Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 703: Educational Change and School Reform (Fall 2021)

Credits - 3

Description

Regardless of how beneficial a desired change may seem, new initiatives are often difficult to implement. This course examines change theory, studies case histories of change efforts, and reviews change strategies in order to equip students with skills for introducing effective reforms.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

The objectives for this course correspond with Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) as listed below. In addition, student learning outcomes supporting the course objectives will be specified at the beginning of the week for each module. 

Focus Areas:

• Equity and Cultural Responsiveness
  • Confront and alter institutional biases of student marginalization, deficit-based schooling, and low expectations associated with race, class, culture and language, gender and sexual orientation, and disability or special status. (PSEL 3 e)
  • Lead with interpersonal and communication skill, social-emotional insight, and understanding of all students’ and staff members’ backgrounds and cultures. (PSEL 2 e)
• Inclusive Approaches to School Change
  • Prepare the school and the community for improvement, promoting readiness, an imperative for improvement, instilling mutual commitment and accountability, and developing the knowledge, skills, and motivation to succeed in improvement. (PSEL 10 c)
  • Engage others in an ongoing process of evidence-based inquiry, learning, strategic goal setting, planning, implementation, and evaluation for continuous school and classroom improvement. (PSEL 10 d)
• Building a Culture of Collaboration and Continuous Improvement
  • Provide opportunities for collaborative examination of practice, collegial feedback, and collective learning. (PSEL 7 g)
  • Develop and promote leadership among teachers and staff for inquiry, experimentation and innovation, and initiating and implementing improvement. (PSEL 10 j)
• Managing Systemic Change through Adaptive and Technical Approaches
  • Develop technically appropriate systems of data collection, management, analysis, and use, connecting as needed to the district office and external partners for support in planning, implementation, monitoring, feedback, and evaluation. (PSEL 10 g)
  • Adopt a systems perspective and promote coherence among improvement efforts and all aspects of school organization, programs, and services. (PSEL 10 h)
  • Manage uncertainty, risk, competing initiatives, and politics of change with courage and perseverance, providing support and encouragement, and openly communicating the need for, process for, and outcomes of improvement efforts. (PSEL 10 i)

Assignments

Weekly Discussion Boards

Group and Class discussions provide participants with opportunities to make meaning of new theory, key concepts, and applications of theory to practice. Participants contribute to the intellectual development of the class by offering insights, synthesizing understandings, and responding to the postings of others. The expectation is that students make an initial post and comment on the posts of at least two classmates each week.

In Week 4 and Week 5, students will conduct interviews with students, community members, educators, and/or staff to gain perspective on the issue they are investigating for their Major Assessment; summaries of these interviews will be shared and discussed. 

During Week 8, the discussions will focus on the shared presentations of the Major Assessment, as well as an overall reflection on the course. 

Major Assessment: From Challenge to Action Steps

The major assessment for this course will be an investigation of your own school or district’s data, the identification of an issue or challenge to address, and the crafting of possible action steps towards reform or transformation. This project is broken up into smaller components which will take place between Week 2 and Week 7.

Week 2: Planning your Investigation of Data: Explore an issue, challenge, or inequity at your school or district using data.

Week 3: Data Analysis & Identifying the Imperative for Change:  Using a chart template provided in the Brightspace module, analyze and review the data selected in Week 2. 

Week 6: From Challenge to Action Steps – Short Paper: Analyze the issue you have chosen through the lens of each of the four areas that we have explored throughout the course.

Week 7: Transformation or Engagement Plan: For this assignment, you will be communicating your findings to your choice of audience and format.

Grading Policy

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

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Points
Week 2: Planning Your Investigation of Data	10
Week 3: Data Analysis and Identifying the Imperative for Change	11
Week 4: Seeking Perspective (Student or Community Member) Discussion Board Posts	12
Week 5: Seeking Perspective (Educator) Discussion Board Posts	12
Week 6: From Challenge to Action Steps Short Paper	15
Week 7: Transformation or Engagement Plan	15
Discussion Boards (5 @ 5 Points Each)	25
TOTAL	100