Leadership Development
EDL 500
Spring, 2016
WIU QC Campus
Department of Educational Leadership
Western Illinois University
Name: Stuart Yager
Rank: Professor
Department: Educational Leadership
Office Location: Macomb, HH 81
Office: 309-298-1070
Cell: 309-255-0955
Email: so-yager@wiu.edu
Office Hours: Before and After Class
Course Description
EDL 500 Leadership Development. (3) Assessment of leadership capability in tandem with leadership
theory, followed by development of leadership in others, participative leadership, and distributive
leadership. From there, the broader issue of organizational (school) capacity development follows,
which leads into staff development, followed by hiring and other personnel functions.
Prerequisites:
Admitted to the Program or Permission of the Instructor
Purpose
Candidates will understand and practice the theories of management and effective leadership and
reflect on the talents, abilities, and experiences they bring to school level leadership. This course will
provide candidates with experiences in leading professional and support staff in the school setting.
Candidates will learn the importance of school culture, climate, and communication.
Objectives
The student will
1. Based on a review of leadership theory, identify and describe the skills, behaviors, and
characteristics of effective leaders.
2. Demonstrate an appreciation of the complexity of combining impartiality while remaining
sensitive to diversity, respecting confidentiality, and maintaining honest interactions.
3. Describe appropriate policies, criteria, and processes for the recruitment, induction,
compensation, and separation of personnel.
4. Describe effective strategies for consensus building and collaboration for school faculty and
staff.
5. Describe four principles of contract implementation at the school building level, using examples
for each principle.
6. Describe the cultural competencies needed by principals to ensure equality, social justice, and
respect for diversity in all its forms (ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender, religious
affiliations, etc.).
7. Develop a plan for personal growth based on leadership and management theory and the
challenges of school leadership.
8. Develop and evaluate job descriptions and interview questions for preschool, elementary,
middle school/junior high, and high school regular education teachers and teachers requiring
endorsements for special areas such as early childhood, bilingual, special education, and
talented and gifted.
9. Discuss the meaning of professional integrity in the principalship in terms of the 10 points in
NASSP’s ethical code for school administrators
(http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=47104).
10. Use internal and external sources of information to collect, organize, and analyze data to
identify one or more personnel areas of concern, applying knowledge of human resource
processes to address the concerns within a school improvement plan for the employment of
effective, competent preschool, elementary, middle school/junior high, and high school
teachers and special needs personnel.
11. Use several criteria to compare organizational leadership and management theories and how
these can be applied in the principalship.
Required Texts
Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
ISBN: 13:978-0-7852-8837-4
Carroll, L. (1865). Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass ISBN: 0-553-21345-8
Brinkman, R., & Kirschner, R. (2012). Dealing with People You Can't Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in
People at Their Worst, Revised and Expanded Third Edition ISBN-13: 9780071785723
Blanchard, K. (1985, Revised 2013). Leadership and the One Minute Manager. ISBN: 978-0-06-230944-0
Calendar of Topics (Tentative)
Date
Topics & Learning Activities
Day 1
Program Orientation and Graduate Study Plan
1/9/16
Effective Leadership for Effective Schools
Readings
Due
Leadership Beliefs
Peter Northrup:
http://www.sagepub.com/northouseintro2e/main
.htm
Day 2
Leadership Capability
1/10
Leadership Ethics and Personal Integrity
#1
Distributive Leadership
Leadership within Organizational Context
Day 3
Interest-based Strategies
#2
1/23
Group Facilitation and Quality Tools
#3
Developing a Culture of Open Communication
Day 4
Personnel Planning
#4
1/24
Interviewing, Hiring and Personnel Policies
#5
Contract Implementation
Right Seat on the Bus – Areas of Strength
Day 5
Intercultural Competence
#6
2/20
School Culture and Climate
#7
Culture, Climate, and Peace at Night
#8
Leadership Development Plan
Day 6
Team Building and Active Listening
2/21
Future Plans
#9
Final
Exam
Field Experiences
1. Diversity. Select a cultural, ethnic, or religious group within the school or district community;
research historical context and a minimum of ten significant indicators, traits, or beliefs
associated with the group by interviewing at least one member of the selected group.
2. Leadership Plan. Identify personal attributes related to management, planning, and personal
behaviors/habits as self-reported and seen by building colleagues to develop a Professional
Growth Plan to address these attributes and also to continue personal growth toward becoming
a principal.
Grading
Percent
92-100
80-91
70-79
Grade
A
B
C
Notes
A = Superior Graduate Work
B = Good Graduate Work
C = Unacceptable Work at the Graduate Level
Point Values for the Course Assignments
ASSIGNMENTS
Individual (100%)
Class Participation
One Minute Manager Presentation
Laws of Leadership Presentation
People You Can’t Stand Presentation
Hiring Process Presentation
Interest-based Strategies Presentation
Inter-cultural Competence Presentation
Social Justice Presentation
Professional Development Plan
Alice Handout and Presentation
Final Exam
Total
Percent
15
5
10
10
5
10
10
10
10
5
10
100
Assignments
All assignments are to be submitted by posting them in their designated folder in “Discussions” AND in the Dropbox in
Western Online.
1. Choose two key points from the one minute manager text. Prepare a five-minute power point
presentation about the key points. Tell why you chose the two key points and share several
examples of how you’ve experienced the key points in your professional work.
2. Choose one of the irrefutable laws of leadership from Maxwell’s book that you consider to be a
personal favorite. Prepare a five-minute power point presentation that explains why the law is a
favorite and share several examples of how you’ve experienced the irrefutable law in your
professional work.
3. Choose one of the thirteen most unwanted behaviors from the dealing with people you can’t
stand text that you’ve observed when working with people. Prepare a five-minute power point
presentation and in the presentation explain how the person exhibiting the unwanted behavior
was dealt with by either you or a supervisor. Discuss how you will try to deal with the unwanted
behavior in the future based on the strategies explained in the text.
4. Prepare a five-minute power point presentation that tells about the hiring process you’ve been
through in your current or a previous position. Discuss the pros and cons of the process. End
the presentation with a discussion of how you’d structure an interview/hiring process for a
teaching position in a school where you’re the principal.
5. Based on the interest-based strategy process presented in class, prepare a scenario and include
two or three examples of what could likely happen in each step of the process. Prepare a fiveminute power point presentation that highlights the scenario and each step of the process.
6. Choose a cultural, ethic group, religious group, or race that is found in your school or school
district. Present the historical context as it relates to your geographical area and at least ten
significant indicators, traits, or beliefs related to the group you’ve selected. If possible, interview
at least one member of the group you are reporting on. Prepare a five-minute power point
presentation to report you findings.
7. Research social justice. Prepare a five-minute power point presentation that defines social
justice and presents a specific example of social justice being an issue in your school or a school
you have researched. Explain how the issue was resolved or how it still remains an issue.
Discuss how leadership was involved in the social justice issue. Present an example or examples
of how you would resolve the social justice issue if you were the principal.
8. Write a Leadership Development Plan (3-5 pages in APA style, written or outline form). This
plan must integrate your learning from class activities (MBTI, Surveys), text, (characteristics and
behaviors of effective leaders) and class presentations. Review your strengths and weaknesses
from the assessments; develop clear goals and activities for your personal growth in leadership
now and for your future career path. Articulate the ethical standards for school leaders and your
commitment to professional integrity. Goals, activities, and indicators should be clearly written,
specific, and realistic based on several of the assessment instrument results. A grading/scoring
rubric will be provided to guide you on this assignment.
9. You will be assigned to work in a learning team for this assignment. Based on the characters in
the “Alice” book, prepare a handout (two to three pages) that identifies characters in the book
to positions held in a typical school district. Start with the character “Alice” as a new teacher in
a school building. Share the handout with the class and explain why you choose the characters
and positions that are in your handout.
Appendix A
Class Participation
In addition to contributing to class discussions both during class time and online,
you will need to be prepared to share a current event related to course topics
during each in-class session (one per weekend). Use the “question guide” in
Appendix B to guide your class discussion.
Appendix B
Article or Current Event Analysis
“Analyzing the Message”
1) What is the main purpose of this article?
2) What concept/s or information would the reader need to know in order to fully understand
this article?
List any terms or concepts in the article that you do not understand?
3) What are the key questions or issues the author is addressing in this article?
4) What is the main point of view presented by the author of this article? OR What are the
main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking?
5) If readers take the article seriously, what conclusions might they draw from the article?
6) What are 1-2 key points that you want to remember from this article?
Appendix C
Feedback on Assignments
I will be using the Written Assignment Feedback Form and the Oral Presentation
Feedback Form as a guide to grade all written and presentation work. These forms are
printed below.
Guidelines for grading written assignments will follow APA format and the rubric printed below.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK
Student/Group Name(s)
Course
Date
Assignment
Content/Development 50%
Subject Matter:

Key elements of assignments covered

Content is comprehensive/accurate/persuasive

Displays an understanding of relevant theory

Major points supported by specific details/examples

Research is adequate/timely

Writer has gone beyond textbook for resources
Higher-Order Thinking:

Writer compares/contrasts/integrates theory/subject matter with
work environment/experience

At an appropriate level, the writer analyzes and synthesizes
theory/practice to develop new ideas and ways of
conceptualizing and performing
Organization 20%

The introduction provides a sufficient background on the topic
and previews major points

Central theme/purpose is immediately clear

Structure is clear, logical, and easy to follow

Subsequent sections develop/support the central theme

Conclusion/recommendations follow logically from the body of
the paper
Style/Mechanics 30%
Format--10%

Citations/reference page follow guidelines

Properly cites ideas/info from other sources

Paper is laid out effectively--uses, heading and other readerfriendly tools

Paper is neat/shows attention to detail
Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling--10%

Rules of grammar, usage, punctuation are followed

Spelling is correct
Readability/Style--10%

Sentences are complete, clear, and concise

Sentences are well-constructed with consistently strong, varied
structure

Transitions between sentences/paragraphs/sections help
maintain the flow of thought

Words used are precise and unambiguous

The tone is appropriate to the audience, content, and
assignment
Guidelines for grading oral presentation assignments will follow the rubric printed below.
Oral Presentation Feedback
Student/Group Name(s)
Date
Course
Assignment
Content (30%)
-Presentation content clearly follows the written paper upon which it is
based (if applicable)
-Topic is relevant and addresses assignment specifications
-Content presented is comprehensive, accurate, and believable
-Key points are noted
-Topic is researched adequately
Organization/Structure (20%)
-Presentation is well-organized, clear, and effectively structured
-If this is a group presentation, it is integrated rather than being a disjointed
series of individual presentations
-There is an introduction to gain the audience’s attention and explain the
purpose of the presentation
Style/Presentation/Appearance (15%)
-Dress and grooming are appropriate to the setting
-Non-verbal cues/gestures are appropriate to presentation and flow of ideas
-Content knowledge/confidence are evident
-Time was used well/not rushed
Use of Visual Aids (15%)
-Visual aids are used where appropriate
-Visual aids are appropriately professional given the presentation’s context
-They are easy to see/read
-Media are used correctly--i.e., overheads, videos, computer generated
slides, charts, etc.
-Visual aids contribute to the overall effectiveness of the presentation
Audience Participation (10%)
-The presenter(s) involved the audience and solicited feedback
-Questions from the audience are effectively addressed and answered
correctly
Adherence to Time Limit (10%)
-The presenter(s) stayed within the allotted time limit (Failure to do so may
result in a deduction of points)