Main Content
Syllabus
The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of materials, please check the online catalog 3-4 weeks before the course start date.
EDLDR 559: School Improvement
(3 credits): The course examines how educational leaders at all levels can determine, promote, support, and achieve successful school improvement.
Overview
The last 20 years have witnessed unparalleled efforts to improve schools and raise student achievement. In the beginning of this shift toward education reform, new content standards for mathematics, science, English, and social studies; increased requirements for high school graduation and reduced class sizes (especially in the early grades). Then new end-of-course exams and other major revisions to statewide testing and assessment were instituted. Performance-based accountability requirements of NCLB and AYP for schools, and most recently the adoption and implementation of the Common Core State Standards, are only some of the more prominent national and state initiatives to promote reform. Yet, despite all this activity and attention, significant changes in student achievement and in basic school practices have been slow at best. While there has been some overall improvement, instances of sustained successes have been few and scattered.
The reasons for slow progress are many and complex. However, one that is receiving growing attention is the need for stronger school leaders (including teachers, principals, superintendents, and other educators) who can direct and implement changes in curriculum, instruction, and school organization geared to improving the achievement of all students. There is growing consensus in the research literature that school improvement and school leadership are largely inseparable, and that leadership, in its many and varied forms, is a critical element in order for schools to improve. Although focusing on leadership without attending to the many other conditions that affect school effectiveness is not productive, it is clear that leadership is an essential element of school improvement.
This course addresses three major questions:
- What is school improvement?
- What is involved in the planning for school improvement?
- What is the role of leadership in implementing planned change for school improvement?
To accomplish this, we will focus first on a general systems model (continuous improvement) developed for school improvement. There are many possible iterations of the general systems model, but many of the same components and emphases are evident across the board. The course will focus on identifying the key component pieces of school improvement work and how these are interrelated.
These topic areas include:
- building professional development around data on student learning;
- embedding professional development in classrooms and centering it on problems of practice;
- developing an inquiry-oriented stance toward teaching and learning in the schools;
- ensuring system coherence and alignment; and
- understanding and leading change processes.
All these are connected the larger objective focused on what leaders need to know and be able to do in order to strengthen instruction practices and increase the achievement of all students.
If school leaders are to nurture and promote better teaching and learning, they will need to be familiar not only with promising new approaches to curriculum, instruction, and assessment, but also will require a command and understanding of the ways and means to integrate these ideas with a particular school’s circumstances/context in order to move it forward.
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to
- identify systems and continuous learning approaches to school improvement and change;
- develop an understanding of different continuous improvement models;
- describe the complexities of change processes and implementation work;
- articulate the case for organizing all the work of schools (and districts) around student learning;
- develop, articulate, and support a vision of learning in the school that emphasizes capacity building and continuous improvement;
- recognize professional development as “nested” within individual schools and specific learning communities in those schools and tied to specific problems of classroom practice
- use data to effect school improvement; and
- seek and utilize research to inform the practice of improving planned change/improvement in schools.
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Specifications
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
|---|---|
| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Organization and Expectations
The central, organizing issue for this course is an examination of how educational leaders at all levels might determine, promote, and support successful school improvement strategies and activities that are clearly focused on improving achievement for all students. In order to facilitate this, the course will focus on a group of related topics, including (but not limited to) systems models for continuous improvement, professional development, communities of practice, inquiry- based collaborative approaches to improvement efforts, the linkages between standards, assessment, and curriculum, and data-based decision-making.
The collaborative nature of the course will be emphasized through class discussions and small group assignments as well as cooperative work in various small group projects and/or assignments.
Reading guides will be provided for some of the assigned readings—at times as assignments to be handed in and at other times just as self-study guides.
Along with the course texts, outside readings relating to specific topics will be assigned and will be considered part of the required reading for the course. Students are expected to be prepared to discuss and critique any of these reading by the appropriate due dates. Students are also expected to properly cite sources of information when using the ideas of others to support positions and responses.
Course Schedule
The schedule below outlines the topics we will be covering in this course, along with the associated time frames and assignments.
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
Assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. ET, Sunday night of the week.
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Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Grading
The objectives will be assessed by a combination of measures including both individual understanding of the content, collaborative work, and synthesis and application of the material to the student’s growth as a teacher leader.
| Activity | Percentage |
|---|---|
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Preparing for Continuous School Improvement* (*This is the key assessment or signature activity for this course. All PA principal certification students must deposit a graded copy of this assignment and the corresponding rubric in their electronic portfolio.) Although there are several frameworks that are based on a “continuous improvement” model, all begin with basic steps of (1) identifying core beliefs and shared visions of practice (where we want to be), (2) collecting and analyzing data to define current realities (where we are now), (3) determining gaps between current reality and the shared vision of where we want to be, and (4) identifying changes that will close the gaps between what is and what we want. These steps are, of course to be followed by (5) developing and implementing an action plan that will achieve the results we want, (6) reflecting on and analyzing data, (7) evaluating results, and (8) using those results to guide further improvement efforts. This assignment focuses only one the first four “planning” steps identified above. Important!! All documents related to this assignment will be considered confidential and will be viewed only by me. Thus, I encourage you to be as honest and unbiased in your assessments as possible. All documents and evidence will be returned to you upon final evaluation of this assignment. |
50% |
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Individual Assignments For the most part, there will be continuing individual assignments throughout the semester. These assignments are part and parcel of nearly every Lesson for the course. The readings assigned for each lesson were carefully selected for their distinct contribution to developing a solid understanding of school improvement. For this reason I place a high premium on their content and your understanding of that content. All your responses to the questions on the individual assignments should be placed on the Word document provided (the one with the questions). Drop boxes will be provided for each of these assignments. Please put your name (especially your last name) on these assignments and also use your name as the file name along with the Lesson number, e.g., Prestine Lesson 05. The assignments are all due on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. of our instructional week which runs from Monday through Sunday. As noted, these are individual assignments and not to be completed collaboratively. |
40% |
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Participation Participation covers a wide range of activities, covering everything from active participation in Blackboard Collaborate sessions, to emailing in questions for Blackboard Collaborate sessions if synchronous participation is not possible, to the gathering of evidence from your district/school for the Preparing for Continuous School Improvement assignment. |
10% |
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Total |
100% |
The World Campus follows the same grading system as the Penn State resident program. The grades of A, B, C, D, and F indicate the following qualities of academic performance:
A = (Excellent) Indicates exceptional achievement
B = (Good) Indicates extensive achievement
C = (Satisfactory) Indicates acceptable achievement
D = (Poor) Indicates only minimal achievement
F = (Failure) Indicates inadequate achievement necessitating a repetition of the course in order to secure credit
| Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| A | 94–100 |
| A- | 90–93.9 |
| B+ | 87–89.9 |
| B | 84–86.9 |
| B- | 80–83.9 |
| C+ | 77–79.9 |
| C | 70–76.9 |
| D | 60–69.9 |
| F | 0–59.9 |
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Graduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
Course Requirements
Logging On
You will be expected to log on to our course home page to engage in discussions and activities on a regular basis. Interaction with each other is an important part of this course. It is recommended that you log on to the course Web site at least five times a week to work through course materials and to participate in course discussions. You should plan on spending the same amount of time on this course as you would if you were taking it in residence—about 12–15 hours per week.
Posting Responses
You will engage whole group and small group discussions on a regular, weekly basis. You will be asked to submit at least one original post and at least two responses to original posts from other students. If two posts have been made to one member, choose another member’s response for your posting. During each module, you are encouraged to participate in discussions most effective and efficient levels of communication, including visiting discussion boards throughout the week, reading all discussion posts, and contributing your thoughts, comments, questions, and experiences to topics of interests to you and points that resonate with you. You are discouraged from failing to contribute your questions, share your positions, and engage as it might otherwise benefit others by merely meeting the minimum one original post and two responses requirement. Responses and posting will be graded.
Zoom Sessions
Group work as required within the course will take place via Zoom. Zoom technology was adopted by the Pennsylvania State University as the tool for webconferencing in PSU courses, and it will be used across our EDLDR program for direct connections with both faculty and fellow students.
Should you opt to download the Zoom software application for your preferred device, you can find information on Zoom's download page. However, you will also be able to access your Zoom environment via a link that will ultimately be provided by me for any group work to be required in a given week. Please also note, any future group work assignments will take the place of a class discussion for the given week. To reiterate, each week we will be required to participate in either class discussion or group work and NOT both.
Netiquette
The course environment is a safe space for all to engage, share, and discuss ideas, positions, and views. While you may present ideas that challenge another's thinking or views, or while we may even disagree with others at times, you will proceed and conduct your interactions and discussions with respect and appropriateness. You are expected to choose words from a place of kindness and acceptance, as well as demonstrate professionalism and respect toward others, and to regard this course as an inclusive space where ideas are welcomed and shared.
Accommodations and Identifications
Individual accommodations for academic needs will be addressed as a priority by the EDLDR program and instructor for all students in all courses. If you have needs for academic accommodations, please email the instructor, as soon as possible, with the specifics of your need(s)/request(s).
Additionally, please feel welcome to share with your instructor, via email or phone, any information you would like to share about your identification preferences within the course environment.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
University Policies
- Accommodating Disabilities:
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
- Counseling and Psychological Services:
If you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
- Additional Policies:
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
- Deferred Grades:
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page. - Military Students:
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
- Report Bias:
Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.