Project: Certificate of Early Education Leadership (CEEL): Online learning that equips early education leaders with the knowledge, strategies, and professional networks they need to lead for quality improvement in early learning settings.
Project Background: The Certificate in Early Education Leadership (CEEL), offered through the Zaentz Professional Learning Academy, is a visionary, job-embedded, online certificate program that supports the learning and development of early education leaders and provides them with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to strengthen learning environments and foster quality improvement in all early education settings.
Design Features: CEEL is comprised of fifteen modules organized into three series centered around topics including rethinking leadership in early education and supporting optimal teaching and learning for children and adults. It provides a comprehensive and stimulating space for early education leaders to build cutting-edge core knowledge and enhance their leadership skills. With interactive and case-based materials grounded in scientific insights, the modules equip early education leaders with the knowledge and tools to navigate the challenges and opportunities present in a range of early education settings.
Published Sample: CEEL courses are not publicly available online. Here are key features of the design:
- Each module contains an illustrated case video with light animation. The cases are used to apply the content knowledge in an exemplar setting. Case videos are combined with discussion boards in which learners discuss the key themes they identified in the case.
- Discussion boards ask learners to synthesize what they have learned from course readings and videos and apply their learning to their own context. Learners are asked to build on the knowledge of their peers.
Research-Based Best Practices in Course Design:
- A learner-centered approach: Participation in the discussion boards enables learners to be active participants in the learning process, leading to more meaningful learning outcomes. (Palloff & Pratt, 2013)
- An online learning self-assessment at the beginning of application-based CEEL modules encourages students to be aware of and take responsibility for their own learning; such metacognitive skills are key for successful learning (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000).
- Students are given opportunities for peer interaction and collaboration through discussion boards, leading to more effective learning. (Means et al., 2010; Schutte, 1996).
- Media design: teaching videos are designed in accordance with Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning; in particular the signalling principle and redundancy principle (Mayer, 2001).
- Immediate feedback: Each CEEL module is divided into 5-7 sections. Learners receive feedback in each section, in the form of peer and facilitator feedback on the discussion forms, quizzes to check comprehension, and as-needed announcements from course facilitators. Immediate feedback is beneficial to student understanding and helps prevent the formation of misconceptions (Thalheimer, 2008).
- CEEL modules are designed according to Universal Design for Learning principles, in particular Principle I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation. Scaffolds are used to activate learner background knowledge and highlight patterns between concepts. Content is presented through readings and teaching videos, and videos are always captioned and accompanied by a transcript.
My Role on the Project: As the lead Learning Designer on CEEL, I worked with the faculty Principal Investigators and additional Subject Matter Experts to design online modules that achieve and measure learning outcomes. I coordinated with academic technology and media professionals to create engaging and interactive learning experiences. As this was a new certificate program, I used prototypes and formative evaluations to ensure the design is aligned to the learning outcomes and needs of the learner audience. I was additionally responsible for managing the production and ensuring timely delivery that adheres to quality standards.