Overview OER Moodle site: Leading & innovating in the ECE sector

Background Information

Welcome to the Open Educational Resource Moodle site: Leading & innovating in the ECE sector!

This OER is a twenty-hour, online, fully asynchronous Professional Development (PD) experience geared toward ECE practitioners who are interested in leading and innovating in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector. 

There are six separate sections within this Moodle site, including: 

1. Welcome and introduction - Describes the background and purpose of the resource and further defines and establishes the resource’s parameters.
2. Topic 1: Leading in the system: ECE Business Management and Operations - Highlights the various ECE systems of which ECE practitioners are a part, introduces systems thinking, and situates the fundamentals of running and managing a business.    
3. Topic 2: What is leadership in ECE? -  Examines the ECE leaders' role and need to understand the intricate relationship between leadership styles and one's underlying values to support and sustain effective, ethical, culturally responsive, accessible, and inclusive practices. 
4. Topic 3: Elevating the Sector, Advocacy and Leadership - Supports you in recognizing the importance of the ECE sector and the ECE leader’s role in advocating for change, championing the sector, building community and inclusive environments, and celebrating advancements. 
5. Wrap up - Summarizes key takeaways and provides space to reflect on scaffolded learning. This section is where you can generate and print your certificate of completion (after completing all activities in Topics one, two, and three). 
6. Resources - Provides a comprehensive collection of ECE leadership resources, including videos, podcasts, and a directory of professional associations, organizations, and certifications.  

It is critical to access the sections and topics in sequence as the materials and activities are designed to be scaffolded to support your success and optimize your learning experience.  

To learn more about OERs at RRU, visit this RRU library resource which provides guidelines for finding, using, and creating Open Educational Resources https://libguides.royalroads.ca/OER

Navigating this Resource

This openly licensed resource is hosted within the Royal Roads University (RRU) open educational resources (OER) Moodle site. There are various instances of Moodle at RRU, and you can learn more about the versions used and how to navigate Moodle by visiting this RRU Moodle OERsite. 

Learning outcomes (LOs) serve as a valuable resource to guide your learning journey and ensure that you can make the most out of your learning experience. The primary purpose of this section is to clearly communicate the intended learning outcomes of the Leading and Innovating in the Early Childhood Education Sector Moodle OER resource. 

By outlining these outcomes, you will have a roadmap of the knowledge, skills, and competencies you will acquire throughout the duration of the course. These outcomes are carefully crafted to align with the overall goals and objectives of the course, ensuring that you are equipped with the necessary tools to succeed.

The learning outcomes for this resource align with the content, activities, and assessments you will encounter, enabling you to track your growth and identify improvement opportunities. Within each Topic section, an overview is provided, including the respective LOs that are relevant to that topic. You are encouraged to review the learning outcomes thoroughly and to refer to them throughout your learning journey to support your success in completing all provided activities and assessments.  

After completing all activities and assessments (total of 20 hours) in this Moodle OER resource, participants will:

• Reflect on the impact of professional accountability and ethical, values-based ECE leadership practice,   
• Define systems thinking, explain the various ECE systems you are a part of, and identify your role in those systems to advocate for change,  
• Consider what "Quality" means as an ECE leader and manager, 
  
• Compare and contrast the communication and conflict resolution skills needed from an ECE educator and an ECE Leader,   
• Explain an ECE Leader’s role in fostering an ECE program that honours rights-respecting, equitable, diverse and inclusive environments,   
• Describe ways to encourage reflective and reflexive practices in ECE programs as an ECE leader,    
• Explain principles and processes required to support the operation of a quality, sustainable ECE program with well-cared-for ECE staff, and  
• Create ECE programs as changemaker spaces; drawing on innovations from the field. 

Activities and Assessments

The activities and assessments within this resource are designed to be engaged independently and asynchronously to spark curiosity and support your growth and development as you work towards achieving the learning outcomes. 

There are no formal grades awarded for completing the activities and assessments within this OER; instead, embrace this experience as a unique approach to learning that is intended to support you in a more enriching journey of self-reflection and personal growth. You are encouraged to assess your progress and engage in reflective practice as you move through the activities and assessments to foster self-discovery and continual improvement as an ECE practitioner and leader. 

Activities and assessments in this resource are diverse and include:

• Readings 
• Videos and podcasts
• Exploring terminology (glossary terms)
• Quizzes & video quizzes
• Case studies & ethical dilemmas 
• Self-assessment checklists
• Systems mapping and brainstorming
• Guided reflections 
• Personal reflections and journaling 
• Creating joy statements and developing a manifesto
• Moodle "Lessons" - self guided modules

Specific activities and assessments will be listed within the overview of each respective Topic section of this resource.