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Week 9: Case Study Presentations

All of the case studies that were presented in class this week were fantastic.  The one that really stood out for me though was the case study regarding the integration of blended learning in a college.  I am teaching grade 12 college chemistry next semester, and this case study has made me critically look at how I plan to teach this course.  If my students need to be prepared for a blended learning model, then I want to ensure that I'm preparing them as much as possible while they are still in high school.  I know that most colleges use an LMS (Learning Management System) so I'm wondering if I should use an LMS (Brightspace by D2L is  used by most Ontario school boards) instead of Google classroom?

The Bigger Picture

I have noticed that all of the case studies so far are focused around one major topic: change and resistance to that change.  Leadership is really all about relationships and cultivating those relationships to break down the barriers and fears around change.  In my current leadership role, I've also noticed that building and maintaining relationships with your team members MUST be a priority in order to build an environment where people are willing to take risks and try something new.  I think this really speaks to how profound the Diffusion of Innovations theory by Rogers is to leadership.  It is also intertwined with communities of practice, and Bransford's "How People Learn".  I suspect that these themes will continue in the case studies that will be presented in class next week; I'll be interested to see if this hypothesis is correct.

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