Syllabus for EDL-500

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Educational Leadership: From Theory to Practice provides students an opportunity to investigate, analyze, and apply various theories of leadership and associated concepts specified in the Interstate Schools Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and NJDOE standards. Student will begin the process of designing a professional portfolio that demonstrates competency as an effective educational leader (ISLLC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; NJDOE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

School leaders can choose from among several methodologies for school change or school management, but some methodologies may be more effective than others for a variety of reasons. Investigating and determining which methodology or system best suits a given school situation is the first step toward becoming an effective educational leader. On completing the course, you should be able to:

• Articulate the attributes and qualities of traditional and transformative leadership, and examine personal leadership skills and capacities.



• Define characteristics of effective schools and effective leaders, especially in terms of ISLLC standards.



• Assess the attributes and qualities of school change and management systems, and consider the system that best suits specific schools.



• Conduct research on effective schools.



• Describe ways to manage school change and restructuring effectively, and identify the situations in which those ways work best.



• Perform some level of risk management.



• Describe collaborative decision making.



• Begin design of the professional portfolio.

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KEY ISSUES AND ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

The key issues and essential questions in this course focus on investigating leadership theories, strategies, and methodologies, as well as understanding the roles and attributes of ISLLC and local standards as they apply to leadership.

• What are the key attributes of shared leadership? Of transformative leadership?



• What is the role and importance of standards (ISLLC, state, association, etc.) for the educational leader?



• What is an effective school?



• What is the value of collective decision making?



• What is the role of coaching in the many levels of a school administration?



• What effect does successful leadership have on student learning? Is there a common set of "basic" leadership practices used by successful leaders in most circumstances? What else, beyond the basics, is required for successful leadership?



• How does successful leadership exercise its influence on the learning of students?

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COURSE MATERIALS

The following materials are required to do the work of the course. The required textbooks are available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

Reinhartz, J., & Beach, D. M. (2004). Educational leadership: Changing schools, changing roles. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Balch, B. V., Frampton, P. M., & Hirth, M. A. (2006). Preparing a professional portfolio: A school administrator's guide. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Electronic Portfolio Registration
As a capstone experience in the Educational Leadership program, you will prepare an electronic portfolio that demonstrates your incremental achievement of the program standards. Each course in the program helps you to identify artifacts to place in your portfolio on completion of the course. To this end, you are required to purchase an electronic portfolio registration code upon your entry into the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership program. Basic directions for purchasing access to and using your electronic portfolio are posted within the Educational Leadership Students Organization (online community).

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COURSE STRUCTURE

Educational Leadership—From Theory to Practice is a three-credit, graduate course, consisting of eleven instructional modules:

Each module, in turn, comprises learning objectives; a "read and reflect" assignment (with reflection questions to get you started, a reading assignment, and discussion questions to consider); and an online discussion on the class Discussion Board. Two modules—modules 4 and 10—conclude with a portfolio and interview assignment, respectively, and you are required to complete four (4) reflection papers based on module groupings.

As part of the course you will maintain a learning journal for posting reflections. The journal (see the My Learning Journal area of the course Web site) serves as a central location for posting reflections and recording thoughts, notes, responses, questions, observations, etc.—in short, anything associated with the learning experiences of the class. Items submitted to the learning journal may serve as artifacts for your e-folio, and reflections recorded in the learning journal for later synthesis may become part of your e-folio's reflective narrative.

For the course's eleven instructional modules, go to the Course Modules area of the course Web site. (See also the course Calendar.)

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ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

Each module in the course has an online class discussion forum. All discussion forums take place asynchronously on the class Discussion Board.

Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Discussion board interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning.

Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions. You are expected to post well-reasoned and thoughtful reflections for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to your readings. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic.

Click link for an evaluation rubric.

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS ("GETTING STARTED")

The "Getting Started" reflection questions help "jump start" your thinking on the topics covered in each module. The questions are designed to assist your focus during the readings, but not to limit your thought processes. You are encouraged to think of applications beyond those prompted by the reflection questions.

Post your responses to reflection questions in My Learning Journal.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

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INTERVIEW

The interview assignment is designed for you to gain exposure to someone in the field. It is one thing to study leadership. It is a deeper reality to visit with someone who spends his or her days "in the trenches." As you decide who you would like to interview, make every effort to gain access to someone serving in a position to which you aspire.

Elements of the interview will serve as artifacts for your e-folio along with the professional growth plan you develop.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

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REFLECTION PAPERS

You are required to complete four (4) reflection papers based on the following module groupings:

Paper 1—modules 1 and 2
Paper 2—modules 3, 5, and 6
Paper 3—modules 7 and 8
Paper 4—modules 10 and 11

The reflection paper is the synthesizing activity for the module grouping. In the paper you should draw connections between and among the topics of each module and, where appropriate, between the modules as a whole. The reflection paper is your opportunity to demonstrate understanding of each module as it relates to the course and to the field of study as a whole. You are encouraged to incorporate any resources you have found and are required to use APA fifth edition format for your work.

For further details on each reflection paper, see the Reflection Papers area of the course Web site. Consult the course Calendar for each paper's due date.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

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PORTFOLIO ARTIFACT AND REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE

The principal artifact for this course is the interview you conduct with a school leader or elements of that interview. Accompanying the artifact is a reflective narrative that describes the process and how the artifact meets specific standards and prepares you for school leadership. In reflection paper 4 you also write a sample professional development activity to be included as an artifact in your portfolio.

Place your artifacts in the Artifacts area of your e-folio. You can also link your artifacts (designated as "Work") to ISLLC standards listed in the Resources area of the e-folio. Keep your work in "draft" or "ready for feedback" status for now.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., reflection papers, discussion postings, interview, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. (Note: Graduate students must maintain a B average to remain in good academic standing.)

Letter grades and their numerical equivalents are as follows:

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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

• Cheating
• Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
• Fabricating information or citations
• Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
• Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
• Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
• Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism
Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Graduate Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism and advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Barnett, D. (2004). School leadership preparation programs. Are they preparing tomorrow's leaders? Education, 125, 121–129.

Begley, P. T. (Ed.). (1999). Values and educational leadership. New York: State University of New York Press.

Bush, T. (2003). Theories of educational leadership and management (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Davis, J., & Jazzar, M. (2005). The seven habits of effective principal preparation. Principal, 84, 18–21.

Fullan, M. (2000). The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gibson, R. (2005). Assessing school leaders. American School Board, 192, 39–41.

Glanz, J. (2005). What every principal should know about collaborative leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Metzger, C. (2006). Balancing leadership and personal growth: The school administrator's guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Mulford, B., Silins, H., & Leithwood, K. A. (2005). Educational leadership for organizational learning and improved student outcomes. New York: Springer.

Picciano, A. G. (2005). Data-driven decision making for effective school leaders. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schnedier, E. J., & Hollenczer, L. L. (Eds.). (2005). The principal's guide to managing communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2000). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Shields, C. M., & Edwards, M. M. (2005). Dialogue is not just talk: A new ground for educational leadership. Bern: Peter Lang Publishing.

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