Building Capacity for Deep Learning

Author

Seonaid J. Davis, Western UniversityFollow

Date of Submission

7-24-2022

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

21st century learning, collaborative inquiry, triadic reciprocal causation, K-12 education

Abstract

Post COVID-19, gives school leaders the opportunity to build back a better school system focusing on the needs of students, preparing students to thrive in the 21^st century by shifting from teacher-centred to learner-centred pedagogy. Changing teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and skills to make this shift requires new learning through creating an effective professional learning environment. This organizational improvement plan explores how to build teacher capacity for 21^st century learning at the Family of Independent Schools (a pseudonym) in Ontario through the creation of collaborative inquiry teams where teachers develop an individual and collective understanding of deep learning. Deep learning creates student-centred partnerships that integrate academics, well-being, and equity outcomes into regular classroom practices. Social cognitive theory is the theoretical framework that supports teacher learning through leveraging triadic reciprocal causation and its impact on teacher self-efficacy. Collaborative inquiry teams provide a structure for a professional learning environment where opportunities for enactive mastery, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion and affective states support teachers’ self-efficacy as they change their skills, behaviours and attitudes. Transformational and instructional leadership practices focussing on building relationships, capacity and instructional structures are instrumental in supporting student learning by supporting teacher learning. A three-year implementation plan includes the change plan, a monitoring and evaluation framework and a persuasive and active communication plan to support the change. The organizational improvement plan concludes by considering ways to ensure the plan's sustainability over time.

Keywords: 21^st century learning, collaborative inquiry, deep learning, instructional leadership, self-efficacy, social cognitive theory, transformational leadership, triadic reciprocal causation

Recommended Citation

Davis, S. J. (2022). Building Capacity for Deep Learning. The Dissertation in Practice at Western University, 260. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/oip/260