Penn Educational Leadership Simulation Program

Project Overview

The Penn Educational Leadership Simulations (PELS) Program builds on the rich experiences of veteran educational leaders by creating problem-based simulations in both online and in-person formats. The goal of this venture is to develop human capital in school leadership through blended peer-to-peer (P2P) professional interactions. Since 2011, PELS has trained school and district leaders to author computer-based pathing simulations (“sims”), drawing out leaders’ own experiences tackling real-world challenges. In recent years, collaborations with Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Social Policy and Practice have allowed for an expansion and exploration of this work through in-person, interdisciplinary, simulated case scenarios. 

The design of this program allows for the perpetual development, update, and improvement of these tools and ensures that they remain realistic and relevant in fueling critical conversations in educational leadership. Not only do simulations enhance opportunities for exploratory and problem-based learning in safe educational environments, they also offer school and district leaders the chance to practice dealing with difficult and challenging situations in reflective ways. By building a committed and connected community of trained and experienced simulation developers who are themselves leaders in preK-12 schools and districts, PELS is able to help large numbers of principals and superintendents develop complex skills in realistic but low-risk ways.

Since 2010 the Penn Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership has incubated PELS. Approximately two dozen sims have been developed in English, some in Spanish, and others are under development. Further, through this effort, the Mid-Career Doctoral Program and PELS programs have continued to explore live, in-person simulations through collaborations with other schools at the University of Pennsylvania.

Meet the Fellows

PELS Author Fellows come from a variety of backgrounds in education, all sharing at least two common characteristics: extensive experience as a practitioner of educational leadership and a strong academic background. Current and past program fellows include: 

*Note: Fellows include sim authors from some of the Mid-Career Doctoral Program’s associated colleague organizations – AASA, NAESP, NASSP, and other programs at Penn GSE.

Program Leadership

Michael Johanek, Program Director

Michael Johanek, Ed.D., is a Senior Fellow at Penn GSE and Director of its Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, Co-Director of the Inter-American Educational Leadership Network (IAELN/RILE), and affiliated faculty for the International Educational Development Program. Before coming to Penn in 2007, Dr. Johanek served as Vice President of Professional Services for Teachscape, a for-profit blended technology services company. He is the former Executive Director for K-12 Professional Development, The College Board, where he managed programs supporting over 500,000 middle and high school teachers, college faculty, coordinators, and administrators, including those involved in the Advanced Placement Program. There, he founded, developed, and managed a program development and operations department with responsibilities including new product development, in-person training, web services, electronic and print publications, regional office operational support, marketing and research. Committed to building and sustaining professional networks of educational leaders, Dr. Johanek actively explores and develops synergistic opportunities to bring together resources, ideas, and people to create innovative ways to support educational improvement. 

Dr. Johanek is an editor of Repositioning Educational Leadership: Practitioners Leading from an Inquiry Stance (Teachers College Press, 2018) and author of Making Up Our Mind: What School Choice Is Really About (The University of Chicago Press, anticipated spring 2019).

Eric Bernstein, Associate Program Director

Eric Bernstein, J.D., Ed.D., is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership in the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. Dr. Bernstein holds a joint appointment with the School of Dental Medicine, where he is the Director of Curriculum Advancement. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Bernstein was at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, with extensive experience in online and distance learning graduate degree programs. Before entering higher education, Dr. Bernstein worked as a middle school math and social studies teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and a middle and high school principal. His research interests include professional development–including the use of simulations for pre-service and in-service educational leadership development, professional education and curriculum development, school discipline policy, and social justice in education.

Dr. Bernstein has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut. He is a graduate of the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and an active Mid-Career Program Network Associate. Dr. Bernstein brings to the PELS Program deep insights into the lived experiences of educational leaders and the contexts in which they work. These insights and experiences uniquely position Dr. Bernstein to understand the complex nature of interpersonal relations between school leaders, staff, parents, and students, a key aspect of what we hope to bring forward and further explore through the PELS Program.

Sonya Harrison, Network Lead

Dr. Sonya Harrison, a native of Brooklyn, New York and a graduate of New York City public schools, has enjoyed twenty-plus years as an educator within the New York City and Philadelphia public schools. As a leader in various capacities, her main focus is to provide instructional support and professional development to educators for the implementation of best practices in the areas of instructional and systems leadership. As a former principal in Philadelphia, Dr. Harrison reinvigorated the academic and social programs through the maintenance of a viable university partnership (University of Pennsylvania), a successful Community School, and a positive school climate through the incorporation of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS). She believes effective leaders positively influence the learning culture of an organization. Effective leaders create intentional learning for students by helping educators reflect and focus on their pedagogy, and by collaborating and partnering with key stakeholders.

In addition to her experience as an administrator within a large, urban school district, Dr. Harrison has served as a peer coach and presented extensively in the area of school leadership at conferences and in community forums. Through her experience as an Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Harrison has become more interested in deepening her understanding of issues that face administrators in urban schools while seeking solutions to the many challenges they face. This interest has led Dr. Harrison to an intense and strategic collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman Medical School to create innovative, flexible, learning experiences for school administrators through the use of simulations. The purpose of this collaboration is to assist leaders with building their individual skill development in order to improve leadership practices.

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