Global Vision for Learning and Design 

In my global vision for learning and education, I raise the issue that students increasingly need to cultivate soft skills like communication and collaboration to succeed as students, workers, and citizens in a globalized and digital world. One way to authentically bring these skills into the K-12 classroom is through project-based pedagogies like gamification and game-based learning. These pedagogies not only provide opportunities to develop soft skills, they are also more equitable approaches that garner student interest and value students as individuals. 

To begin implementing my global vision for learning, I focused on the school I currently work at. While considering how to bring change to my organization in regards to pedagogy, I spoke to a few of my colleagues and students. In these conversations I discovered a few additional needs: the history department has a lower pass rate among core classes; and, teachers at the school want applicable and relevant professional development that is treated with fidelity. These are important elements that need to be considered, but without careful planning, my vision could easily become unmanageable. 

Illuminated Leadership Plan

With this in mind, I developed a project scope to address these ideas while still remaining manageable for the team working with the project. I outline what is in scope and out of scope for the project while working with current organizational constraints and stakeholder considerations. For example, this project needs administrator approval, input from subject matter experts, and alignment with current district objectives. I also provide a timeline and rough estimation of budget.

Image: proposed timeline and milestones for the project

I then created an implementation plan in three parts. The initial part of the project consists of creating a team, getting input from the history department staff, prototyping, and then testing the professional development. The midpoint of the project is the actual professional development session where staff will have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with gamification or game-based learning. I created a prototype for the professional development session to demonstrate how facilitating a session for teachers with varying levels of experience could provide opportunities for learning and growth for all participants.

Image: title slide for prototype professional development

Informed by theories of andragogy and respect for the experiences staff members bring, this slides deck allows teachers to guide the session based on their interests, and then work with their colleagues to discuss the practicality of implementation. Finally, in order to assess the success of the professional development, the last portion of the project is devoted to getting feedback from the staff members. 

Evaluation and Feedback 

Evaluating a project throughout its duration is critical to helping the project stay within scope, provide accountability for those working on it, and ensure the project meets the outlined goals. As this project is broken down into three parts, I focused on three areas for evaluation. During the pre-project phase, evaluation is centered on following the workflow and sticking to project objectives. While this seems fairly rigid, spaces for teamwork and initiative can be brought in through collective leadership styles and supportive coaching. 
With the implementation phase, evaluation comes directly after the professional development session in the form of feedback from the participants. While this type of feedback can give some initial ways for the facilitators to know what went well and what can be improved, it does not show what the participants learned and how they implemented it. In order to evaluate the success of the project, I created an evaluation plan in the form of a self-reflection survey for staff members to complete after they used either a game-based lesson or a gamification element in the classroom.

Image: part of the evaluation survey focused on the lesson staff members used

A self-reflection ensures the staff member is able to authentically use the information from the professional development, while also showing the professional development team how the information was taken and applied in context. 

References

Center for Creative Leadership. (2025, September 25). The 6 principles of leadership, coaching, based on assessment — challenge — support. Center for Creative Leadership. https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/the-six-principles-of-leadership-coaching/ 

Evans, N. et al. (2024, September 9). How to reimagine  education for the 21st century. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-to-reimagine-education-for-the-21st-century/ 

​​Freire, P. (2009). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary  Global Contexts 2(2), 163-174. 

Gee, J. P., & Price, A. (2021). Game-design teaching and learning. Strategies, 34(3), pp. 35-38.

Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to  andragogy. (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge Books.  

O’Neil, C. & Brinkerhoff, M. (2018, February 1). Five elements of collective  leadership. NPQ. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/five-elements-collective-leadership/.

Thalheimer, W. (2018). The learning-transfer evaluation model: Sending messages to enable learning effectiveness.

I have mixed feelings about the word leadership. I have known leaders who have sat in their metaphorical ivory towers and dispensed media-ready quotes about the wonders of the organization and handed out plans while being completely unaware of the daily realities of those under their leadership. I have also known leaders who have joined in the daily work, though the hard work and dedication of these leaders has not been enough to erase the negative connotation of leadership in my mind. I have always valued leaders who took the time to listen to me, understand my perspective, and worked with me for a common goal. As this is what I value in a leader, this is what I strive for in my own leadership. 

Above all else, the ability to show empathy and create psychological safety is vital as a leader. The people you lead need to know they are valued as people, not only as employees (Center for Creative Leadership, 2025). This can be done through teambuilding, active listening, and adopting a more egalitarian leadership model (Hacking HR Team, 2024). When I first took on a leadership role for a team at work, I spent a few minutes getting to know my team members. Then, at subsequent meetings I would inquire about what they had told me: a planned vacation or a child’s birthday for example. Acknowledging what mattered to my team members helped build rapport; my team worked more efficiently as a result (Hacking HR Team, 2024). 

Building empathy also speaks to my belief in collective leadership. Rather than working top-down, my fast-paced work environment benefits from a more fluid structure. Though the need for clarity and organization will likely always necessitate someone to be the point person, collective leadership styles are more suited for the modern workplace as it allows for responsibility to be shared amongst team members (O’Neil & Brinkerhoff, 2018). This builds ownership, encourages self-efficacy, and allows for quick response to challenges (O’Neil & Brinkerhoff, 2018). 

Collective leadership also speaks to my belief in leadership from the bottom-up. Though organizational change is often thought of as happening from the top-down, there is power in initiating change from the bottom-up (Meyerson, 2008). One change I made that has rippled outward through my school is my adoption of social-emotional learning (SEL) into my curriculum. When I first arrived at my school, many teachers were resistant to including SEL in their classrooms, as they felt it was merely one additional task administration had given them with little consideration for how it could actually be implemented. I believe in the value of SEL, difficult conversations, and growing as people. Therefore, I took the time to research quick ways to include aspects of SEL in my classroom. I shared what I found with my immediate colleagues, and then word slowly spread throughout the school. The following summer, I was paid by administration to develop a small SEL curriculum that could be adopted and adapted as needed for the entire school. It was my work as a teacher that allowed my organization to make meaningful change.

Though I believe all team members should have the ability to demonstrate leadership and take ownership of their projects, there are times and places where having a clear leader is necessary. The development of a project is one such time. Though execution of the project can be distributed throughout team members, it is often more efficient for one person to set up a project proposal, structure, and plan (WeLearn, 2024). This ensures all team members know what is happening and who to report to in the event of a challenge. Furthermore, giving and receiving feedback is often better when there is a clear leader in charge of it. An effective leader knows how to give constructive feedback to elicit specific change among team members they are leading (Brown, 2018). Likewise, an effective leader also solicits feedback on their work as a leader to make changes to benefit the team. 

I believe effective leaders are those that take the time to get to know those they are working with and for. From simple conversations designed to get to know team members and relevant stakeholders to soliciting feedback, good leaders are readily accessible. While leadership can be shared among a group of people to increase buy-in, efficacy, and productivity, a leader must know when they can bring organization and structure to improve efficiency. It is through my commitment to empathy, organization, and hard work that I continually strive to be the type of leader others want to emulate. 

References 

Brown, B. (2018, October 15). Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind. Brené Brown. 

Center for Creative Leadership. (2025, September 25). The 6 principles of leadership coaching, based on assessment – challenge – support. Center for Creative Leadership. https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/the-six-principles-of-leadership-coaching/ 

Hacking HR Team (2024, May 30). Empathy in action: A leadership toolkit for the modern workplace. hacking HR. https://hackinghrlab.io/blogs/empathy-leadership/.

Meyerson, Debra E. (2008). Rocking the boat: How to effect change without making trouble. Harvard Business Press.

O’Neil, C. & Brinkerhoff, M. (2018, February 1). Five elements of collective leadership. NPQ. Venngage Inc. (2025, August 18). 10 Leadership Styles Infographic [Image]. 

WeLearn. (2024, November 1). Agile project management in instructional design: How to streamline processes for efficiency and innovation. WeLearn. https://welearnls.com/agile-project-management-in-instructional-design-how-to-streamline-processes-for-efficiency-and-innovation/.