Our Goal - We will be using case studies from the past 3-months to understand how to overcome challenges caused by disruptions to school operations.  Participants will leave with the tools and confidence to communicate more effectively, as well as to coordinate multiple priorities and problem-solve more effectively.  

Our Ideal Audience - Executive and Personal Assistants, Receptionists and other front-line administrative staff working in HR, Finance, Facilities and Marketing Departments. 

Workshop Introduction:
The mandatory school closures have impacted every staff member.  This workshop will help the staff that get the least amount of training but have the greatest amount of interaction with our school community.

School leadership and their respective teams rely extensively on administrative staff to communicate effectively on behalf of the school and be the first point of contact for teachers, parents and suppliers.  International Schools present a challenging work environment for our administrative staff, many of which have never attended such a school nor have had to manage several competing priorities and stakeholder expectations.

This online program will give your Administrative Staff the opportunity to be exposed to communication, problem solving and time management skills to empower them to work more efficiently.  More importantly, they will gain the skills to become a stronger first line of defense against the innumerable distractions that slow our teams down.  Participants will engage in practical activities and be given tools and templates applicable to their daily jobs.

Led by Michael Iannini—one of Greater China’s foremost leadership and organizational development consultants for international schools—the instruction provided will leave attendees with tools and strategies to: 

• Overcome barriers to being understood and understanding others.
• Communicate effectively in a multi-cultural work environment.
• Use questioning techniques to ensure a mutual understanding.
• Define, communicate and act to resolve Problems.
• Identify, communicate and coordinate multiple priorities.
• PDAC Method of Writing Emails and Proof Reading.

Online Program Benefits:

• Lectures and Live Webinars will be recorded and accessible for 6-months after the course.
• Schedule personal meetings with the facilitator during Virtual Office Hours.
• 24 hours total time; spread over 4 weeks.
• 6-hours asynchronous coursework (done on your own time) and 18-hours synchronous live sessions to connect with peers and take the learning deeper.
• This is a certificate program; participants will be recognized for 24-hours of professional learning.
• Coaching expertise tailored for your cohort.

Online Program Structure:

Based on extensive research, we have developed a model for virtual professional development that will:

• Enable participants to learn at their own pace using a mix of content delivery methods to meet the needs of various learning styles and preferences; 
• Challenge participants to apply knowledge and tools introduced throughout the program to their own working context;
• Connect participants to process content collectively and share unique experiences and perspectives; and
• Demonstrate understanding of knowledge and tools by having peers review assignments and presentations.

The program is designed to ensure participants can apply the concepts and tools from the course ‘on-the-job’, regardless if they are meeting with their teams face-to-face or virtually. Content is broken up over a series of weeks to ensure there is time to apply learning from each module before new content is introduced. Please refer to the online learning components below:

 

Online Learning Modules: The online learning modules are for asynchronous, personalized learning, to be completed before the Live Cohort Meeting. Content uploaded at the beginning of each module will include, but not limited to: recorded lectures, articles, case studies, recorded instructions for cohort activities and interviews. 

Live Cohort Meetings: Live Virtual Cohort Meetings will be scheduled every Wednesday at 15:30 Hong Kong Standard time. Each Cohort Meeting will be scheduled for 90-minutes.

These meetings are for reviewing lessons, collaborating on the weekly activity, and preparing for the live webinars hosted each week of the program. The facilitator will initiate these sessions and then break participants into their respective Zoom Break-Out Room with clear tasks to help guide their understanding and application of the content. Each cohort will be expected to make a presentation in the live webinar for that week. Cohorts will be between 3-8 people and will be matched based on similar roles. Cohorts will remain fixed throughout the program to leverage personal familiarity with one another to enrich learning.

Live Webinars: Live Webinars will be hosted every Friday. They will take place at 15:30 Hong Kong Standard Time. Each Webinar will be 2.5 hours long.

These webinars are designed for participants to share, discuss and give and receive feedback in mixed groups around the content that has been introduced. These sessions will include a mix of short case studies, protocol overviews from the facilitator and presentations by pre-assigned cohorts. Different grouping strategies will be used during these webinars to ensure participants maximize their exposure to a range of experience and perspectives. Groups will use ‘breakout rooms’ to answer reflective questions to deepen thinking on how to apply the knowledge and tools introduced.

Online Forum: The online forum is for cohort interaction and file sharing. Through the Microsoft Teams platform, participants will be able to interact asynchronously on their activities and peer review other cohort submissions.

Virtual Office Hours:  The facilitator will have a Appointments link available for all participants to book a 30-minute meeting with her/him throughout the course. Some courses may limit the number of meetings a single participant may book.

 

Upon Registration:	Participants must complete a pre-course survey. The purpose of this survey is to understand the participants familiarity with course content and help the facilitator prepare relevant cases.
August 21 - August 28:	Upload a video to the Online Forum giving an introduction that includes:  1) Your name, 2) Where you work, 3) How you support the teaching and learning in your school, 4) One job related challenge you experienced during COVID-19 school closures and 5) It must include a background, virtual or real, which highlights something you are very passionate about.