Date of Submission

7-17-2022

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

21st century education, innovation, teacher isolation, Kotter's Eight Step Process, PDSA

Abstract

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores how professional learning can impact the modernization of practice and culture in Sunnybrook High School (SHS, a pseudonym), a small urban high school in Saskatchewan. The Problem of Practice (PoP) highlights the gaps between SHS’s common practice, the predominantly used factory model of education, and the desired practice, a 21st century model of education. Teacher isolation is found to be the determinant factor hindering innovation within SHS and solutions to address the PoP focus on ending this practice to increase effective professional learning through collaboration. Using social constructivism as the foundational theory, the conceptual framework used in this OIP connects the practices of building inclusive 21st century educational capacity and the cultivation of a supportive learning environment. Applying a continuous learning philosophy and Kotter’s Eight Step Process, SHS teachers will engage in teacher-centered collaborative professional learning communities, as innovation and student success are bred through collective efficacy. The solution posed will be monitored through a series of Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles that will take place over several school years. The OIP in its entirety is led by a leadership framework consisting of innovative, compassionate, and teacher leadership. This leadership framework will inspire, support, and empower SHS educators while attending to challenges such as teacher and leadership resistance.

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