Syllabus for EDL-530
CRITICAL ISSUES AND THEORIES IN
CURRICULUM DESIGN AND EVALUATION, PRE-K–12
Description | Objectives | Topics | Materials | Structure | Assessment | Grading | Integrity
Critical Issues and Theories in Curriculum Design and Evaluation, Pre-K–12 is designed to guide the student in the process of identifying and analyzing emerging and developing issues in curriculum design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Such issues may include academic standards, diversity, technology, testing and assessment, innovative programs, and state and federal legislation. Included are the identification of curriculum sources, how these sources influence trends, how these trends emerge and evolve, their impact on student achievement, and how professionals, particularly supervisors, curriculum developers, teacher-leaders, and teachers, can use these trends and issues to improve student learning. Students study both the positive and negative aspects of the issues and develop a responsible approach to critically assess the importance and significance of emergent and future issues in order to function as responsible professionals. (ISLLC 2, 4, 6; NJDOE 2, 4, 6).
On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
Required Textbook
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).
Critical Issues and Theories in Curriculum Design and Evaluation, Pre-K–12 is a three-credit, graduate course, consisting of six modules. Modules include an overview, a list of topics, learning objectives, assigned reading, and assignments. Module titles are listed below.
In addition to module assignments, you are required to complete a final field-based project on key trends in curriculum. For information about the final project, see the discussion below or go to the Final Project area of the course Web site.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete writing assignments, and complete a final field-based project on key trends in curriculum. See below for more details.
Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Online Discussion Forums
Each module in the course has two or more online class discussion forums. All discussion forums take place asynchronously on the class Discussion Board. Post your robust reflections on the assigned readings for each module and interact with your peers through discussion and dialogue to build a hospitable online learning community.
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.
For posting guidelines and additional help with Discussion Board assignments, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information area of the course Web site.
Writing Assignments
Most modules in the course include two writing assignments. The writing assignments require you to compose well-reasoned and thoughtful essays on case studies and on pro or con activities from the textbook. You are required to use APA format for your work and for all references.
To submit all written assignments, go to the Submit Assignments area of the course Web site.
For additional help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information area of the course Web site.
Final Project
The International Bureau of Education, UNESCO (www.ibe.unesco.org), has identified key trends in curriculum, indicating that curriculum design, development, and implementation have gone from one approach to a new approach. In your final project, you will select one or two of these trends and discuss how your district or school has adopted (or failed to adopt) the trend. Your discussion should include data from reliable sources (e.g., student demographics or test scores), some measure of action research (e.g., staff survey), and a critical analysis of the how well (or poorly) the trend(s) have been addressed or implemented.
The project is due on the last day of the semester (see the course Calendar). You are required to use APA format in organizing your paper and for any citations. For additional details, see the Final Project area of the course Web site.
To submit the final project, go to the Submit Assignments area of the course Web site.
For additional help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information area of the course Web site.
Portfolio Artifacts and Reflective Narrative
The principal artifact for this course is the final project on key trends in curriculum. Accompanying the artifact is a reflective narrative that describes the process and how the artifact meets specific standards and prepares you for school leadership.
Upload your artifact to your electronic portfolio, and be certain to indicate its alignment to the applicable ISLLC standards.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
|
Online discussions (6 sets, 23 forums) |
28 percent |
|---|---|
|
Case studies (5) |
25 percent |
|
Pro or con essays (5) |
17 percent |
|
Final project |
30 percent |
All assignments will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
| A | = | 93–100 |
| A– | = | 90–92 |
| B+ | = | 88–89 |
| B | = | 83–87 |
| B– | = | 80–82 |
| C+ | = | 78–79 |
| C | = | 73–77 |
| C– | = | 70–72 |
| D | = | 60–69 |
| F | = | Below 60 |
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:
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 the "Academic Standards" section of the Online Student Handbook and the citation links under Writing Style Guides located in the General Information area of the course Web site.)
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
