Syllabus - University of Wisconsin-Stout

Content
Each learning module is structured around an introduction, readings, activities, an activity checklist, personal of reflection of key learning insights, learning rubric, and interactive group discussion.

Required activities include:
Participating in online class discussions with the instructor and peers and sharing responses to readings, online resources, literature review, and field research

Participants will develop a weekly reflective learning journal, a log of leadership activities, and an individual leadership action plan for implementation.

Class discussion participation, reflective writing, and final project will be reviewed and grades assigned using instructor designed rubrics.

Module 1 – Introduction to Instructional Leadership
Introduction to course, classmates and establishing best practices for learning, leadership versus management, styles of effective and successful leaders, leaders that influence, five levels of leadership

Module 2 – Instructional Leadership Fundamentals
Understanding individual roles and responsibilities, characteristics of efficient and effective leaders and followers, identifying priorities and aligning them to student and organizational needs, establishing a healthy work and learning culture through relationships of trust and modeling integrity.

Module 3 – Leaders as Change Agents: Choices, Impact and Consequences
Leadership derailment, effectives communication, adaptability, accountability, motivating others, modeling positive responses to change, leading as a coach.

Module 4 - Shared Leadership and Decision-Making
The leader's role as a team member, developing high performance teams, group problem-solving, identifying and responding to conflict in the workplace, managing resistance, followers leading and shared decision-making.

Module 5 - Leadership for Instructional Improvement
Federal, state and local school data, interpretation/analysis, identification, selection, and measurement of appropriate performance indicators; strategic decision-making.

Module 6 - Leading Through Vision
Visionary leadership, ethical leaders, building momentum for change and the future.

Module 7 - Future Forward: Applying Instructional Leadership Skills in your School or Organization
Applying instructional leadership skills in your school or organization.

Each module is structured around an Introduction, Readings, Activities, an Activity Checklist, Learning Rubric, and Class Discussion boa rd. You will work individually and as a member of collaborative teams to share and define your key learning insights.

Participation
While online education is highly flexible and designed to meet your schedule, you will need to set and meet deadlines as part of your weekly assignments and collaborative work. Your instructor has developed a week-by-week calendar of learning activity and project due dates. Additionally, your peer learners will depend on you for timely feedback as you interact via discussion boards and work together on small group tasks.

You will be able to customize activities to your specific personal and professional program growth needs.

Collaboration
During each activity, you are expected to share your thoughts, ideas, and questions with other class participants and with your instructor.

Participants may share drafts of works-in-progress for peer feedback and discuss ideas and suggestions before submitting the final copy of each project.

Feel free to use these world time tools when you are communicating with participants who live in different time zones. WORLDTIME

Discussion Board
Many of the course instructional concepts are developed through discussion using our online discussion board. You are expected to check the discussion regularly (at least three times a week) to check for new postings and to react to other participants' discussion postings throughout the week. The criteria is to interact three different times during the week, reading and posting during each of those visits to the discussion board.

The discussion board's most vital use is to exchange ideas with other participants; these may include reactions to readings, discussing the topic/issue of the week, sharing information and resources with classmates, asking a question, or responding to a problem posted by peers or your instructor.

Activities
Each participant will purposefully define their leadership role and develop goals for leadership skill enhancement and professional growth.

Evaluation
Class Discussion
Through readings, interactive group discussion, and hands-on projects using electronic library indexes, journals and database you will develop goals and strategies for personal leadership development and implementation in their local district/building.

Your participation and performance will be evaluated on the basis of rubrics created to evaluate discussion board participation, development of strategies to infuse team building principles in their local district/building, a reflective journal and a final project.

The final project will include an action plan including a portfolio of technology-based products from ongoing coursework and a reflection.

Evaluation of your discussion participation is cumulative and subjective based on notes that the facilitator records each week.

Discussion Board Participation Guidelines and Evaluation

Your grade for discussion board participation will be based on both frequency and quality of your contributions during our discussions. Posting should demonstrate critical thinking, rather than simply social presence on the discussion board.

Quality participation is considered as thoughtful and concise contribution that demonstrates critical thinking and moves the discussion forward as related to the course material.

Contributions of low quality or lengthy excerpts from course materials or other sources will not result in an exemplary discussion grade. Comments such as "I agree" or "Yes/No" or “Thanks for the feedback” will not count toward the frequency of your participation.

The courseware management system monitors the amount of time, quality, number and frequency of both read and written discussion responses on the discussion board, and the instructor will review this while analyzing class postings based on the class discussion rubric

Project Evaluation
Projects will be evaluated using standards listed on the module rubrics or checklists. Projects will be evaluated for clarity, thoroughness, practical application, and professionalism.

Final Grade
Your final grade will be based on level of completion of module activities and online discussion.

Your instructor will provide 1:1 feedback to you throughout the course, however, any time you want to ask about your progress, send a message directly to your instructor.

Grading Scale
Grades will be based upon performance in online class discussion, module activities and the final project.

A 94-100% of the total points

A- 93-91% of total points

B+ 90-88% of total points

B 87-84% of the total points

B- 83-81% of total points

C+ 80-78% of total points

C 77-74% of the total points

C- 73-71% of total points

D 70-61% of the total points

F 60% and below total points

ADA Statement
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), students are encouraged to register with UW Stout Disability Services for assistance with instructional accommodations due to disabilities. The phone number of the Disability Services office is 715-232-2995 or contact the staff via email at this website: http://www.uwstout.edu/disability/contact.shtml

Online Attendance
In an online course, you are not required to attend at a particular location or time of day.

This course is designed as an interactive course in which you contribute and respond to the discussion postings of other students. Plan to log in and participate in the course discussion at least 3 times each week. Your instructor has access to a login summary including the date of each entry you make to the discussion board or dropbox—this includes a response to an assignment, a posting on the threaded discussion, submission of an assignment, or participation in group work.

If your professional/personal obligations or illness require you to be absent for more than 3 days, please contact me and arrange how you will make up the work.

Please do not "drop out" for a period of time and then expect to "drop back in" without losing points. This makes it difficult for your colleagues to complete their assignments if feedback is required.

Late Policy
As an online instructor, I prefer to be flexible with due dates. Since we haven't committed to a regular schedule of meeting in a specific place, you can "come to class" at your convenience.

But this presents a problem when class participants abandon the course calendar completely. Regular, timely feedback to classmates via the Discussion board makes this class vital, and prompt submission of assignments for assessment allows the instructor to give you the guidance you deserve to receive.

Due dates for each module are published on the course calendar at the start of the class. Work turned in within seven days after that due date will be considered on time and will receive full credit.

After seven days, work that has not been submitted will receive a zero until the work is handed in and evaluated.

Excused Makeup Work - If the late submission has been requested and approved in advance of the due date, there will be no deduction of points from the grade. An e-mail to the instructor requesting an extension of the due date is sufficient.

Unexcused Makeup Work - If you have not requested an extension prior to the assignment due date, the late assignment will be considered unexcused.

Academic Honesty & Misconduct
From the university policy: “Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others’ academic endeavors. Students who violate these standards must be confronted and must accept the consequences of their actions.

Definitions of academic dishonesty as provided by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators include:

UW-Stout also considers academic dishonesty to include forgery of academic documents, or intentionally impeding or damaging the academic work of others.