Main Content
Syllabus
OLEAD/LHR 409: Leadership Development: A Life-Long Learning Perspective: The course examines the continuing influence of social and environmental factors in shaping leadership and leadership development.
Overview | Objectives | Materials | Library Resources | Software | Tutoring Services | Technical Requirements | Course Requirements | Course Grading | Course Schedule | Academic Integrity | Accommodating Disabilities | Additional Policies
Overview
In this complex and dynamic time, the current financial, state budget, and leadership corruption crises call for effective and ethical leadership across various industries. The positive and moral transformation of a society is also in a desperate need for the active participation and leadership of more authentic transformational leaders throughout the whole society. In this course, we will discuss the authentic transformational leadership development from a lifespan developmental perspective. More specifically, we will discuss how an individual can develop his or her leadership skills, potential, and capacity in childhood, school, social organizations, colleges, and work organizations, etc.
The primary purpose of this course is to help you understand how family, school, work settings, and other environmental factors have helped and/or will help develop your transformational leadership potential and leadership effectiveness, in addition to knowing your strengths and weaknesses, in the fields of personality, individual difference, motivation, values, emotions, self-awareness, and identity, etc.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to
- determine and manage your values, personality, and emotions;
- reflect on your sense of self, including self-identity, self-awareness, and self-efficacy;
- understand the effects of lifespan factors, such as the family, school, and social organizations, on individual leadership development;
- understand ethics perspectives and their roles in leadership development; and
- develop an individual leadership development.
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.
Using the Library
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.
Software
One of the benefits of being a registered Penn State student is that you are eligible to receive educational discounts on many software titles. If you are interested in learning more about purchasing software through our affiliate vendor, please visit the Buying Software section of the Course Materials page.
Writing Tutoring Available for OLEAD/LHR Students
Penn State World Campus and the University Learning Centers, the Undergraduate Writing Center, and the Center for Excellence in Writing at Penn State University Park are pleased to announce that students in OLEAD/LHR 409 can now access online tutoring services. Get tutoring support before those final papers are due!
To meet with an online tutor, visit the Student Center for Writing Support.
Technical Requirements
| 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!
Course Requirements
- Individual Participation: You are expected to come fully prepared to ask and answer questions that add to your understanding of the course materials, as well as your fellow classmates.
- Readings: You are expected to read all assigned book chapters and readings, and while doing so, you should continually ask yourself the following two questions:
- Do I really understand the theory and/or principles of this material?
- If yes, then what? What are the practical implications and significance of this material? How would I apply this as a leader in practice?
- You will read some academic journal articles, which typically have research methodology section. You may have some difficulty in reading research methodology section if you have not taken the any courses in research methodology. If that is the case, you could just focus on the conceptual and theoretical substances, such as introduction, hypotheses/literature review, results, and discussion parts.
- Self-assessments: You are expected to complete those self-assessments for those specified sections (shown in the Topic Table) on your own. These assessments can help you to know who you are and increase your self-awareness. You will have to discuss how these assessments can help to develop your leadership development in your writing assignment (i.e., self-leadership development paper).
- You expect to actively participate by raising these questions as well as others during our online class discussion board.
- All assigned readings should be completed prior to the class for which they are specified. Be prepared to answer questions regarding the readings and more importantly to ask these questions to enhance your positive and creative learning, as well as others.
- Ethics: All work submitted for the class must be original and your own work. Academic dishonesty is against the Penn State University’s code of ethics.
Course Grading
There are four deliverables upon which your grade is based: leadership development plan, online class discussion, group debate, and peer review. All assignments are due on their scheduled dates. No assignment will be accepted late.
| Assignments | Percentage |
|---|---|
|
Self-Leadership Development Plan You have accomplished a series of self-assessments in this course, and are required to accomplish a self-leadership development plan. The paper is worth 25% of your course grade and is due on Week 12. Detailed instructions for the Self-Leadership Development Plan. | 25% |
|
Online Class Discussion You can learn best when you are active and positive in online discussion, which is a unique characteristic of online class. Therefore, your active participation is critical and essential to the success of this course. After finishing the readings and watching video for each topic, you are required to answer the posted questions in the discussion forum. In addition, you are also required to comment on the posted responses of at least one classmates for each discussion topic. If two posts have been made to one classmate, choose another classmates’s response for your posting. This part is worth 30% of your course grade. Detailed requirements for online discussion. | 30% |
|
Individual Essays The individual essay writing assignments in every case will involve the preparation of an essay in response to the posted question(s) or reflection on the online self-assessment that accompany the lesson commentary. The written assignments will be between 500-750 words. | 15% |
|
Group Debate In this class, you will be assigned into working as a group to contribute to a debate. At the beginning of the class, you will be asked to choose a debate topic you prefer and I will organize the debate group accordingly. As a group, you will participate in a group debate. Your participation in the debates will account for 20% of your course grade. In addition, you are expected to comment on and grade the debates of other teams, which will be counted as part of your participation score. Therefore, participation is required from all students. Detailed requirements for group debate. | 20% |
|
Peer Evaluations When you work in a team, it is expected that you will contribute equally to the group project, the debate here. At the end of this course, each team member has to submit a group evaluation sheet indicating each member’s contribution in the group project. This evaluation should assign a percentage of the project score that each team member deserves. Also, teams have the responsibility of resolving any conflict that may arise during the group project. In the event conflict cannot be resolved, the team can fire the non-contributing member. To be fair to the fired team member, he/she (and I) need to be notified at least a week before the project’s due date. The fired team member will then have to complete the project individually. | 10% |
Grading Scale
| Letter | Percent |
|---|---|
| A | 93.0% to 100 % |
| A- | <93.0% to 90.0% |
| B+ | <90.0% to 87.0% |
| B | <87.0% to 83.0% |
| B- | <83.0% to 80.0% |
| C+ | <80.0% to 77.0% |
| C | <77.0% to 70.0% |
| D | <70.0% to 60.0% |
| F | <60.0% to 0.0% |
Course Schedule
Note: All due dates reflect North American eastern time (ET).
Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments are due Monday after the specified lesson frame at 11:59 a.m.
identifies readings that are available on eReserves through the library and * reading are Harvard Business Review Articles are available via Business Premier Database or purchased at HBR website.
| Lesson | Week | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson 1: Introduction of Leadership Development |
1
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| Lesson 2: Individual Indifferences |
2
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| Lesson 3: Values |
3
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Lesson 4: Personality |
4
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Lesson 5: Motivation |
5
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| Lesson 6: Emotions |
6
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| Lesson 7: Ethics and Virtues, Part I |
7
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| Lesson 8: Ethics and Virtues, Part II |
8
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Lesson 9: Self-Awareness |
9
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Lesson 10: Self Identity |
10
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| Lesson 11: Self Efficacy |
11
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| Lesson 12: Family Influences |
12
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Lesson 13: Environmental Influence |
13
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Lesson 14: Leadership Influence |
15
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| Lesson 15: Follower Influence |
16
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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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.