Syllabus

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

EDU 807: Enacting Educational Leadership through Research – Fall A 2018

Credits - 3

Description

This writing intensive course covers the foundations of enacting leadership content gained thus far in the program for the purpose of locating, developing, analyzing, synthesizing and constructing a sound literature review consistent with the research on the student’s chosen research topic. This course provides students with opportunities to develop skills that are essential for conducting research and completing a dissertation, with particular focus on reviewing literature and composing a literature review chapter.  Students will demonstrate the ability to discriminate among alternative research viewpoints, differentiate constituent parts of the review, assess and comment on theories, thoughts, and ideas, concept proposals and relevant literature, and construct a cogent and compelling literature review.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Course Objectives:

1. To develop an outline to guide exploration of a research topic.
2. To improve and refine research skills.
3. To use a literature matrix to evaluate and organize relevant literature.
4. To identify appropriate resources and relevant materials for the literature review.
5. To explore the purpose of the study.
6. To write a preliminary literature review.

Course Outcomes:

This course is designed to provide students with opportunities to develop skills that are essential for conducting research and completing a dissertation, with particular focus on reviewing literature and composing a literature review chapter. Students should demonstrate an ability to discriminate among alternative research sources and viewpoints. Students should demonstrate exemplary ability to differentiate constituent parts; assess and comment on theories, thoughts, and ideas, concept proposals and relevant literature; and construct a cogent and compelling literature review.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, learners will:

1. Demonstrate the ability to locate current literature that informs their proposed research topic.
2. Develop a system for managing electronic and hard copy resources for extracting the information needed to conduct a literature review.
3. Analyze, reflect and compare and contrast relevant literature sources related to their research topics.
4. Synthesize relevant literature in a structured, logical and coherent manner.
5. Compose a maximum 20 page Literature Review (without references and cover sheet) based on at least 25 relevant articles, and two dissertations.
6. Continue to use research journal entries to document the development of their knowledge of their research topic.

Assignments

Discussion Boards: Online discussions provide you with additional opportunities to make meaning of new theory, key concepts, and applications of theory to practice. Participants contribute to the intellectual and theoretical development of the cohort through offering insights, synthesizing understandings, and responding to the postings and work of others.

Literature Matrix: Continue building your literature matrix for your chosen topic; keep in mind that while this may be the topic you have chosen for your dissertation, it’s still early enough to change topics! Include no less than 25 total sources.

Preliminary Literature Review Outline (Part C & D): For this assignment, you construct an outline for your literature review. The assigned outline will form the foundation for your literature review.

Preliminary Literature Review (Part C): Using the feedback from your peer(s), the assignment rubric (in the syllabus and embedded in the assignment), and the checklist on pages 109-110 in the Roberts text, revise your draft preliminary literature review on your emergent topic of interest.

Preliminary Intro & Conclusion to the Literature Review:

Introduction: Describe the major themes and boundaries of the literature included in your literature matrix. The gap in the literature is where your own work will fit into the overarching and scholarly conversation. Machi and McEvoy (2012) suggest the introduction should contain “six sections . . . (1) the opening, (2) the study topic, (3) the context, (4) the significance, (5) the problem statement, and (6) the organization” (p. 145). As a result, we will use these 6 subsections to construct your introduction and establish an outline!

Conclusion: To summarize Chapter 2, use the organizational information that is in your introduction and review the organization, then in a step-by-step brief, review the key points and claims discussed throughout the chapter. Highlight key findings, themes and note the importance and implications. Remember that the literature review itself serves both as a foundation of what is already known about your topic, but also demonstrates an argument for further research and inquiry.

 

Note: The University of New England provides students, staff and faculty with free access to RefWorks, a fantastic tool for collecting and managing references and making style-correct citations. Access the tool through the link on the left navigation bar. For instructions and tutorials in setting up your account and getting started, visit http://success.une.edu/blackboard-support/refworks/.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignments	Weight
5 Threaded Discussion Boards (3 points each)	15 points
Literature Matrix	20 points
Preliminary Literature Review Outline (Part C & D)	10 points
Literature Review (Part C & D) Peer Review	10 points
Preliminary Literature Review (Part C)	25 points
Preliminary Intro & Conclusion to the Literature Review	20 points
Total	100 Points

The criteria for all courses in the Ed. D. program are described in the modules and/or rubrics. Assignments will include guidelines with rubrics, descriptions of expectations, or examples, and include point values. Coursework will be assessed and graded using individual evaluation protocols that are provided for the three major assignments. Final “grades” will reflect the following schema:

• High Pass (HP): Work that exceeds all or most of the criteria of the respective assignment. To receive a high pass the work must demonstrate exceptional command and display of all or most required elements;
• Pass (P): Work that meets all requirements and expectations as specified in assignments, and is fully satisfactory in every respect;
• Low Pass (LP): Work is deemed unsatisfactory.

Grade Scale: 95 = HP; 80-94 = P; 70-79 = LP

Note** The instructor will determine if an assignment may be revised and resubmitted for rescoring. Candidates may proceed to subsequent courses in the curriculum with one LP grade, and although there is no failing grade, a second LP course grade results in termination from the doctoral program.

All assignments are to be completed in a timely manner with appropriate accuracy, detail, thought and reflection fitting of doctoral-level degree candidates. All assignments (done in writing or with other media applications) are graded on the basis of faculty assessment of your ability to accurately apply concepts from readings, organization, and mechanics. See the appendices for grading rubrics. Please note that you must save all submitted documents in Microsoft Word in order for them to transmit successfully. All work must be properly identified and include author(s)’ name(s). Submit all written work in APA style (Refer to the APA Publication Manual for guidance; Purdue OWL is an excellent, user-friendly resource).