Leadership Skills Growth and Development A (Grades 6-8)

About This Course

This is the first course in a two-course sequence. Winner of the highly coveted CODiE award for innovation, vision and industry impact, Leadership Skills Development equips teenagers with leadership skills they can use to build confidence and prepare for college. Students learn critical skills such as goal setting, time management, developing their brand, negotiations and even complete a service project that positively impacts their community. The course principles were developed by Mawi Asgedom, an Ethiopian refugee who became a Harvard University graduate. This course has assisted 75-90% of students in improving their grades, skills and confidence.
In this course, you’ll learn the leadership skills needed to be successful in all areas of your personal, academic, and professional life. You’ll learn the skills to approach problem-solving, decision-making, time management, and goal setting to manage the challenges of day-to-day life, challenging courses, and responsibilities at work more effectively. You’ll also explore the skills needed for approaching public speaking, relationships, organizational management, and team building to better prepare you for whatever professional role you choose in the future. This course prepares students to be leaders in whatever future path they choose for themselves. Prerequisites:  None

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...

• Define key terms and concepts related to leadership, civic engagement, and ethical behavior in public and organizational contexts
• Identify factors influencing civic participation, voter turnout, and the effectiveness of leadership strategies in various settings
• Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens, methods for effective communication, and strategies for collaboration and trust-building within teams
• Explain the impact of media, interest groups, and social media on public opinion, political campaigns, and social awareness
• Create actionable plans, SMART goals, and metrics for achieving team objectives, addressing obstacles, and evaluating project success
• Analyze leadership challenges, logical fallacies in propaganda, and the effectiveness of strategies for influencing public opinion or building consensus
• Explain the phases of change, the need for a change management plan, and strategies for building support and managing commitment

Course Outline:

Module 01: The Nature of Leadership

Module 02: Team Foundations

Module 03: From Plans to Actions

Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.

Additional Costs: None

Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.

Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.

Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.

Ensure that your school or district network and device administrator whitelists online resources relevant to the course in which you are choosing to enroll. Ref., Michigan Virtual Course Whitelist

Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/

Lightweight devices such as Apple iPads, Google Chromebooks, and tablets have limited support for Java or Flash which still appear in a small percentage of our catalog. While FLVS does not offer technical support for these devices, FLVS is working to remove Flash from their remaining course content. Students will need extra work-around steps or alternate browsers to engage with some portions of those courses. FLVS recommends students have a Windows or Mac based computer available to complete coursework in the event that your selected mobile device does not meet the needs of the course. Fully supported Operating Systems for FLVS courses include Windows (10 or higher) and MacOS (11 or higher). Supported Browsers include the most recent versions of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari on devices that support Java and HTML5. Browsers need to be up to date, and some FLVS courses may require installation or enabling of the following Plug-ins: JavaScript enabled, Cookies enabled, Java installed. https://www.flvs.net/student-parent-resources/more/system-requirements

Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at CustomerCare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.

Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at customercare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.

Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:

• Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• Download and install software
• Use a messaging service similar to email
• Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• Open attachments shared in messages
• Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
• Save a file as a .pdf
• Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• Insert images or links into a file or html editor
• Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• Use presentation and graphics programs
• Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• Create and maintain usernames and passwords

Additional Information: This course includes a community service project. Because of the time needed to complete the community service project, this course is only offered in a semester format.