Summer Course Schedule
Week 1
Context and Culture
Monday
Familiarize yourself with the course materials and both the main course website and the Blackboard site
Watch Introduction to course video
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) How Do I Get My Students Over Their Alternative Conceptions (Misconceptions) for Learning?
Read How People Learn II, Chapter 2 - Context and Culture
Types of Learning and the Developing Brain
Tuesday
Read How People Learn II, Chapter 3 - Types of Learning and the Developing Brain
Add an entry to Week 1 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Wednesday
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) How Do My Students Think: Diagnosing Student Thinking
Add an entry to Week 1 Journal reflections that describes a real learning environment in your school or professional context — a class, an intervention block, a PLC, an advisory, a coaching cycle, a professional-development sequence, or another of your choosing. You will return to reflect on that same environment for the last journal entry every week through the lens of the material we have covered up to that point. For now describe the situation and try to identify what the learning objectives are, who is responsible for different parts of the teaching and learning dynamic, and any highlights or problems of practice you are aware of. Perhaps describe a situation where adults or students may be misdiagnosing a learning problem. Explain whether the issue is being treated as motivation, behavior, ability, attention, culture, memory, or misconception; identify evidence that would improve the diagnosis; and recommend one better next move.
Reflecting on your practice
Thursday and Friday - Happy 4th of July!
Week 2
Processes that Support Learning
Monday
Tuesday
Watch Dr. David Yeager (2025) On Intelligence And Growth Mindset
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) Using Praise to Enhance Student Resilience and Learning Outcomes
Add an entry to Week 2 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Knowledge and Reasoning
Wednesday - Zoom Meeting at 4pm Arkansas time.
Thursday
Watch Dr. Jim Heal (2026) Leveraging Prior Knowledge to Build Understanding
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) Practice for Knowledge Acquisition (Not Drill and Kill)
Add an entry to Week 2 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Reflecting on your practice
Friday Reflect in Week 2 Journal on Blackboard - Analyze how well your throughline environment supports attention, prior knowledge, memory, metacognition, feedback, practice, reasoning, and transfer. Recommend changes that would make learning more durable and meaningful, and name who benefits most from each.
Week 3
Motivation to Learn
Monday
Tuesday
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) Developing Responsible and Autonomous Learners: A Key to Motivating Students
Watch Prof. Richard Ryan (2025) Self-Determination Theory, Work Motivation & Performance
Add an entry to Week 3 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Implications for Learning in School
Wednesday - Zoom Meeting at 4pm Arkansas time.
Thursday
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) Research in Brain Function and Learning: The importance of matching instruction to a child's maturity level
Add an entry to Week 3 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Reflecting on your practice
Friday
Reflect in Week 3 Journal on Blackboard - Analyze how your throughline environment shapes motivation, belonging, autonomy, competence, relatedness, conformity, and authority. Identify strength, unintended risk, who is most affected by them, and leadership actions that would improve the climate.
Week 4
Digital Technology and AI
Monday
Tuesday
Read - download full pdf by clicking option on top right of this link: More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking
Optional: Rand Cell Phone Policy Panel results
Add an entry to Week 4 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Learning Across the Lifespan
Wednesday - Zoom Meeting at 4pm Arkansas time.
Thursday
Add an entry to Week 4 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
Reflecting on your practice
Friday
Reflect in Week 4 Journal on Blackboard - Choose one practice in your throughline environment involving technology, AI, online learning, or other form of technology. Analyze whether it improves attention, access, feedback, practice, reasoning, self-regulation, transfer, or adult learning. Name risks — distraction, cognitive bypass, privacy, inequity, compliance, weak transfer — and recommend revisions.
Week 5
Designing Learning Environments and Cognitive Coherence as a Learning Condition
Monday
Read Executive Summary (starting page xi) and Watch How Principals Affect Students and Schools with Jason Grissom
Tuesday
Read (including 'expand all' tabs) Using Classroom Data to Give Systematic Feedback to Students to Improve Learning
Watch Amy Edmondson (2018) How to turn a group of strangers into a team
Add an entry to Week 5 Journal reflections on what you have learned so far. Do not feel boxed in by this prompt but consider asking yourself: How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with learn and as a leader how can you use this information to create a more robust learning system, climate, and culture that is consistently more healthy and productive?
How can understanding the psychology of learning help leaders improve schools
Wednesday - No Zoom session this final week. Available for individual meetings to answer questions - just contact me if you would like to schedule a one-on-one.
Final Throughline Reflection - As your final entry in the week 5 journal - Synthesize your reflections into a redesign of your throughline environment grounded in the psychology of learning. As you deem them important you may reference cognitive design, motivation, belonging, feedback, self-regulation, technology and AI, adult learning, equity, and continuous improvement. Conclude with the most critical leadership moves you would make to begin implementation a high leverage change.