ELPS 710: Curricular and Instructional Leadership for Systemic Reform
Course Outline
Michael D. Eisner College of Education Conceptual Framework
The Michael D. Eisner College of Education as a professional school is committed to advancing learning, teaching and student success. This is accomplished using a developmental approach to promote reflection, critical thinking, and excellence in an inclusive learning community. Its graduates are well-educated, highly skilled, and caring persons who are lifelong learners prepared to practice in an ever-changing, multicultural world. They are committed to promoting achievement of all students as a primary measure of successful educational practice. Graduates assume service and leadership roles in public and private educational, health, and social programs and institutions. The College establishes and maintains productive partnerships throughout campus and with community schools and agencies. The faculty is committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, service and collaboration with the community and professionals. The values for faculty and students that form the foundation of this Conceptual Framework include the following;
· We value high standards in the acquisition and application of professional knowledge and skills in subject matter, pedagogy, and technology.
· We value the achievement of students at all levels and advance their success in accordance with national and state standards.
· We value an inclusive learning community.
· We value creative, critical, and reflective thinking and practice.
· We value ethical practice by caring professionals.
DOCTORAL PROGRAM MISSION & VISION
The mission of the California State University, Northridge, Doctoral Program in Educational Administration is to create a network of school and community college administrators prepared to lead profound change in teaching and learning that results in improved student achievement.
The program’s Scholar Practitioners will lead through:
· Systemic reform
· Collaboration
· Action research
· Cultural proficiency
DOCTORAL PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
CSUN Ed.D. graduates will have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to lead profound change in teaching and learning in P-14 institutions by:
1. Planning systemic reform and managing the change process in collaboration with fellow educators and other stakeholders, based on a shared vision of learning.
2. Guiding and supporting staff in nurturing a school/district or community college culture and program conducive to the effective instruction of all students and to the professional growth of all employees.
3. Using data and technology effectively to assess student achievement, evaluate staff and programs, and plan and implement accountability systems.
4. Becoming critical consumers of educational research and producers of action research who apply the lessons of research to student, school/district or community college improvement.
5. Promoting cultural proficient policies and practices that recognize and value difference and ensure equity.
6. Managing fiscal, physical, and human resources to ensure an effective, safe learning and working environment.
7. Collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources at the local, state, and federal level.
8. Modeling ethical practice; strong skills in communication and collaboration; and the development of leadership capacity in oneself and others.
9. Understanding, navigating, responding to, and influencing the larger policy environment and the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context of education.
This course focuses mainly on # 1, 2, 3, and 5 above.
COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on leadership for effective teaching and learning in contemporary P-12 schools or community colleges. It includes advanced-level study of the nature of learning, the nature of students, the nature of the curriculum to be taught, and the fostering of instructional practices that improve learning for all students.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
· Examine the latest research and theories about learning and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what students learn.
· Critically examine instructional policies and practice and identify areas of need for school improvement and systemic reform.
· Describe trends, issues, and barriers in instructional practice to school improvement and systemic reform, and strategically plan to remove those barriers.
· Develop a personal vision of, and commitment to, instructional leadership.
· Plan and evaluate curriculum that integrates content literacy and mathematical understanding in instruction.
· Plan and evaluate curriculum designs that integrate technology in support of curriculum.
· Evaluate methods for the use of technology to support instruction.
COURSE CONTENT
The following topics are and activities are recommended:
Module I: Supporting Student Learning
· How students learn: Theory and application to practice
· Student motivation and engagement
· Student learning supports
· Developing a shared vision of learning
Module II: Curricular and Instructional Policies and Practices that Foster Learning
· Understanding the P12 or Community College curriculum
· Curriculum decision-making
· Effective teaching practices
· Curriculum and instruction for English Learners
· Content literacy across the curriculum
· Increasing mathematical understanding
· Effective schools: Theories, trends, current issues
· Developing and supporting learning environments
Module III: Assessing Student Learning
· Student characteristics
· Responding to diversity among students
· Measuring achievement: trends, issues, dilemmas
· Using data to plan for improvement
· Alignment of assessment with curriculum and instruction
Module IV: Evaluating Instructional Practice
· Supervision models
· Teacher evaluation practices
· Evaluating administrators
· Evaluation of staff
· School/unit improvement planning
· Planning for systemic improvement
Module V: Technology to Support Learning
· Technology tools for curriculum, instruction, and assessment
· Making effective decisions about technology to support the instructional program
· Using technology to connect students and community
· Technology and assessment practices
Module VI: Professional Development to Improve Teaching and Learning
· Understanding adult learners
· Successful models and practices in professional development
· Professional development, school improvement and systemic reform
· The role of school/district or community college leaders in professional development
ELPS 710 Signature Assignment:
SUGGESTED TEXTBOOKS
Brophy, J. (1998). Motivating students to learn. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
National Research Council (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school, Expanded edition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Glickman, C.D., Gordon, S.P. & Ross-Gordon, J.M. (2007)
Hoy, A.W. & Hoy, W.K. (2006). Instructional leadership: A research-based guide to learning in schools. Boston: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Marzano, R.J., Pickering, J.R., & Pollock, J.E. (2004). Classroom instruction that works: Research and strategies for increasing student achievement. Boston: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Mentkowski, M. et al. (1999). Learning that lasts. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Au, K. (2005). Multicultural issues and literacy achievement. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
Bransford, J. D. & Schwartz, D. (1999). Rethinking transfer: A simple proposal with multiple implications. In A. Iran-Nejad and P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Review of research in education (vol 24, pp. 61-100). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Bransford, J. Derry, S., Berliner, D., Hammerness, K., and Becket, K.L. (2005). Theories of learning and their roles in teaching. In L. Darling-Hammond & J. Bransford, (Eds). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
Bransford, J., Vye, N. & Bateman, H. (2002). Creating high-quality learning environments: Guidelines from research on how people learn. Available http://www.nap.edu/books/0309082927/html/index.html
Brevivik, P.S. (2005). 21st century learning and information literacy. Change, 37(2), 20-27.
Cochran-Smith, M. & Zeichner, K. M., Eds. (2005). Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, New Jersey.
Dembo, M H. (2004). Motivation and learning strategies for college success: A Self-management approach (2nd Edition). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Finkel, D. L. (2000). Teaching with your mouth shut. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Gagne, E.D. Yekovich F. W & Yekovich C. R. (1993). The cognitive psychology of school learning. Allyn & Bacon.
Gagnon, G. W., & Collay, M. Designing for Learning: Six elements in constructivist classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Gandara, P. Maxwell-Jolly, J., Driscoll, A. (2005). Listening to teachers of English language learners: A survey of California teachers’ challenges, experiences, and professional development needs. Santa Cruz, CA: The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.
Herman, J.A. (1997). Assessing new assessments: How do they measure up? Theory into Practice, 36, 197-204.
Herman, J.A. & Baker, E. (2005). Making benchmark testing work. Educational Leadership, 3(48-54).
Herman, J.L. & Dietel, R. (2005). A primer on accountability. The American School Board Journal, 192(12), 28-28.
Livsey, R. C. (1999). The courage to teach: A guide for reflection and renewal. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
McCombs, B. L. (2003) A framework for the redesign of K-12 education in the context of current educational reform. Theory into Practice, 42(2), 93-101.
Murphy, J. & Louis, K.S. (1999). Handbook of research on educational administration, 2nd Ed. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
National Research Council (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C. National Academies Press.
National Research Council (2005). How students learn: History, mathematics, and science in the classroom. Washington, D.C. National Academies Press.
National Research Council (1999). How people learn: Bridging research and practice. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
Ormrod, J.E. (2005). Educational psychology: Developing learners (5th Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership, 64(4), 8-13.
Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57 1-22.
Silverman, S. L. and Casazza, M. E. (2000). Learning and development: Making connections to enhance teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Stage, F. K., Muller, PlAk, Kinzie, J. & Simmons, A. Creating learning centered classrooms What does learning theory have to say? , ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report Volume 26, No. 4
Sternberg, R. J., & Zhang, L. F (2000). Perspectives on cognition, thinking and learning styles. New Jersey, Lawrence Earlbaum & Associates.
Sweller, J. , van Merrienboer, J., & Paas, F. (1998). Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educational Psychology Review, 10, 251-296.
Tharp, R. G. & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life: Teaching, learning and schooling in social context. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Zimmerman, B.J., & Risemberg, R. (1997). Self-regulatory dimensions of academic learning and motivation. In G.D. Phye (Ed.), Handbook of academic learning: Construction of knowledge (pp. 105-125). New York: Academic Press.
Zull, J. E. (2002). The art of changing the brain: enriching the practice of teaching by exploring the biology of learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
STUDENT EVALUATION
Students will be evaluated in this course based on the following, with specific grading policies included in the instructor’s syllabus:
· Active participation in class discussion and activities, including face-to-face and online
· Papers, research reports, presentations, reflective journals, and other assignments
· Objective and essay examinations
Students must receive grades of B or better in all Ed.D. courses. Incompletes will only be issued when students facing a major illness or emergency have completed most of the work for the course and submitted a request for an incomplete before the last class, per CSUN policy.
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
Cheating, plagiarism, submitting another person’s material as one’s own, or doing work for another person, who will receive academic credit are all impermissible. The California Code of regulations in Section 41301, Title 5 is listed as an offense for which a student may be expelled, suspended, or given a less sever disciplinary action. (See University Catalog 2002-2004, pp523-524).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & SCHEDULE
See instructor’s syllabus.
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