Download EDA 5191 - University of West Florida

Syllabus
Course Prefix/Number: EDA 5191
Course Title: Leadership in Education: School Improvement Theory and Practice
Course Credit Hours: 3 semester hrs
Lead Instructor Name and Contact Information:
Dr. Pat Wentz
78/117C
850-474-2801
[email protected]
Note: All email to the instructor should have EDA 5191 in the subject line.
Prerequisites or Corequisites: None
Course Description:
Leadership theories and planning models which have been developed through studies in
education, business, and the military will be examined. Application of these will be made to
educational practices with a focus on continuous improvement and on the school improvement
process.
Purpose of the Course:
The empowered professional making a difference is the theme of the UWF Professional
Education Unit conceptual framework. This theme focuses learning experiences on activities that
permit the candidate to examine what he/she does and to take an active role in the instructional
process. The subject matter, class activities, and skill development of this course were selected to
assist your personal growth in one of more of the following Empowered Professional Making a
Difference characteristics: a) critical thinker, b) lifelong learner, c) /counselor/mentor, d)
decision maker, e) problem solver, and f) ethical/moral professional..
The State of Florida has responded to national and state initiatives in education reform and
accountability by creating legislative policies relative to the preparation of educators. Florida’s
Uniform Core Curriculum outlines the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that candidates require
to be successful in Florida’s educational system.
The success of educational leaders is conditioned largely by their ability to lead faculty, staff,
and other constituencies through appropriate human relationships and leadership techniques.
This course will focus upon leadership knowledge and competencies necessary for continuous
school improvement.
Florida Principal Leadership Standards
http://www.fldoe.org/committees/pdf/6x6fplscw.pdf
http://www.fldoe.org/asp/fele/pdf/3rd-Ed-FELE-C&S.pdf
SBE Rule 6B-5.0012
1
Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) Standards
http://www.npbea.org/ELCC/ELCCStandards%20_5-02.pdf
Program Learning Outcomes
http://uwf.edu/CUTLA/ALP/Ed_Ldrshp_Cert_MEd_ALP.pdf
Critical Thinking
2.1
Critical thinking is considered important because it enables you to analyze, evaluate, explain, and
restructure thinking. This decreases the risk of acting on or thinking with false beliefs. Critical
Thinkers are analytical thinkers able to think about their own thinking (metacognition),
recognize propaganda or misrepresentations, protect against bias and prejudice, understand
policy implementation and utilize best practices.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Describe a proactive leadership orientation and its relationship to continuous school
improvement.
2. Relate concepts of leadership to the management of continuous school improvement.
3. Explain school accountability concepts related to continuous school improvement.
Course Goals for Students*:
To gain knowledge and develop competencies in the following topics and to be aware of the
implications of these for educational leadership theory and practice in the area of educational
accountability and continuous school improvement:





theories of leadership,
preferred theory of leadership,
continuous school improvement and school accountability: successes and failures in the
literature,
field experience report on climate survey, and
guidelines for principals to affect continuous school improvement and school
accountability based on leadership theory
Project
Name/Assessmen
t Tool
Conceptual
Framework
Program
SLOs
Course
SLOs
NCATE
2
Educational
Leadership
Constituent
Council
Florida Principal
Leadership Standards
Florida Principal
Leadership
Competencies
Project
Name/Assessment
Tool
Conceptual
Framework
Theories of
Leadership paper
Critical Thinker,
Lifelong Learner,
Mentor, Decision
Maker, Problem
Solver, and Ethical
Professional
Critical Thinker,
Lifelong Learner,
Mentor, Decision
Maker, Problem
Solver, and Ethical
Professional
Critical Thinker,
Lifelong Learner,
Mentor, Decision
Maker, Problem
Solver, and Ethical
Professional
Critical Thinker,
Lifelong Learner,
Mentor, Decision
Maker, Problem
Solver, and Ethical
Professional
Critical Thinker,
Lifelong Learner,
Mentor, Decision
Maker, Problem
Solver, and Ethical
Professional
Critical Thinker,
Lifelong Learner,
Mentor, Decision
Maker, Problem
Solver, and Ethical
Professional
Preferred Theory
of Leadership
paper
Successes and
Failures paper
Critical Task:
Report on Climate
Survey
Continuous
Improvement
group project
Discussion
Threads
Program
SLO’s
Course
SLOs
NCATE
Educational
Leadership
Constituent
Council
2
Florida
Principal
Leadership
Standards
Instruction
al
Leadership
Florida Principal
Leadership
Competencies
2.1
1
1e
1.3
2.1
2
1e
2
Instruction
al
Leadership
1.3
2.1
3
1e
2
Instruction
al
Leadership
1.3
2.1
2
1e, 1g
2
Instruction
al
Leadership
1.3
2.1
1, 2, 3
1e
2
Instruction
al
Leadership
1.3
2.1
1, 2, 3
1e
2
Instruction
al
Leadership
1.3
Topics:
Theories of leadership
Preferred theory of leadership,
Continuous school improvement and school accountability: successes and failures in the
literature,
Field experience report on climate survey
Guidelines for principals to affect continuous school improvement and school accountability
based on leadership theory
Text:
TK20 Subscription available directly at http:uwf.tk20.com or through the UWF campus
bookstore – Student Access Kits (ISBN 0-9774408-1-8_). Please contact instructor if you do not
already have this subscription.
3
Course Requirements:
Critical Tasks:
Critical Tasks are submitted in TK20. You must earn “meets expectations” or better on
the identified student learning outcomes of this assignment to pass this course and continue
in this Educational Leadership Program.
Field Experience:
Students will interview the mentor principal regarding the climate survey and complete a project
based upon the interview. The interview should last approximately one hour. Please have your
mentor principal or building administrator sign a statement indicating the topics of the interview,
the date and the time of the interview once you have completed the assignment. Please see below
for the detailed explanation of the Critical Task that accompanies the field experience.
1. Four papers (15 points each paper):




Theories of Leadership
Preferred Theory of Leadership
Continuous School Improvement and School Accountability: Successes and Failures
in the Literature
Field Experience Report on Climate Survey
2. One group project (30 points): Development of Guidelines for the Principal to Affect
Continuous School Improvement and School Accountability based on Leadership Theory
3. Interactive Discussions Online (10 points)
Course Requirements Detailed:
1. Four papers (Each paper is 15% of total grade):
Each of the four papers listed below should be between 5 to 6 pages, should be double
spaced in 12 pt font, and should be formatted in APA. Number your pages. In the case of
Internet citations, be sure to give the date of retrieval. Include your page of references
external to the 5 to 6 pages. You may use any of your professional texts, the Internet, and
the journal articles provided for this class.

Theories of Leadership (Due May 17)
Describe the eight major leadership theories. Give examples of such leaders that you
have known; indicate positive and negative attributes of each theory. Include your
own comments or opinions of others that you solicit.

Preferred Theory of Leadership (Due May 24)
Of the eight major leadership theories, select one that best fits your personality
characteristics and your professional needs and explain how it does so. Explain how
4
you can use this theory in your school leadership professional life, making decisions,
etc. If you have utilized this theory in the past, you may want to include a description
of how you did and what happened.

Critical Task: Field Experience Report on Climate Survey* (Due May 31 in
TK20):
This project is to be completed on TK20 (see Texts below). You are to select a
school, interview the principal about the climate survey used by the school, determine
the elements on the climate survey that contribute to the morale and performance of
the faculty and staff, and discuss with the principal how these elements contribute to
improved school climate and improved student performance.

Continuous School Improvement and School Accountability: Successes and Failures
in the Literature (Due June 7)
For this report, utilize the journal reports that are furnished with this class. Cite
examples from the literature of both successes and failures; indicate processes that
you think would work for you as a principal and indicate processes that you want to
be careful to avoid. Use critical thinking to make potential combinations of successes
that may work for you.
2. One group project (30% of your grade; Due June 20): Development of Guidelines
for the Principal to Affect Continuous School Improvement and School Accountability
based on Leadership Theory
Group members (four) are autoselected and the chair of the group is the first listed group
member. The work of the group is to develop a written set of Guidelines for Principals to
use to Affect Continuous School Improvement and School Accountability based on
Leadership Theory. The final product will be a 10 to 12 page paper with citations from
the literature. Use addition pages for an APA list of references used in the Guidelines.
Each member of the group will get the same grade; I expect the work load to be equal
among the group. The purpose of this work is to have you experience the relationship
between theory and reality as related to school leadership and continuous school
improvement and school accountability.
3. Interactive Discussions Online (due each week)
Each week for 5 weeks I will pose a question/topic on the discussion board. Each student
is expected to write a two paragraph response, relating to leadership theory and school
improvement, etc. You will receive two points each week for five weeks for a total of ten
points toward your class grade.
Week 1: May 9-17
Q & A about this class; no points
5
Week 2: May 18-24 Discussion 1 The Most Desirable Characteristic of a School
Leader
Week 3: May 25-31 Discussion 2 How I Am Developing the Most Desirable
Characteristic of a School Leader
Week 4: June 1-7
Leader
Discussion 3 My Major Problem to Overcome As a School
Week 5: June 8-14
Discussion 4 Am I better As A Leader Or As A Manager?
Week 6: June 14-21 Discussion 5 How Can I Predict My Success As A School
Leader?
For the discussion, I am looking for evidence that you have utilized critical thinking in
order to respond to the question; I expect brevity and depth. As a school leader, that will
be the way you will frequently have to operate.
Rubric for all written reports:
All reports will be graded on:



Relevant Information
Clarity of Expression
Grammar and APA
Schedule and Directions: Papers are due in the dropbox by the assigned date; you may submit
them earlier if you wish, but no later than the assigned date.
Session 1: May 9-17
Paper: Theories of Leadership
Due May 17
Session 2: May 18-24 Paper: Preferred Theory of Leadership
Due May 24
Session 3: May 25-31 Paper: Field Experiences Report (TK20)
Due May 31
Session 4: June 1-7
Paper: Continuous School Improvement and School Accountability:
Successes and Failures in the Literature
Due June 7
Sessions 5 & 6: June 8-21
Group Projects
Due June 20
Last day of class is June 21
Grading/Evaluation System:
Students will be evaluated on four papers (including the field experience report on TK20), one
group project, and interactive discussions online. See rubrics above.
6
Grading Scale:




A: 90-100,
B: 80- 89,
C: 70- 79,
F: 69 and below
Technology Utilized by Students: Each UWF student is expected to:




activate a UWF ArgoNet email account,
access email two or three times weekly,
have basic word processing knowledge, and
process assignments on Word.
Expectations For Academic Conduct:









As members of the University of West Florida academic community, we commit
ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance, integrity—both
personal and institutional—is our most precious asset.
Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not knowingly act in ways which
erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to tolerate cheating, nor to
plagiarize the work of others.
We pledge to share community resources in ways that are responsible and that comply
with established policies of fairness. Cooperation and competition are means to high
achievement and are encouraged.
Indeed, cooperation is expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will
compete constructively and professionally for the purpose of stimulating high
performance and standards.
Finally, we accept adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a
condition of membership in the UWF academic community.
Special Technology Utilized by Students:
This course is totally online. All instructional content and interaction takes place over the
www.
The instructor will communicate with you through the course site or via your UWF email
account. It is the student’s responsibility to check this email account frequently.
Each UWF Student is expected to:
• activate a UWF ArgoNet email account
• access email two to three times weekly
• have basic word processing knowledge



Plagiarism Policy: (Word Format) | (PDF Format) | (RTF Format)
Student Handbook: (PDF Format)
Statement of the University Policy on Academic Conduct: The Student Code of
Conduct sets forth the rules, regulations and expected behavior of students enrolled at the
7
University of West Florida. Violations of any rules, regulations, or behavioral
expectations may result in a charge of violating the Student Code of Conduct. It is the
student’s responsibility to read the Student Code of Conduct and conduct themselves
accordingly. You may access the current Student Code of Conduct at
http://www.uwf.edu/judicialaffairs.
UWF Plagiarism Policy
The UWF Student Handbook, Code of Student Conduct, Academic Misconduct, states:
"Plagiarism. The act of representing the ideas, words, creations or work of another as one's own."
Plagiarism combines theft with fraud, and the penalty is correspondingly severe: failure for the
assignment and, in some cases, for the entire course. At the instructor's discretion, she/he may
recommend that the student be suspended from the university. Ignorance of the rules about
plagiarism is no excuse for it, and carelessness is just as bad as purposeful violation. Students
who have plagiarized have cheated themselves out of the experience of being responsible
members of the academic community and have cheated their classmates by pretending to
contribute original ideas. For complete information regarding Academic Misconduct: Refer to
the UWF Student Handbook or contact Student Affairs in Building 21, 474-2384.
Assistance: Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other
course-related accommodations should contact the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC),
[email protected], 850.474.2387 . SDRC will send an email to the instructor that specifies any
recommended accommodations.
`
8