Effective Leadership Syllabus
General Course Information
Description: EDLE 5093, Effective Leadership is divided into 3 parts. In the first part of the semester students will learn about explicit and hidden drivers that affect our decision-making and the ways in which group dynamics and various sorts of information gathering practices support or hinder effective problem solving and predictions. In part 2 students will explore strategies for reframing problems and how to position rigor at the center of various instructional leadership decisions. Part 3 focuses on the ecology of change leadership and how personal complaints can be understood as underlying commitments that are contributing to mission drift.
Purpose of the Course: The purpose of this class is to learn how leaders can transform schools into highly effective organizations that promote student academic success, nurture social development, support emotional well being, mentor successful teachers, foster continuous learning, and facilitate the leadership development of both students and staff. Further, it is our purpose to learn how leaders can develop “learning communities” in which the pursuit of educational excellence is a satisfying task for both adults and students. This course will be taught from the perspective of persons with extensive experience in K-12 leadership analysis, adoption, and evaluation.
Course Textbooks:
Required: Wagner, T. and Robert Kegan (2006). Change Leadership: A practical guide to transforming our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. ISBN: 0-7879-7755-1
Optional: Kahneman, D. (2012). Thinking, fast and slow. London: Penguin. ISBN: 9780374533557
Supplementary Resources:
Cases and additional readings distributed electronically throughout the semester
Academic Honesty: The University of Arkansas Academic Honesty Policy for Graduate Students can be found at https://honesty.uark.edu/policy/ai-policy_5-1-18.pdf
Written Work: All written assignments must be typed, double-spaced, and adhere to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Inclement Weather Policy: The general policy regarding inclement weather is that the University typically stays open regardless of bad weather. In the event of conditions that make holding an online class session impossible I will change the course website and send an email to the class informing each student of my decision to cancel class. I may substitute the class time with another activity to keep the course on schedule.
Accommodations: Information about the Center for Educational Access can be found at https://cea.uark.edu Please do not hesitate to contact the center or me with questions or concerns about the services available to you.
Course Assignments and Grading
Attendance and participation: Each student is responsible for coming to class on time and prepared to participate.
Missed assignments, make-up policy: Late work will be accepted with a credit deduction of 10% for each day (not class meeting) late. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, please email it to me by the due date to ensure full credit. Please see me individually if you have special concerns or circumstances.
Major Assignments: In order to receive a passing grade for the course, you need to complete all the assignments in a satisfactory manner.
The daily journals (found in blackboard) are a regular product you will contribute to this semester. These will be based on the readings and videos through the semester. There are three primary questions that should guide your weekly journals:
As I reflect on the course materials so far this semester, what new insights do I have about how I process information and make personal and professional decisions?
Do these insights indicate to me that I should make any changes in my approach to leading and if so how would I practically execute this changes? (answering this question by saying that you must simply "do better" is not helpful in the same way it would not be helpful for a doctor to tell their patient to simply "feel better" - you have to understand the root causes for your own behavior to develop a plan for doing something about it)
How do I apply what I have learned so far to my future context as a leader? In other words, how does this knowledge inform your understanding of how other people you might be working with make decisions and as a leader how can you use this information to create a system, climate, and culture where there is consistently more healthy and productive decision making?
Defining Rigor Activity 15
Commitment Map Exercise 15
Journals (5 points each) 55
Effective Leadership Action Plan 15
Total 100
Class Participation and Attendance: All class members are expected to actively participate both individually and in group-based activities. Class time includes a mix of lectures and group work but it is designed to include a great deal of student work as well. In some cases you will be asked to complete work offline that we start in class and turn in your work the following week.
Regular and punctual online participation is expected for all classes. Students must be well prepared for each day, having
read the text chapter(s) and readings assigned
completed assignments
Constructive participation in the class discussions, written work and other activities is expected. Students are expected to:
contribute interesting, insightful comments
present examples of concepts relevant to discussion topics
paraphrase and build on comments of others
raise good questions
listen and respond appropriately to others
Positive participation: The student regularly contributes to class discussion and fully participates in activities, with sensitivity to classmates and value of the equal participation of all. Comments add to the learning experience, are connected to both the readings and the student’s relevant outside experiences. Student reads the text, and is prepared with notations to contribute.
Negative participation: The student contributes to class discussion infrequently or rarely, and/or does not value and respect the contributions of classmates. Comments do not add to the learning being undertaken by the class as a whole. Does not fully participate or contribute to group activities. Comments are not connected to the readings and isolated to outside experiences only. Student does not read the text, and is not prepared to contribute.
Cooperative Activities: Opportunities will be provided for learners to work on cooperative activities with peers that will encompass hands-on, inquiry based real life scenarios.
a) Provide realistic experiences in various principal roles (with opportunities to compare responses, experiences, etc.)
b) Practice skill development (with peer and instructor feedback).
Grades will be determined on the following basis using a 250 point scale:
A 90-100 C 70-79 F below 65
B 80-89 D 65-69
Course Schedule
Part 1
Objectives Using Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow as a background begin to explore how we think and what that means for our approach to leadership
Assignments
Jan. 12 Introduction to the course and each other
Jan. 19 Be prepared to discuss The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory video in class
Journal entry #1 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Jan. 26 Be prepared to discuss Chapter 1 “The Characters of the Story” in class
Journal entry #2 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Feb. 2 Be prepared to discuss Chapter 2 “Attention and Effort” in class
Journal entry #3 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Feb. 9 Be prepared to discuss Part 11 “Anchors” in class
Journal entry #4 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Feb. 16 Be prepared to discuss Part 17 “Regression to the Mean” in class
Journal entry #5 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Part 2
Objectives Learn how reframing problems can inspire new solutions
Work in teams to develop strategies for defining rigor
Assignments
Feb. 23 Spring Break
Mar. 2 Reframing the problem
Read Wagner introduction pp. 1-20
Review the rigor lesson
Journal entry #6 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Mar. 9 Creating a vision of success
Read Wagner part one pp. 21-50
Watch the 6th or 10th grade instruction videos
Follow the directions for grading and calibrating the evaluation
Journal entry #7 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Mar. 16 Committing ourselves to the challenge
Read Wagner pp.51-60
Defining Rigor Exercise
Watch video blog
Complete defining rigor exercise and submit as Journal entry #8 by 5:30 pm today
Part 3
Objectives Discuss key elements of leading effective change
Learn strategies for using complaints to understand commitments
Assignments
Mar. 23 Momentum and immunities to change
Read Wagner part two pp. 61-94
Find and critique your (K12 or higher ed) emergency contingency plan:
How people are affected differently
Vulnerable populations
Shifting work burdens
Triage training capacity
Interrupted resource flows
Journal entry #9 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Mar. 30 Thinking systemically
Read Wagner part three pp. 95-130
Watch video blog with directions for 4 C’s exercise
Complete the 4 C's diagnostic exercise
Journal entry #10 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Apr. 6 The ecology of change
Read Wagner part four pp. 131-166
Journal entry #11 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Apr. 13 Overturning your immunities to change
Read Wagner pp. 167-192
Submit Immunity to Change Exercise as journal entry #12 due by 5:30 pm today
Apr. 20 Bringing the focus together
Read Wagner pp. 193-230
Watch video blog
Journal entry #13 due by 5:30 pm today reflecting on material covered this week
Apr. 27 Last day
Effective Leadership Action Plan due as journal entry #14 by 5:30 pm today