Online Self-paced

8-10 Hours plus independent study time

Over a 12 Week Period

Course Facilitators:
Matthew Wheelock and Chad Ratliff

Matthew Wheelock

Matthew Wheelock’s work focuses on improving opportunities and outcomes for K-12 students, particularly those in Title I public schools. He is particularly interested in progressive educational models, experiential learning, and other innovative approaches that promote student agency, self-efficacy, and motivation—and create pathways to success for all learners, particularly those who have previously struggled in school.

Wheelock spearheads the educational innovation area of emphasis and the dual degree MEd/MBA program that EHD offers in conjunction with the Darden School of Business, where he also teaches and has a courtesy appointment as an Associate Professor of Business Administration.

In addition to his work at UVA, Wheelock is active in promoting educational innovation around the country, particularly by building bridges between informal and formal learning environments as an advisor to schools and nonprofit organizations, including the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., where he serves on the board of directors. He is also the founder and former executive director of Live It Learn It, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that provides experiential learning programs to thousands of students in Title I public schools each year.

Chad Ratliff

Chad Ratliff is fhe tounding principal of Community Lab School—a nationally recognized R&D school model in Albemarle County Public Schools—and lecturer at the University of Virginia, teaching courses in educational innovation and social entrepreneurship. He is co-author of 'Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change Schools' and was named one of the "20 to Watch" educational leaders in the country by the National School Boards Association. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, Forbes, Education Week, and several books.

Chad was tapped for several educational innovation events at the White House during the Obama administration and has been called to testify before the Virginia General Assembly on education policy. He was invited to give keynote remarks by the Singapore Ministry of Education and the National Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, led internal workshops for the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Education staff, and has spoken at the American Association of School Superintendents, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the National School Boards Association, among others.

Chad is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Virginia and was the 2025 Walter Eugene Campbell Scholarship Award recipient. In his spare time, he enjoys advising early-stage social ventures focused on educational impact, traveling with his family, and fly fishing for brook trout in the Blue Ridge Mountains.