MED670 A Professional Book Study AND Professional Development Application: HEART! Fully Forming Your Professional Life as a Teacher (3 cr.)

Learners study the book HEART! Fully Forming Your Professional Life as a Teacher together, exploring and reflecting upon the intricacies of a teacher’s professional life as an educator and the “unique aspects that make up the HEART of a professional life: happiness, engagement, alliances, risk, and thought” (Kanold, 2017). Learners deepen their personal understanding of the HEART concepts of happiness, engagement, alliances, risk, and thought  through virtual book club discussions, journaling, exchanging ideas, and developing personal strategies to incorporate into one’s life as an educator. Aside from learning from and with others within the book group, participants dig deeper into the HEART concepts of happiness, engagement, alliances, risk, and thought and develop a professional development ready presentation to share in their own school community.

Upon completion of this course, the learner is expected to be able to do the following:

1. Interpret the theory and pedagogy connected to the book’s topic.
2. Use professional dialogue with others as an opportunity to listen to and be engaged with diverse perspectives around the central topics that are presented in a text.
3. Demonstrate metacognition around the book’s main concepts through reflection.
4. Design a practical plan of action to take the new learning and concepts of the course and apply them to the classroom or wider school community.