporting ongoing growth of teachers at multiple levels of change:
Facilitating professional learning communities and teacher study groups, instructional coaching, mentoring and guiding new teachers, supporting the teacher renewal, courageous teaching, and commitment to moral endeavor.

IV. Reflecting on and inquiring into problems of practice:
Identifying problems of teacher and instructional leader practice, posing researchable questions, thinking about evidence, identifying and evaluating methods of data gathering, identifying and evaluating sources of data, developing and applying methods of data analysis, reaching conclusions and supporting with evidence, and reporting to different audiences