ED 800 centered on the human side of organizations. Throughout the course, we focused on strategies for nurturing, developing, and supporting individuals in the workplace. A major theme was the significant responsibility leaders hold toward those they lead. We analyzed how our own organizations recruit, retain, motivate, engage, and grow talented employees. Through key assignments, we were guided in creating an organizational success plan and an employee retention plan, both of which required thoughtful reflection on the practices leaders can implement to help their teams thrive.

ED 801 was the most demanding course of the program for me. It required the collection and analysis of data for my case-study based qualitative explanatory study. Throughout the course, I met regularly with my faculty advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Langran, to ensure the research was thoughtfully designed and meaningful. The course began with my DiP proposal presentation, which summarized the first three chapters of my study. After receiving approval from both my faculty advisor and my LDFM, I moved forward with data collection. The case-study utilized a 3 module Faculty Multimedia Training on Canvas, which was distributed to more than 600 faculty to gather their perspectives on the effectiveness of the Multimedia Training at the Community College using the TPACK framework. Once the data were gathered, I undertook the rigorous process of analysis by hand and using AI tools and writing Chapter 4. Through this experience, I fully stepped into the role of a researcher, applying theory to practice while conducting the case-study at the institution I work at in alignment with my approved IRB plan.

This course