Course Syllabus



 

Course Syllabus Fall 2011 

Section 201

Hybrid Model

Cohort Meetings: Thursday, 5:30-8:00 PM, Aug 25, balance online.

127 Dickey Hall, UK College of Education and

Online Learning Activities (http://canvas.instructure.com/courses/143377)

Contact Information
Instructor:	John B. Nash, PhD
Office:	015 Dickey Hall
E-mail address:	john.nash@uky.edu
Twitter	twitter.com/jnash
Blog	ReformByDesign.posterous.com
YouTube Channel	YouTube.com/user/jnashteaching
CASTLE Web Site	SchoolTechLeadership.org
Office phone:	(859) 257-5504
Text message/SMS	(650) 353-7459
Cell phone:	(650) 353-7459
Office hours:	By appointment (http://meetwith.me/johnnash)
Campus Mail Address:	Department of Educational Leadership Studies 111 Dickey Hall, College of Education University of Kentucky Lexington, KY  40506-0017
Department phone:	(859) 257-8921
Department fax:	(859) 257-1015
Department Web site:	http://www.uky.edu/Education/edlhead.html

  

Modified Course Description in UK Bulletin 2010-2011

This course presents principles and methods of systematic site-based problem identification, diagnosis, and solution for the improvement of practice in school settings. Prereq: Program status or consent of instructor.

 Required Course Textbooks and Readings

Professional reading, independent study, fieldwork, reflection, and academic writing are fundamental components of this Level II course in the UK School Administration program Thus, students are expected to complete all reading assignments each week in order to engage actively in learning activities and to complete course assignments. The first two books are required for the course; chapters from the third and fourth book will be distributed as needed by the instructor as resources for writing literature review. The last two books are recommended to assist students with their academic writing. Additional resources on the last page of this syllabus relate to course topics and are intended for enrichment and self-development.   

Mills, G. E. (2010). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (4^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. 

Depka, E. (2006). The data guidebook for teachers and leaders: Tools for continuous improvement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Machi, L. W., & McEvoy, B. T. (2009). The literature review. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. [Selected chapters provided as handouts]

Robinson, V., & Lai, M. K. (2006). Practitioner researcher for educators: A guide for improving classrooms and schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. [Handouts]

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

[IMPORTANT: Unless otherwise directed, all written assignments are to adhere to the APA academic writing guidelines. Tutorials for using APA guidelines are available at http://www.apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx]

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). New York: Longman.

Student Responsibilities in Hybrid Graduate Course

Graduate students assume major responsibility for their own learning. As members of a learning community, they are likewise responsible for helping their peers by consulting with them and engaging in collaborative problem solving before seeking assistance from instructor.

Distance Learning Considerations

This course requires use of information technology. Students are expected to have regular access to a personal computer and the Internet to complete their learning activities. All Web-based activities are to be completed within designated sections of the course Blackboard, which can be accessed through http://elearning.uky.edu, or other Web-based sites (e.g., Adobe Connect, Survey Monkey).

Instructor’s Virtual Office Hours. TBA 

Instructor’s Preferred Method Communication. Electronic mail (john.nash@uky.edu); Google Chat and Google Talk (jbnash); Skype (jbnash);

Maximum Timeframe for Responding to Student Communications. Students may expect the instructor to have responses to email inquiries (requests) within 48 hours excluding weekend contacts.

Teaching and Academic Support Services. Contact the Teaching and Academic Support Center at http://www.uky.edu.TASC/index.php or 859-257-8772.

Procedures to Resolve Technological Problems. Contact the Information Technology Customer Service Center at http://www.uky.edu/UKIT/ or 859-257-1300. 

Information on Distance Learning Library Services. Available at www.uky.edu/Libraries/DLLS , DL Librarian (Carla Contagallo via email at dlservice@email.uky.edu or telephone at 859-257-0050 x 2171 or 1-800-828-0439), or Distance Learning Interlibrary Loan Services at http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/libpage.php?lweb_id=253&llib_id=16

Students with Documented Disability

Students with a documented disability that requires academic accommodations in this course must make request for accommodations through the University Disability Resource Center. The Center will require current disability documentation. When accommodations are approved, the Center will provide a Letter of Accommodation that details the recommended accommodations. Contact the Disability Resource Center Director, Jake Karnes, at 859-257-2754 or jkarnes@email.uky.edu.     

UK Policies

The adopted UK academic policies apply in this course and are articulated in the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook and the UK Graduate Bulletin. Important policies and regulations applicable to this course include, but are not limited to, those concerning attendance, cheating and plagiarism, course withdrawal, incomplete grades, and acceptable standards of English. As the instructor, I retain absolute discretion concerning acceptance of required assignments after established due dates and reserve the right to lower grades on assignments submitted late.

Absences. The University defines acceptable reasons for absences as (a) serious illness, (b) university-related trips, (c) major religious holidays, and (d) other circumstances that the instructor finds to be “reasonable cause for nonattendance.” Because the class meets face to face only seven times during semester, regular attendance is essential. If professional duties or personal responsibilities create scheduling conflicts, then students must make decisions about their priorities. If students must miss a scheduled cohort meeting, then they must notify instructor about the reason for the absence before the absence occurs. In the event of emergency absences (e.g., personal illness, major accident, death of family member), students should notify instructor as soon as possible, preferably through e-mail communication. Additional assignments may be required for missed cohort meetings. 

Canceled Class. If a class session must be canceled due to bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the instructor will make every possible effort to contact students in sufficient time to avoid an unnecessary travel.

Changes to Syllabus. The instructor retains the right to modify this syllabus, if necessary, to meet the learning objectives of this course. Changes to this syllabus will be discussed with students and provided in writing as an addendum distributed electronically via e-mail and posted on the course Blackboard.

Go to www.research.uky.edu/gs/bulletin/bullinfo.shtmlfor more information about UK Policies.

Integration of Syllabus with UK College of Education Conceptual Framework

This graduate course addresses the four themes within the conceptual framework of the UK College of Education: research, reflection, learning, and leading. Throughout the semester students have opportunities to review, analyze, discuss, and apply research from diverse perspectives in education, including professional scholarship and practitioner inquiry and reflect on their own practices as educators as they study, observe, and work in P12 school and university classrooms. Reflection is integrated regularly through oral and written communication to help students hone their analytical and problem-solving skills that comprise critical professional reflection on one’s own practice. This course emphasizes the commitment of the UK College of Education to ensure that its graduates continue their professional careers equipped for life-long learning as educators actively leading colleagues in their schools, districts, and professional organizations. The ultimate goal in addressing these four themes is to produce educational leaders who work together to improve student learning among diverse populations and improve education in Kentucky and beyond. 

Commitment to Diversity

UK is committed to making diversity central to university policies, decisions, and practices to strengthen diversity within the Commonwealth. Efforts by a broad-based task force appointed by President Todd defined diversity as embracing difference or promoting increased knowledge regarding race/ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, veteran affairs, and thought within an inclusive community. This definition of diversity values an inclusive institutional culture, academic programs, and co-curricular activities that prepare students for active, global citizenship. This commitment further allows for an educational process that fosters growth among all members of the academic community by including a wide array of talents, and recognizing the human differences are organizational strengths (University-Wide Comprehensive Diversity Plan Task Force Report, April 2005, p. 6) 

Because the desired outcome is excellence in education, UK “does not practice discrimination on the basis of race/ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability” (p. 6) 

The College of Education supports the university-wide definition of diversity and enhances it through an expanded interpretation. This broader conceptualization of diversity includes learning exceptionalities, native languages, socioeconomic status, and life experiences often created by residing in unique geographical regions such as Appalachia. Curricula within the UK College of Education, field experiences, and membership of its faculty and student body reflect a commitment to diversity.

Quality of Student Work

Unless specified otherwise, all papers must be presented in the writing style in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA)[1] (see pp. 61-179) and be word-processed in Times New Roman 12-point font. Students are expected to follow rules of usage and principles of composition[2]. When the two resources listed in the footnote below present differing rules, students are to adhere to the writing guidelines in the APA Manual.

 Plagiarism. Where appropriate, references to professional and research literature need to be integrated into the text and cited at the end of all papers. According to UK rules, the minimum consequence for cheating or plagiarism is an “E” in the course. Cheating or plagiarism is basically stealing ideas or intellectual property created by others. Students are cautioned to reference all resources properly: The mere re-phrasing of another author’s work does not excuse the student from the requirement for including proper citations. Cite all your sources accurately and appropriately! Be aware that re-cycling assignments from other courses can be interpreted as self-plagiarizing and fails to meet the minimal standards of intellectual rigor required in graduate study.

 Late Submittals. Unless specified differently in the assignment guidelines, each written assignment is to be delivered to instructor as an attachment to an e-mail message addressed to john.nash@uky.edu and sent no later than 10:00 AM on the due date. Late assignments will be accepted only in cases of extreme emergencies, and the decision to accept late work is solely at instructor’s discretion.

Incomplete Grade. Incomplete grades for this course are issued reluctantly and sparingly. The UK Graduate School permits students one calendar year—unless a shorter time frame is determined mutually by the student and instructor—to remove an “I” grade. If the contracted work is not completed satisfactorily, the “I” grade converts automatically to an “E” (a failing mark). UK and EDL rules require students requesting an “I” grade to complete a contract specifying how and when the “I” will be removed within the calendar year. The contract must be submitted to instructor before an “I” grade can be issued. Incomplete work and missing assignments will be assigned “E” grades if the student does not submit a completed Incomplete Grade Contract by the course deadline

Course Requirements and Expectations

Unless specified otherwise, all written assignments must be submitted electronically as an attachment to an e-mail message addressed to john.nash@uky.edu no later than 10:00 AM on the due date. Guidelines for course assignments will be distributed during class sessions and via electronic mail as well as posted on the course Blackboard. Dates for submission appear in the proposed course calendar below and are subject to change to accommodate learning needs. 

1. Class Participation/Online Activities. Students will engage actively in course learning activities and contribute fully to completion of group projects. Assessment of contribution to completion of group projects will be conducted by group peers and instructor.

2. Annotated Bibliography. Students will conduct literature searches and prepare annotated reference list for use in action research project. Guidelines will be provided by instructor. Finished products must conform to APA guidelines for citing references.

3. Literature Reviews. Students will write two short literature reviews based on assigned course readings. Guidelines and scoring rubric for this assignment will be provided by instructor.

4. Action Research Plan. Students will submit a proposal for conducting research. Guidelines and scoring rubric for this assignment will be provided by instructor.

5. Scholar-Practitioner Platform.  Students will develop a one-page statement of their philosophy as a scholar-practitioner committed to making data-informed decisions to improve their practice as an educational leader. Guidelines for this assignment will be provided by instructor.

6. Action Research Report. Students will submit a report based on their action research about an authentic problem of practice over which they have control to change. Guidelines and scoring rubric for this assignment will be provided by instructor.

Grading Scale

Course grades are based on a cumulative point total. The relative weighting for each of these expectations is presented in the matrix below.

 

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale: A=90-100 points, B=80-89 points, C=70-79 points, E=<70 points. Course credit: three graduate hours.

Additional Resources: Action Research

Anderson, G. L., Kerr, K., & Nihlen, A. S. (1994). Studying your own school: An educator’s guide to qualitative practitioner research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Banach, W. J. (2001). The ABC complete book of school surveys. Lantham, MD: Scarecrow.

Boudett, K. P., City, E. A., & Murname, R. J. (Eds.). (2008). Data wise: A step-by-step guide to using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Boudett, K. P., & Steele, J. L. (Eds.). (2007). Data wise in action: Stories of schools using data to improve teaching and learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Calhoun, E. F. (1993). Action research: Three approaches. Educational Leadership, 51(2), 62‐66.

Campbell, A., & Groundwater‐Smith, S. (Eds.). (2007). An ethical approach to practitioner research: Dealing with issues and dilemmas in action research. New York, NY: Routlege.

Carr, W., & Kimmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge, and action research. Philadelphia, PA: Falmer Press.

Coghlan, D., & Brannick, T. (2004). Doing action research in your own organization (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Eisenhart, M., & Borko, H. (1993). Designing classroom research: Themes, issues, and struggles. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Elliott, J. (1991). Action research for educational change. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press.

Greenwood, D., & Levin, M. (2006). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2005). The action research dissertation: A guide for students and faculty. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Holcomb, E. L. (1999). Getting excited about data: How to combine people, passion and proof. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Hustler, D., Cassidy, A., & Cuff, E. C. (Eds.). (1986). Action research in classrooms and schools. Boston, MA: Allen & Unwin.

Johnson, A. P. (2005). A short guide to action research (2nd ed.). Boston, PA: Pearson.

Johnson, B. M. (1995). Why conduct action research? Teaching and Change, 3(1), 90‐104.

Lather, P. (1986). Research as praxis. Harvard Educational Review, 56(3), 257‐277.

McNiff, J., Lomax, P., & Whitehead, J. (2003). You and your action research project (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routlege.

McNiff, J., Lomax, P., & Whitehead, J. (2006). All you need to know about action research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Reason, P., Ed. (1988). Human inquiry in action. London, UK: Sage.

Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (2006). Handbook of action research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (2007). The SAGE Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Sagor, R. (1992). How to conduct collaborative action research. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Schmuck, R. S. (1998). Practical action research for change. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action research: A handbook for practitioners (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Whitehead, J., & McNiff, J., (2006). Action research: Living theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Winter, R. (1989). Learning from experience: Principles and practice in action research. Lewes, UK: Falmer.

Zeni, J. (2000). Ethical issues in practitioners research. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

 

Proposed Course Calendar

Week	Location and/or Date	Discussion Topic	Reading Assignments for Our Discussions and Your Work Products	Products Due at End of Week SEE CANVAS FOR DUE DATES AND TIMES
1	Class Meeting Aug 25 127 DH	What is action research (AR)? ·      Origins and theoretical foundation ·      Goals, rationale, and process ·      Ethical considerations	M[3]: Chap 1-2 D[4]: Chap 1
2	Wk of 8/29	How does a teacher researcher determine study focus? ·      Reconnaissance strategies ·      Online literature searches ·      Core assumptions of organizational learning	M: Chap 3
3	Wk of 9/5	What is your research focus? ·      Developing focus and searching the literature		Annotated bibliography
4	Wk of 9/12	What is your final research question? ·      Presentation and critique of proposed AR topics ·      Approval to conduct AR	R&L: Chap 5 (handout) M: Chap 4 D: Chap 2	Online discussion
5	Wk of 9/19	What methods will you use? ·      Quantitative methods ·      Mixed methods ·      Quantitative methods	M: Chap 5 D: Chap 4-5	Online discussion
6	Wk of 9/26	What data collections instruments will be used in AR projects this semester? ·      Peer review and critique of instruments ·      Submission and peer critique of proposed AR plans	R&L Chap 6 (handout)	Online discussion   Draft action research plan submitted for peer review
7	Wk of 10/3	Independent Work ·      Revision of AR plan ·      Revision of data collection instruments		Peer review comments provided to your classmates
8	Wk of 10/10	What is data analysis? ·      Qualitative techniques ·      Quantitative techniques	M: Chap 6 R&L Chap 8 (handout)	Final action research plan with revised data collection instruments
9	Wk of 10/17	Independent Work		Collecting data
10	Wk of 10/24	How will you analyze and interpret your data? ·      Data analysis practice in groups ·      Discussion of preliminary data collection		Collecting data (possibly already analyzing data)
11	Wk of 10/31	Independent Work ·      Analysis of data collected for AR ·      Draft of preliminary findings ·      Revision of literature review		Collecting data and data analysis
12	Wk of 11/7	What is an action plan? ·      Developing action plans ·      Addressing challenges of action research ·      Facilitating educational change	M: Chap 7	Online discussion   Preliminary data analysis
13	Wk of 11/14	What is format for an action research report? ·      Typical research report format ·      Rituals for successful academic writing ·      Writing the literature review	M: Chap 8 R & L Chap 9 (handout)	Online discussion   Draft action research report due for peer review
Thanksgiving Holiday
14	Wk of 11/21	Independent work		Peer review comments provided to your classmates
15	Wk of 11/28	What did we learn from the individual AR studies? ·      Preliminary sharing of AR findings ·      Reflections of self as scholar-practitioner ·      Reflections about lessons learned ·      Celebration of accomplishments ·      Clarification about final study report		Online discussion
16	Wk of 12/5	Independent work		Final action research report due