Designing an Out-of-School Learning EdD Program Charlene Trovato Tom Akiva Marijke Hecht

EdD Program at Pitt Our School-wide program: Prepares working professionals to become scholarly practitioners to develop the knowledge and skills to address and mitigate enduring problems affecting children, families, and communities.

EdD Program at Pitt Our School-wide program: Prepares transformational leaders across education sectors Education Leadership (P-12) Health and Physical Activity (2016) Higher Education Management Language, Literacy and Culture Social and Comparative Analysis in Education Special Education Education STEM Education Out-of-School Learning (2017)

EdD Program at Pitt Our School-wide program: Serves approximately 60 students in each of four cohorts for a total of 240 students in eight AREAS of CONCENTRATION P-12 schools Institutions of higher education in the U.S. and abroad, Ministers of education and health, International nongovernmental agencies, community based organizations, Research and development institutes, Health and human service organizations, and government

EdD Program at Pitt Let’s begin our tour of the Pitt program Look in your welcoming folder for the “EdD At-A-Glance”

Why an out-of-school learning EdD? Enormous growth in afterschool, informal learning, & connected programs New potential for lifewide & lifelong, & connected learning & school-program partnership Increasing need for professional leaders

1. Three big challenges We need to recruit nationally. How do we add a distance option without killing the face-to-face program?

1. 2. Three big challenges We need to recruit nationally. How do we add a distance option without killing the face-to-face program? 2. We have a mighty- but-small OSL faculty team How do we support EdD, PhD, & MS without watering down?

1. 2. 3. Three big challenges We need to recruit nationally. How do we add a distance option without killing the face-to-face program? 2. We have a mighty- but-small OSL faculty team How do we support EdD, PhD, & MS without watering down? 3. OSL is mad diverse! How can we support this diversity and advance the field?

1. 2. 3. Three big challenges We need to recruit nationally. How do we add a distance option without killing the face-to-face program? 2. We have a mighty- but-small OSL faculty team How do we support EdD, PhD, & MS without watering down? 3. OSL is mad diverse! How can we support this diversity and advance the field?

Iterative design process Collected data Developed course activities Reviewed evaluation of existing EdD + Surveyed OSL professionals Tested prototypes of course structure and activities + Refined timeline and syllabus

Design Principles Cohort Building Problematization Adaptation

Blending synchronous and asynchronous interactions “I love the idea of an online course for informal education, but I also value being in touch with peers who are practicing and studying the same concepts. So I would benefit from occasional online meetings via zoom or skype.” 1. Blending synchronous and asynchronous interactions

Blending synchronous and asynchronous interactions 1. Blending synchronous and asynchronous interactions Skype, Zoom, etc. Telepresence Recording live meetings Apps like FlipGrid, multimedia

Learner-centered program capitalizing on cohort talent “I'd like to see it centered on sharing information, experiences, practices among the participants with the instructor/facilitator filling in where information is needed…” 2. Learner-centered program capitalizing on cohort talent

3. Opportunity for Research-Practice Partnership experience Part-time EdD students Opportunity for Research-Practice Partnership experience Full-time PhD students 3. Supporting needs + defining appropriate expectations

Unit 1: Exploring Informal Learning Innovative reflective journaling Students ID problems of practice Weeks 1-6

Unit 2: RPP Capacity Building Design Project RPP teams gather evidence of problem of practice RPP teams develop activity, e.g. museum exhibit or afterschool science activity Weeks 7-10

Unit 3: Conference Paper or Grant Proposal RPP teams refine activities + connect to learning sciences Present final activity as conference paper or grant proposal Weeks 11-15

Onward! We launched our first OSL cohort this summer with 7 students! Informal learning course this fall Managing the distance We will keep iterating