Developing Educational Leadership in Graduate Students through Cross-Program Collaboration in a 3-D Immersive Environment

Abstract

Educational leadership is no longer considered the exclusive realm of the principal but extends to all educators within the school. Shared leadership encompasses collaboration among many educational roles to define the effective schools of the 21st century. New job demands for a diverse population of leaders and growing accountability at all levels for preparing such effective leaders provides the impetus for faculty in the department of Leadership and Educational Studies at Appalachian State University to explore new ways to prepare our students for these realities. The resulting project represents a shift from discreet courses that trapped programs in self-sustained silos of learning to expand both learning and teaching along with that of students into a more global perspective.