Program overview

The power sector is at a critical juncture. We urgently need to reduce the fossil fuel intensity of our power generation mix and, in many countries, power sector reform can bring other benefits, such as improvements in health and economic growth. In this program, leading academics from Imperial College London, alongside NREL and experts from industry, will explain why and how to clean up the power sector in your country, illustrated with current, real-life case studies and practical advice. Key global figures from the public and private sector add their own personal and professional perspectives to this course.

The Clean Power Program includes best-practice power sector reform policies from the perspectives of legislators, policymakers, the energy sector, investors and civil society. The first course will explain the way that clean power fits into a wider set of political priorities, such as health, technology, energy security, economic growth and the environment, in any country or region. In the second course, the policy landscape for the power sector is described in detail, demonstrating how policies can help stimulate the growth of clean power. The third course outlines the challenges and solutions to integrating different types of power sources into one stable, reliable system.

This program will equip you with the knowledge and tools to create a pro-renewables and investor-ready policy environment in your own region. In a world committed to meeting the climate change goals in the Paris Agreement, you will be well-informed to apply solutions in your own context.Established ten years ago as an Institute of Imperial College London, the Grantham Institute is a world-leading authority on climate change and environmental issues. The Grantham Institute will bring industry and public sector experts from around the world to share their practical and recent experience.

What you will learn

  • How to balance different political priorities to deliver clean power policies
  • What benefits clean power implementation can bring to different countries around the world and, specifically, what they bring in your context
  • What makes a successful, renewables-friendly policy environment
  • How to attract finance for your clean power projects
  • How to deliver secure and affordable clean power
  • How to integrate a high volume of variable renewables into a grid successfully

Program Class List

Meet Your Instructors

Jo Haigh

Professor at Imperial College London
Professor Joanna Haigh has been Co-Director of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College since 2014. For the previous five years she was Head of the Department of Physics. Jo's scientific interests include radiative transfer in the atmosphere, climate modelling, radiative forcing of climate change and the influence of solar irradiance variability on climate. She has published widely on these topics in the scientific literature and contributed to numerous items to the written and broadcast popular media. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Institute of Physics and an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College Oxford. She has been President of the Royal Meteorological Society, Editor of Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society and of the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and acted on many UK and international panels.

Kris Murray

Dr at Imperial College London
Kris is an ecologist with interests in global change, conservation and health, working on problems where these key themes are interconnected, including: human health - climate, environmental and social change impacts on infectious disease burdens and distributions, disease emergence, zoonoses, biosecurity risks, health economics; and climate change - influence on ecosystems, biodiversity and health risks In particular, Kris focuses on problems that characterise the impacts of global change, that could also be leveraged for mitigating human impacts and promoting better stewardship of the natural world.

Shane Tomlinson

Mr at Imperial College London
Shane Tomlinson, a Director of E3G, leads work on political economy mapping and overseeing the UK programme. He previously served as the Director of Development at E3G working across the organisation on strategy development, fundraising and the creation of systems for change. Prior to joining E3G Shane was a Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House where he published research on the future of the EU Energy Union, Brexit, stranded assets and the future of the international climate regime. He has also worked as a Policy Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit working on energy policy, sustainable consumption and production issues and the design and launch of the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Shane holds an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, an MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics and a BSc in Economics and Economic History from the University of Bristol.

Richard Green

Professor at Imperial College London
Richard Green has been studying the economics and regulation of the electricity industry for nearly 30 years. The main focus of his recent work has been on the impact of low-carbon generation (nuclear and renewables) and energy storage on the electricity market, and the business and policy implications of this. He has written extensively on market power in wholesale electricity markets and has also worked on transmission pricing. He has been a professor at Imperial College Business School since 2011. He was previously Professor of Energy Economics and Director of the Institute for Energy Research and Policy at the University of Birmingham, and Professor of Economics at the University of Hull. He started his career at the Department of Applied Economics and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He has spent time on secondment to the Office of Electricity Regulation and has held visiting appointments at the World Bank, the University of California Energy Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Clementine Chambon

Dr at Imperial College London
Clementine Chambon is a researcher in renewable energy technologies for rural electrification. Her interests lie in optimising design and delivery models for decentralised energy systems to reach the most energy-deprived communities in the world. Her current project examines biomass gasification and its application for rural electrification in LED countries. This spans topics such as electricity demand estimation, technological performance of biogasifiers, integration with other generation technologies as part of a hybrid system, and analysing their impact in terms of cost and CO2 mitigation potential. The research findings are directly commercialised through Oorja Development Solutions, a mission-driven company active in deploying solar mini-grids and community solar irrigation systems to provide clean energy access to off- and weak-grid communities in rural India.

Jeff Hardy

Dr at Imperial College London
Dr Jeffrey Hardy is a Senior Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, where he researches energy market transformation, innovative business models. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Public Power Solutions, a wholly-owned company of Swindon Borough Council specialising in renewable power and waste solutions. Previously he was Head of Sustainable Energy Futures at the GB energy regulator, Ofgem and Head of Science for Work Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He’s also worked at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the UK Energy Research Centre, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Green Chemistry Group at the University of York and at Sellafield as research chemist in a nuclear laboratory.

Ajay Gambhir

Dr at Imperial College London
Ajay Gambhir is a Senior Research Fellow at the Imperial College London Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. His research addresses how society can transition to a low-carbon economy, considering the technologies and measures required to do so. He uses energy systems models at sub-national, national, regional and global scales to map out potential low-carbon transition pathways, with a particular focus on the processes that drive down low-carbon technology costs, thereby making their deployment more cost-effective. Ajay has been at Imperial College since 2010, during which time he has been the scientific lead on a number of low-carbon pathways studies for the UK government as part of its AVOIDing dangerous climate change programme. He has also led and participated in ESRC and EPSRC studies on manufacturing innovation for the production of low-cost solar PV modules, energy storage innovation, and rural electrification using solar PV and batteries. Currently he is focusing on the political economy of low-carbon pathways and how to design policies to support an equitable transition. Before joining Imperial College, Ajay was the Team Leader for EU and International Climate Change Economics at the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. He has also worked in the UK’s Office for Climate Change, as part of the civil service team that prepared the initial draft of the Climate Change Act 2008, the world’s first climate legislation. He has also worked in the UK Committee on Climate Change, which he helped design and set up as part of his work on the Climate Change Act.

Program overview

The Project Management MicroMasters® program from RIT is a graduate level series of courses designed to provide you with the in-depth knowledge and skills needed to be a successful project manager in any industry. This online sequence is a semester’s worth of work from RIT’s Master’s degree and consists of three courses and a final capstone exam.

By earning the MicroMasters® program certificate you will develop the leadership skills needed to effectively manage a team that will meet the expectations of your customers and business goals. Build on your MicroMasters® program certificate by applying to RIT’s School of Individualized Study for a customized master’s degree.

What you will learn

  • The tools and techniques to manage the comprehensive project management life cycle for a project – from initiation through closing.
  • To balance the critical tradeoffs of time, cost and scope to meet customer expectations.
  • The ability to apply best practices across a variety of industries and businesses.
  • Lead a project to success, and how to capitalize on the leadership and behavioral facets to do so.
  • To navigate the social and cultural aspects, legal and regulatory practices, technology and infrastructure that influence projects’ success in the global market.

Program Class List

1
Project Management Life Cycle

Course Details
Project Management is one of the most in-demand skills in all industries -- from healthcare to technology and business. Take this one course, or the entire program, to prove your skills to employers.

2
Best Practices for Project Management Success

Course Details
Learn how to create an organizational environment that supports project success.

3
International Project Management

Course Details
Learn what makes global projects uniquely challenging and how to successfully manage projects based in different industries and countries.

4
Project Management MicroMasters® Capstone Exam

Course Details
Demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired in the Project Management MicroMasters program, and prepare for graduate level program options at RIT.

Meet Your Instructors

Celine Gullace

Celine is an Instructor of Project Management at the School of Individualized Study at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Celine has over 20 years of experience in business management and teaching. She has a keen interest in influencing business decisions and leading high visibility projects. She is an experienced project management instructor and award winning teacher in mathematics. Celine was born and raised in the South of France and came to the US in 1993 to continue her education. For more information, please contact ritonline@rit.edu.

Leonie Fernandes

Leonie is an Instructor of Project Management at the School of Individualized Study at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a certified Project Management Professional with over 25 years of project management experience in large, global corporations in the high tech, manufacturing, healthcare and automotive industries. Leonie has extensive coaching and mentoring in leading projects within the United States and in the global arena. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and master’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. For more information, please contact ritonline@rit.edu.

Program overview

Gain an interdisciplinary understanding of the essential fundamentals of analytics, including analysis methods, analytical tools, such as R, Python and SQL, and business applications.

Using common analytics software and tools, statistical and machine learning methods, and data-intensive computing and visualization techniques, learners will gain the experience necessary to integrate all of these parts for maximum impact.

Project experience is also included as part of the MicroMasters® program. Through these projects, learners will hone their skills with data collection, storage, analysis, and visualization tools, as well as gain instincts for how and when each tool should be used.

These projects provide hands-on experience with real-world business applications of analytics and a deeper understanding of how to apply analytics skills to make the biggest difference.

 

What you will learn

  • Use essential analytics tools like R, Python, SQL, and more.
  • Understand fundamental models and methods of analytics, and how and when to apply them.
  • Learn to build a data analysis pipeline, from collection and storage through analysis and interactive visualization.
  • Apply your new analytics skills in a business context to maximize your impact.

Program Class List

1
Computing for Data Analysis

Course Details
A hands-on introduction to basic programming principles and practice relevant to modern data analysis, data mining, and machine learning.

2
Data Analytics for Business

Course Details
This course prepares students to understand business analytics and become leaders in these areas in business organizations.

3
Introduction to Analytics Modeling

Course Details
Learn essential analytics models and methods and how to appropriately apply them, using tools such as R, to retrieve desired insights.

Meet your instructors

Joel Sokol

Director of the Master of Science in Analytics program
He received his PhD in operations research from MIT and his bachelor’s degrees in mathematics, computer science, and applied sciences in engineering from Rutgers University. His primary research interests are in sports analytics and applied operations research. He has worked with teams or leagues in all three of the major American sports. Dr. Sokol's LRMC method for predictive modeling of the NCAA basketball tournament is an industry leader, and his non-sports research has won the EURO Management Science Strategic Innovation Prize. Dr. Sokol has also won recognition for his teaching and curriculum development from IIE and the NAE, and is the recipient of Georgia Tech's highest awards for teaching.

Richard W. Vuduc

Associate Professor of Computational Science and Engineering
Associate Professor of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Sridhar Narasimhan

Professor at The Georgia Institute of Technology
Sridhar Narasimhan is Professor of IT Management and Co-Director -Business Analytics Center (BAC), Scheller College of Business. The BAC partners with its Executive Council companies in the analytics space and supports Scheller’s BSBA, MBA, and MS Analytics programs. Professor Narasimhan has developed and taught the MBA IT Practicum course. Since 2016, he has been teaching Business Analytics to undergraduate and MBA students at Scheller. Professor Narasimhan is the founder and first Area Coordinator of the nationally ranked Information Technology Management area. In fall 2010, he was the Acting Dean and led the College in its successful AACSB Maintenance of Accreditation effort. He was Senior Associate Dean from 2007 through 2015.
Charles Turnitsa - Pearson Advance

Charles Turnitsa

Professor at The Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Charles "Chuck" Turnitsa has spent a career, since the early 1990s, in performing information systems and modeling based research and development, chiefly for the Department of Defense and for NASA. He received his PhD from Old Dominion University in Modeling and Simulation (M&S), and has spent some years teaching a variety of topics in the field. Most recently, before coming to Georgia Tech, he spent two years leading the M&S Graduate Program at Columbus State University. Now he is serving as research faculty with Georgia Tech Research Institute, continuing research into various topics related to M&S, and continuing to teach graduate level and professional education level topics in information systems and M&S.

Overview

In MTA 98-383: Introduction to Programming Using HTML and CSS LiveLessons, you learn the fundamental, real-world skills needed to create your own web pages using HTML and CSS and prepare for Microsoft MTA exam 98-383.

Drawing on her experience helping thousands of people learn HTML, CSS, and web design, Jennifer Kyrnin guides you from the absolute basics all the way to creating responsive web layouts and beyond. One step at a time, you learn how to create and post HTML to a hosting service; build a basic HTML document; write a CSS style sheet; use internal and external style sheets; build and style HTML text; create HTML5 outlines; adjust fonts and typography; choose and change colors; create CSS3 rounded corners; and even add HTML5 web video and audio.

Throughout, Jennifer covers the MTA exam 98-383 objective domains logically and provides opportunities to review and practice fundamental concepts and techniques. Topics are organized into bite-sized, self-contained lessons, so you can learn key HTML and CSS skills quickly and easily. This video course, along with additional study, can help you achieve the hours of instruction and hands-on experience recommended to take the exam and demonstrate your mastery of fundamental HTML and CSS concepts.

Learn How To

  • Design and create eye-catching web pages
  • Customize your pages with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
  • Position images, columns, and headings on a page
  • Format text, data tables, links, and media
  • Publish your pages to a web server
  • Create online forms
  • Enhance your site with dynamic content
  • Prepare for the Microsoft MTA exam 98-383: Introduction to Programming Using HTML and CSS

Who Should Take This Course

  • All beginning web page authors and others who need to know how to quickly and easily get a web page up and running for home, school, or work
  • Candidates taking Microsoft exam MTA 98-383: Introduction to Programming Using HTML and CSS

Course Requirements

Basic experience using text editors and managing files; no HTML or CSS experience necessary

About Pearson Video Training

Pearson publishes expert-led video tutorials covering a wide selection of technology topics designed to teach you the skills you need to succeed. These professional and personal technology videos feature world-leading author instructors published by your trusted technology brands: Addison-Wesley, Cisco Press, Pearson IT Certification, Prentice Hall, Sams, and Que Topics include: IT Certification, Network Security, Cisco Technology, Programming, Web Development, Mobile Development, and more.

Meet your instructor

Jennifer Kyrnin

Jennifer has been teaching HTML, XML, and web design online since 1997. She has built and maintained websites of all sizes, from small, single-page brochure sites to large, million-page database-driven sites for international audiences. She is the author of Sams Teach Yourself HTML5 Mobile Web Application Development in 24 Hours and Sams Teach Yourself Responsive Web Design in 24 Hours.

What you will learn

  • Fundamental R programming skills
  • Statistical concepts such as probability, inference, and modeling and how to apply them in practice
  • Gain experience with the tidyverse, including data visualization with ggplot2 and data wrangling with dplyr
  • Become familiar with essential tools for practicing data scientists such as Unix/Linux, git and GitHub, and RStudio
  • Implement machine learning algorithms
  • In-depth knowledge of fundamental data science concepts through motivating real-world case studies

Program Class List

1
Data Science: R Basics

Course Details
Build a foundation in R and learn how to wrangle, analyze, and visualize data.

2
Data Science: Visualization

Course Details
Learn basic data visualization principles and how to apply them using ggplot2.

3
Data Science: Probability

Course Details
Learn probability theory -- essential for a data scientist -- using a case study on the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

4
Data Science: Inference and Modeling

Course Details
Learn inference and modeling, two of the most widely used statistical tools in data analysis.

5
Data Science: Productivity Tools

Course Details
Keep your projects organized and produce reproducible reports using GitHub, git, Unix/Linux, and RStudio.

6
Data Science: Wrangling

Course Details
Learn to process and convert raw data into formats needed for analysis.

7
Data Science: Linear Regression

Course Details
Learn how to use R to implement linear regression, one of the most common statistical modeling approaches in data science.

8
Data Science: Machine Learning

Course Details
Build a movie recommendation system and learn the science behind one of the most popular and successful data science techniques.

9
Data Science: Capstone

Course Details
Show what you've learned from the Professional Certificate Program in Data Science.

Meet your instructor

Rafael Irizarry

Professor of Biostatistics at Harvard University
Rafael Irizarry is a Professor of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. For the past 15 years, Dr. Irizarry’s research has focused on the analysis of genomics data. During this time, he has also has taught several classes, all related to applied statistics. Dr. Irizarry is one of the founders of the Bioconductor Project, an open source and open development software project for the analysis of genomic data. His publications related to these topics have been highly cited and his software implementations widely downloaded.

Course Overview

Technology, digital media and mobile access have changed how people learn. Today’s students want to be engaged and self-directed with digital content, available anytime, anywhere. This is a challenge for instructional designers as they create online learning experiences.

As an instructional designer, it’s critical to understand emerging learning theories including Bloom’s taxonomy and constructivism and how they relate to the way people learn in our digitally connected world. This course, which is part of the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters Program, explores the evolution of learning theories from traditional Socratic methods to emerging learning sciences. Additionally, you will explore curriculum design models using performance-based assessments to create effective and engaging learning experiences.

After a solid foundation of how people learn today, you will explore technology’s role in supporting and enhancing the teaching and learning process.

Previous background in teaching or professional development is a plus, but not required. Join us and launch your career as an instructional designer.

This course is part of the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMaster’s program from UMGC. Upon completion of the program and receipt of the verified MicroMaster’s certificate, learners may then transition into the full UMGC Master’s Program in Learning Design and Technology. See the MicroMasters program page for more information.

What you’ll learn

  • To apply learning theories and their impact in the design of online learning
  • Technology’s role in the teaching and learning process
  • Curriculum design and how to apply Bloom’s taxonomy to engage students in the learning process
  • To write effective performance assessments and scoring rubrics

Prerequisites

Basic experience in word processing and G Suite. A background in teaching, education, or professional development would be helpful but not required.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners from one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. EdX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

Meet Your Instructors

Randy Hansen

Professor and Program Chair, Learning Design and Technology at University of Maryland University College
Dr. Randy Hansen is a professor and program chair, Learning Design and Technology at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). Randy’s research interests include innovative online instructional design, technology’s role in engaging learners in the learning process, and design of effective professional learning experiences. In 2015 Dr. Hansen was selected by the Center for Digital Education’s as a Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers. In 2016, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) awarded him a Making IT Happen award. In 2018, Dr. Hansen was recognized by UMUC with the President’s Award for outstanding work and contributions to the university. Currently, Dr. Hansen servers as a member and Treasurer for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board of Directors.

Course Overview

This capstone course will feature knowledge, disposition, and performance assessments that examine growth along dimensions critical to the effective leadership of educational innovation and improvement.

Learners will apply knowledge and principles of ambitious instruction, logics of innovation, improvement science, and exemplary cases to case studies of large-scale, practice-focused innovation. In doing so, they will identify and explain strengths in these innovations. They will also identify problems and challenges faced by these initiatives and, then, propose means of organizing and managing in response to those problems and challenges.

This course is part of the Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

What You’ll Learn

  • Applications of improvement science
  • Knowledge of strategies for leading educational innovation and improvement
  • Dispositions essential to organizing and managing educational innovation and improvement
  • Capabilities to construct research-based solutions to core challenges that arise in organizing and managing educational innovation and improvement

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of schools and education systems as well as the political, policy, and public pressures to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Meet Your Instructors

Donald J. Peurach

Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at University of Michigan Donald J. Peurach is Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. His research, teaching, and outreach focus on the production, use, and management of knowledge-in-practice among social innovators and those they seek to serve. As such, his work sits squarely at the intersection of educational policy, leadership, and innovation. He is the author of Seeing Complexity in Public Education: Problems, Possibilities, and Success for All (2011, Oxford University Press) and a co-author of Improvement by Design: The Promise of Better Schools (2014, University of Chicago Press). Peurach also serves as a Fellow of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and as a Faculty Associate in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan). Before pursuing an academic career, he was a high school mathematics teacher and, before that, a systems analyst in manufacturing, healthcare, and higher education. Peurach holds a BA in computer science from Wayne State University, an MPP from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Educational Studies from the School of Education at the University of Michigan.

Course Overview

With principles of improvement science as a foundation, new knowledge about the continuous improvement of educational innovations is rapidly emerging among communities of educational professionals and researchers, as they work together in new ways to solve practical problems, improve student performance, and reduce achievement gaps.

Developed in collaboration with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, this course will use case studies to take learners deep into the design, organization, and management of three innovative approaches to large-scale, practice-focused continuous improvement that have currency in the US and abroad:

  • Design-Based Implementation Research
  • Implementation Science
  • Networked Improvement Communities

What You’ll Learn

  • To identify approaches to continuous improvement appropriate for specific schools and systems.
  • To apply logics of innovation and principles of improvement science to authentic cases of continuous improvement.

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of schools and education systems as well as the political, policy, and public pressures to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Meet Your Instructors

Donald J. Peurach

Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at University of Michigan Donald J. Peurach is Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. His research, teaching, and outreach focus on the production, use, and management of knowledge-in-practice among social innovators and those they seek to serve. As such, his work sits squarely at the intersection of educational policy, leadership, and innovation. He is the author of Seeing Complexity in Public Education: Problems, Possibilities, and Success for All (2011, Oxford University Press) and a co-author of Improvement by Design: The Promise of Better Schools (2014, University of Chicago Press). Peurach also serves as a Fellow of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and as a Faculty Associate in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan). Before pursuing an academic career, he was a high school mathematics teacher and, before that, a systems analyst in manufacturing, healthcare, and higher education. Peurach holds a BA in computer science from Wayne State University, an MPP from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Educational Studies from the School of Education at the University of Michigan.

Paul LeMahieu

Senior VP for Programs and Operations at Carnegie Foundation Paul LeMahieu is the senior vice president for programs and operations at the Carnegie Foundation. At Carnegie, he directs all of its programmatic efforts as well as the work of the Center for Networked Improvement (comprised of groups dedicated to collaborative technology, analytics, improvement science, as well as network initiation and development). LeMahieu served as superintendent of education for the state of Hawaii, the only state in the nation that is a unitary school district with annual budgets totaling over $1.8 billion. He was President of the National Association of Test Directors and Vice President of the American Educational Research Association. He served on the National Academy of Sciences' Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Mathematical Sciences Education Board, the National Board on Testing Policy, and the National Board on Professional Teaching Standards. His current professional interests focus on the adaptation of improvement science tools and methodologies for application in networks in education. He is a co-author of the recent book Learning to improve: How America’s schools can get better at getting better, and lead author of the forthcoming Working to improve: Seven approaches to quality improvement in education. LeMahieu has a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s from Yale College.

Course Overview

With roots in industry and in health care, improvement science is a disciplined approach to educational innovation that supports teachers, leaders, and researchers in collaborating to solve specific problems of practice. Improvement science brings discipline and methods to different logics of innovation by integrating:

  • Problem analysis
  • Use of research
  • Development of solutions
  • Measurement of processes and outcomes
  • Rapid refinement through plan-do-study-act cycles.

For teachers, school leaders, and system leaders, improvement science moves educational innovation out of the realm of “fad” and into the realm of research-based, evidence-driven continuous improvement, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of educational practice.

What You’ll Learn

  • Principles and methods of improvement science in education and other social sectors
  • Means of introducing improvement science in schools and systems
  • Approaches to accelerating improvement through networked improvement communities

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of schools and education systems as well as the political, policy, and public pressures to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Meet Your Instructors

Donald J. Peurach

Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at University of Michigan Donald J. Peurach is Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. His research, teaching, and outreach focus on the production, use, and management of knowledge-in-practice among social innovators and those they seek to serve. As such, his work sits squarely at the intersection of educational policy, leadership, and innovation. He is the author of Seeing Complexity in Public Education: Problems, Possibilities, and Success for All (2011, Oxford University Press) and a co-author of Improvement by Design: The Promise of Better Schools (2014, University of Chicago Press). Peurach also serves as a Fellow of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and as a Faculty Associate in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan). Before pursuing an academic career, he was a high school mathematics teacher and, before that, a systems analyst in manufacturing, healthcare, and higher education. Peurach holds a BA in computer science from Wayne State University, an MPP from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Educational Studies from the School of Education at the University of Michigan.

Anthony S. Bryk

President at Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Anthony S. Bryk is the ninth president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he is leading work on transforming educational research and development, more closely joining researchers and practitioners in networked improvement communities to improve teaching and learning. Formerly, he held the Spencer Chair in Organizational Studies in the School of Education and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 2004 until assuming Carnegie's presidency in September 2008. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and was appointed by President Obama to the National Board for Education Sciences in 2010. He is one of America's most noted educational researchers. His 1993 book, Catholic Schools and the Common Good, is a classic in the sociology of education. His deep interest in bringing scholarship to bear on improving schooling is reflected in his later volumes, Trust in Schools (2002) and Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago (2010). In his most recent work, Learning to Improve (2015), Bryk argues improvement science combined with the power of networks offers the field a new approach to reach ever increasing educational aspirations. Bryk holds a B.S. from Boston College and an Ed.D. from Harvard University.

Course Overview

Pursuing goals for ambitious teaching and learning requires that students, teachers, and educational leaders learn to work together in new ways. This course engages learners in exploring four leading logics of educational innovation: strategies and approaches to producing and using knowledge to improve educational practice and outcomes at scale, across many classrooms, schools, and systems. These logics include:

  • Shell enterprises
  • Diffusion enterprises
  • Incubation enterprises
  • Evolutionary enterprises

Each of these logics has been used successfully in different types of classrooms, schools, and systems, though each also features traps and pitfalls that complicate universal usage.

What You’ll Learn

  • To think and reason about innovation as producing, using, and refining practical knowledge in schools and systems.
  • To evaluate the alignment between innovation strategies and local contexts.
  • To coordinate innovation strategies with goals for ambitious teaching and learning.

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of schools and education systems as well as the political, policy, and public pressures to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Meet Your Instructors

Donald J. Peurach

Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at University of Michigan Donald J. Peurach is Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. His research, teaching, and outreach focus on the production, use, and management of knowledge-in-practice among social innovators and those they seek to serve. As such, his work sits squarely at the intersection of educational policy, leadership, and innovation. He is the author of Seeing Complexity in Public Education: Problems, Possibilities, and Success for All (2011, Oxford University Press) and a co-author of Improvement by Design: The Promise of Better Schools (2014, University of Chicago Press). Peurach also serves as a Fellow of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and as a Faculty Associate in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan). Before pursuing an academic career, he was a high school mathematics teacher and, before that, a systems analyst in manufacturing, healthcare, and higher education. Peurach holds a BA in computer science from Wayne State University, an MPP from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Educational Studies from the School of Education at the University of Michigan.