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Pittsburg State University
Schools of Education
Department of Teaching and Leadership
Fall 2011
Course:
Instructor:
Online Hours:
Class Sessions:
LDSP 801 Educational Leadership II
Brenda Roberts, Ed.D.
broberts@pittstate.edu
620-235-4498
Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00 p.m. or By appointment
Mediated Course; ANGEL Internet
* This syllabus and meeting schedule should be considered tentative and is subject to
change if circumstances warrant. *
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Course Description
Educational Leadership II seeks to provide students with the knowledge and skills
necessary to coordinate, monitor, and improve the educational programs of K-12 schools
and institutions of higher education. Course covers nurturing change, school climate,
securing and working effectively with school staff, establish productive
home/school/community relationship, and create public confidence in the organization.
Finally, the course shows how to effectively garner and use fiscal and human resources.
Course Purpose and Objectives
The overarching purpose of this course is to provide for prospective building level
administrators, the necessary theory and sets of practices that ultimately help create effective
schools.
During LDSP 801 Educational Leadership II, students will:
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6.
Understand the roles and responsibilities of leaders.
Write correctly with clarity, simplicity and appropriate tone.
Speak with clarity, enthusiasm and sensitivity toward their audiences.
Use various problem-solving techniques to find the best solutions.
Acquire insight regarding the use of appropriate data in the decision-making process.
Know how to design and implement a data-based improvement process within an
organization.
7. Use various assessment strategies to gauge progress within the organization.
8. Know the sources of funding for a school district and how to develop and monitor a zerobased building budget.
9. Gain the skills for creating public confidence in schools.
10. Recognize the school community relations implications of educational issues.
11. Know techniques for working with various constituencies, including the media, to further
better relations between the school/organization and its community.
In this course, the student will also work on developing an understanding of the many
skills and performances that are required on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment to
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acquire the licensure for building leadership. All Interstate School Leaders Licensure
Consortium (ISLLC) Standards that will be emphasized in these courses.
Instructional Resources
801 Required text:
Snowden, P.E. and Gorton, R.A. (2009). School leadership and administration: Important
concepts, case studies and simulations (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
[ISBN 13: 978-0-07-337865-7] <textbook from previous LDSP 800 course>
Electronic Resources Required
You will need access to a computer with the following capabilities:
1. Internet browser, either Firefox, Safari, Camino, Netscape or Explorer
2. Microsoft Word (Office 2003 or 2007)
3. Microsoft PowerPoint (Office 2003 or 2007)
4. Adobe Acrobat Reader
5. SKYPE (must have a web cam to use the video component)
6. GUS PIN (Personal Identification Number) for access to GUS to obtain your final grade in
this course and to enroll in future classes.
7. Per PSU policy you must have a GUS email account. It is strongly recommended you set
this account to default to the personal email account that you check daily.
8. PSU Student ID # and password for access to the ANGEL site.
9. Off-campus library access to the PSU Axe Library databases is available with your PSU ID#
and Gus PIN. You may want to bookmark the Axe Library home page.
Teaching Strategies
Teaching strategies will include: class discussion, brief lectures, short writing projects,
cooperative learning experiences, peer review, literature and publications review, simulations,
case studies, team projects, and written projects.
This class will also use ANGEL as a tool to augment the class sessions. You are already entered
into the following site: 11WF-LDSP-801-99
Please verify that you can access this ANGEL site by going to the PSU home page and clicking
the ANGEL Login. You will need your GUS PIN and your password to get into the above
course site. If you have difficulties gaining access, please contact the instructor or the Gorilla
Geeks at (620) 235-4600.
Online Course
All your work will be submitted via ANGEL Always keep a back-up copy of your work.
As you do your written assignments, please use the following procedure:
1. Use Microsoft WORD as your word processor.
2. Include the following heading on each page of your assignment documents:
Name
Email address
Date submitted
Assignment title
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3. When you name your file, please use the following format that puts your last name first:
LASTNAME Assignment Title.doc
Example: Roberts ArticleSummary.doc
You must always include the file extension .doc so it will be recognized as a WORD
document. This is particularly important across platforms (from Mac to Windows).
Evaluation of Student Learning
To successfully complete this course, students need to do the homework assignments by the
designated due dates. Students will be assessed in relation to course objectives through multiple
indicators. Graduate level performance over the required readings, papers, presentations, and
projects is expected. A rubric will be provided for major assignments.
Observations by the instructor of each student’s active involvement in class will be a factor in the
final grade. Positive participation is required. Negative comments to other class members and
rude or disrespectful behavior, such as side conversations while the instructor or other class
members are addressing the group, are not acceptable.
It is anticipated that all students will satisfactorily complete the following
responsibilities/experiences/assignments as identified for this course:
1. All assigned readings from the required text and articles.
2. All in-class and homework assignments as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
3. 20 hours of field experience.
4. Class discussions and/or written analyses of case studies.
5. The Financial Planning module.
6. The Time Management module.
7. A paper outlining the strategies used in your building for community involvement.
8. A letter of application for your first administrative position.
9. Complete course evaluations.
Class Participation
The activities and discussions in class constitute an important part of the course. Therefore, you
should make every effort to arrive on time and attend class. Students who miss class need to
have valid and justifiable reasons for missing class and need to confirm the reasons before the
class, unless a serious emergency occurs and contact cannot be made. Students who miss more
than one class or are habitually tardy should expect a grade reduction.
If circumstances dictate that you must miss a class, please inform your instructor beforehand and
make arrangements with another student to get the handouts and share class notes with you. It is
your responsibility to visit with your instructor and find out what work you need to make up. In
some cases, you may have to complete alternative assignments.
Late work
Students should turn in assignments by the class time designated as the due date in the course
schedule. Even if you miss a class, you must turn in your assignment at the designated due date.
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On rare occasions such as extreme emergencies, your instructor may give you permission to turn
an assignment in late, but you need to contact your instructor personally. If late work is accepted,
reduced grades should be expected.
Incomplete Work
Incompletes will not be granted for this course except in extreme cases as approved by
the instructor. Students should contact the instructor immediately upon becoming
unable to work consistently toward completion of the course.
Inclement Weather
On rare occasions due to inclement weather, the instructors may cancel class. The LDSP Office
will contact you via email to let you know that your class has been canceled. You should
always check the Announcements on the course ANGEL site. If class is canceled due to
weather, an alternative learning activity will be posted on ANGEL. Thus, make sure that you
check the Announcements section to get your assignments.
Severe Weather Emergency Plan
To access the PSU plan for established procedures to follow in the event that the Pittsburg area
experiences a severe weather emergency, go to:
http://www.pittstate.edu/office/police/severe-weather-information.dot
Respect For The Integrity Of The Academic Process
In both Professional Behavior and Social and Emotional Well-being for Faculty & Students
The rights and responsibilities that accompany academic freedom are at the heart of the
intellectual purposes of the University. Our conduct as community members should protect and
promote the University’s pursuit of its academic mission. We are all, therefore, expected to
conduct ourselves with integrity in our learning, teaching and research.
To access the PSU Academic Integrity policy, go to:
http://www.pittstate.edu/office/registrar/catalog/2009-2011/AcademicIntegrity.htm
Policy on Smoking & Tobacco Use
Pittsburg State University is a smoke free and tobacco free workplace. Smoking and
tobacco use is prohibited, without exception, in all buildings, facilities and vehicles
owned by the University. Smoking is prohibited in all areas within a ten-foot radius
outside of any doorway, open window or air intake leading into University buildings or
facilities.
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