Syllabus for EDL-710
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As the capstone experience in the MAEdL program, Professional Portfolio Development requires students to prepare an electronic portfolio that demonstrates their achievement of program and ISLLC standards. This portfolio will show how the student has developed and how he or she has applied learning. The process of portfolio development involves: (1) goal setting; (2) decision-making and analysis in the selection of artifacts that document and recognize propositional and procedural knowledge and personal and professional attributes of leadership; and (3) self-evaluation and reflection. Students will learn how professional electronic portfolios are defined, organized, and evaluated. A second goal of this course is to prepare students to retool their portfolio for continued professional and academic advancement beyond the degree program. Students will be expected to substantiate standards-based competencies and a minimum 300 internship hours addressing each of the ISLLC standards through all of, but not limited to, the following: documentary evidence of site-based participation in educational leadership roles and responsibilities, letters of endorsement or support from qualified site administrators, class assignments and research papers, reflective journal entries, contact logs with mentors, and self-assessment narratives. (ISLLC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; NJPSTSL 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Professional portfolios have been part of the educational scene for several years. Pre-service teachers develop portfolios as evidence that they have met professional standards and as a requirement for graduation. Professional portfolios can serve the same purpose for school and district administrators. This course will focus on the use of portfolios as documentation of the wide range of knowledge and abilities contemporary leaders concerned with teaching, learning, and school improvement must possess to promote excellence in instruction and the creation of a culture that promotes improved student achievement. The course will also focus on the use of portfolios as vehicles for professional growth and for building job placement credentials. Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to: CO 1 Describe the current trends and uses of professional portfolios to authentically assess learning outcomes for aspiring and practicing educational leaders. [ISLLC Standard 6C; NJPSTSL Standards 2.6 and 6.15] CO 2 Discuss the benefits and challenges of portfolio development. [ISLLC standard 1B; NJPSTSL standard 1.4] CO 3 Identify formative and summative evaluation elements of the portfolio development process as formative and summative evaluations. [NJPSTSL standard 2.38] CO 4 Analyze the role of reflective inquiry: describe the various types of reflective inquiry, discuss the outcomes and benefits of reflective inquiry in portfolio development, explain the use of guiding questions for reflective inquiry; discuss how the different types of reflective inquiry can become evidence or artifacts appropriate for a professional portfolio. [ISLLC standard 5B; NJPSTSL standard 2.8] CO 5 Explain the cycle of portfolio development and use the cycle to demonstrate the student's knowledge, skills, dispositions, and functions of an educational leader. [ ISLLC standards 1—6C; NJPSTSL standards 1—6] CO 6 Demonstrate facility with eFolio® software in the design of a professional electronic portfolio in which the organization, content, and presentation style are congruent with the purpose of showcasing standards-based competencies and personal and professional attributes of educational leadership. [ISLLC standards 1—6C; NJPSTSL standards 1—6] CO 7 Perform a self-analysis of his or her professional portfolio using standards-based rubrics. [ISLLC standard 5B; NJPSTSL standards 1.4 and 2.6] CO 8 Demonstrate facility with proven procedures for retooling the portfolio for continued professional and academic advancement beyond the degree program. [ISLLC standard 2F; NJPSTSL standard 2.8]
The key issues and essential questions in this course focus on development of a professional portfolio as a tool for summative evaluation of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions gained by MAEdL students through program courses and experiences and as a stimulus for reflection on their own professional growth.
The Balch and Johnson texts are required to do the work of the course. The textbooks and eFolio registration code are available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct. Required Texts Balch, B. V., Frampton, P. M., and Hirth, M. A. (2006). Preparing a professional portfolio: A school administrator’s guide. Boston: Pearson. Johnson, R. S., Mims-Cox, J. S., and Doyle-Nichols, A. (2006). Developing portfolios in education: A guide to reflection, inquiry, and assessment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Supplemental Resources Council of Chief State School Officers. (2008). Interstate school leaders licensure consortium standards for school leaders. Washington, DC: Author. New Jersey Association of School Administrators. (2008). Professional development growth plans. Retrieved November 11, 2008, from http://www.njasa.net/701792313223425/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=53435. Click the professional development growth plans sidebar for a template and sample PGP for ISLLC and NJPSTSL Standard 2. Other sample PGPs for other standards are also available through the sidebar. Supplemental Texts (Not Required) Hartnell-Young, Elizabeth, and Morriss, Maureen (2007). Digital portfolios: Powerful tools for promoting professional growth and reflection. (2d ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Heath, Marilyn S. (2004) Electronic portfolios: A guide to professional development and assessment. Worthington, OH: Linworth Publishing, Inc. eFolio Registration
Professional Portfolio Development is a three-credit, graduate course, consisting of six 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 questions to consider); and, usually, one or more assignments as well as an online discussion on the class Discussion Board. As part of the course you will maintain a learning journal for posting reflections and submitting papers. The journal (see the My Learning Journal area of the course Web site) serves as a central location for posting reflections, attaching papers, 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 six modules, go to the Course Content area of the course Web site. (See also the course Calendar.)
Most modules in the course have an online class discussion forum. All discussion forums take place asynchronously on the class Discussion Board. Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to share your findings on a topic or question with your classmates. You are expected to post a well-reasoned and thoughtful reflection for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to that which you have read. 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.
In addition to items you will post on the Discussion Board, you will complete several types portfolio assignments. The portfolio assignments guide you in compiling and finalizing your portfolio. The last of these assignments allows you to present your portfolio to your current work site supervisor. Some assignments are posted on the Discussion Board; others will be posted in your e-folio site.
PORTFOLIO ARTIFACTS AND REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE Continue to 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 until it is complete.
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:
Following is a list of rubrics that will be used for assessment throughout the course.
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 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
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