ALDR 4000 Directed Project in Leadership and Service
Fall 2011
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
Objectives
The Directed Project provides a guided learning experience which allows you to explore concepts of
leadership and/or service of interest to you. In this course, you will develop and carry out a plan of work to
guide you throughout the semester. The course gives you the opportunity to continue a more in-depth study of a
leadership topic; to investigate an area not covered in previous classes; or to plan, design, implement, and
evaluate a leadership and/or service project.
To support your learning throughout the semester, in addition to carrying out your project, research, or
service program, you will be asked to complete additional readings and write in a reflective journal. Also, all
students will have to submit a report/paper and appropriate attachments /appendices at the end of the semester
(format of reports/papers and attachments/appendices will vary depending on the type of projects).
Potential Ideas
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Plan, design, implement, and evaluate a service project;
Conduct an action research project addressing a leadership question;
Conduct research on a topic not previously covered in your leadership classes;
Explore leadership in contexts outside your experience (other professions, organizations, community,
service) to learn about application in different contexts;
Plan and complete a personal improvement project
Class meetings and communication with the instructor
Face to face meetings:
There will be a 4-5 required face-to-face meetings with the instructor. Also, each student will be required to
have additional individual meetings with the instructor if the instructor requests them. These meetings will be
scheduled depending on each student’s needs and progress.
Meeting Dates – TBD
Instructor:
Dr. Dennis Duncan, Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication
142A Four Towers Building
Tel: (706) 542-3898, e-mail: dwd@uga.edu
Please submit all your class assignments via eLearning Commons by the established deadlines.
Plan of Work
After consulting with Dr. Duncan, develop a plan of work which outlines what you plan to do during the
semester, how you plan to report and evaluate it, and how you plan to demonstrate learning. Some of the
components that should appear in your plan of work are listed below.
1.
Heading: Provide your name, local address, telephone number and email address, and the course number.
2.
Overview: Explain what you want to study or do.
3.
Rationale: Why do you want to study this topic or complete this activity? How will it contribute to your
knowledge or development as a leader?
4.
Goals: What do you want to accomplish? Be specific. Number and scope depend on credits to be earned.
Outline goals in two ways:
4.1. What do you want to accomplish in terms of a project (activities, results) and
4.2. What do you want to learn or what skills do you want to develop as a result of carrying out your
project?
4.3. For one of your goals, you must conduct research on a related topic. For example, if your goal is to
“improve communication…” you should read 2-3 sources on communication and write a 2-page
summary of your findings (this will go into one of the attachments/appendices of your final
paper). This information should logically inform you in carrying out your goal.
5.
Final Product: You will write a paper/report describing your activities (see Guidelines for Student
Report). In addition to this report, what attachments, additional documents, or products, if any, will be
turned in as evidence of your activities, accomplishments, and learning?
6.
Reflective Journal: Students are required to post their journal entries in eLC. In the journal, you will
reflect on your activities, your project, problems, challenges, etc. Many students find that keeping this
journal helps not only with their personal development, but is also a very good tool for writing the final
report. It also gives you an opportunity to share your story with your peers in the class.
7.
Timeline: What steps do you need to take to reach your goals and when do you plan to complete each?
8.
Evaluation of the project: How do you plan to evaluate your project?
9.
Assessment: In addition to your report, attachments, and reflective journal, what other evidence of
accomplishment should be used for evaluation? Examples include other documents produced,
observation, conferences, goal indicators, etc. The Directed Project is graded on an A-F basis. Student
grades for this experience will be based on the plan of work, the activities themselves, the final report and
attachments, the reflective journal, and other indicators you propose (as stated above).
10.
Contact Information: If it applies, please provide the name, address, telephone number, and email
address of an individual or agency that you are working with to carry out your project – return the
agreement document within 5 days of securing the project.
Due dates
Plan of work _____________________
Project Completion/Final Report and Reflective Turned In _______________________
Final project presentation ______________________________
Note: All materials submitted in this class should conform to the American Psychological Association
(APA) referencing format (citations, quotes, references, etc.)
Guidelines for ALDR 4000 Report
The Directed Project offers the opportunity to use knowledge and skills learned in class or to develop new
competencies. Reflection on your actions and accomplishments is an important component of such an
experience. To accomplish this, you will write a report describing your activities and experiences in a way that
other people can use your experience to enhance their own projects or research.
Your report should include the areas listed below. You are encouraged to include other insights,
experiences or observations that document or add to the value of your experience.
1.
Provide your name, local address, telephone number and email address.
2.
Describe your activities in detail. Relate them to your original goals. If you deviated from your original
goals and planned activities, explain why. Be specific in your description of the people, organization(s)
involved, and how you interacted with each. This summary of activities should be independent of your
plan of work (e.g. you may need to repeat some information contained in your plan to provide a
comprehensive summary in your report.)
3.
Discuss any particular challenges you faced and how you resolved them (or factors that prevented you
from resolving them).
4.
Discuss what you learned as a result of completing this project. Did you reach your goals? Why or why
not? What might be done differently in the future? Were there unexpected situations or experiences from
which you learned? If you were to do this type of activity again, what would you do differently? Explain
why.
5.
Explain how this project helped prepare you for future leadership roles. Could the models or practices of
leadership which you observed be useful as a model for you to follow or you think should be avoided?
Explain. Did it help you to know what type of roles or leadership activities you would like to obtain or
alert you to those that do not appeal to you? Explain.
6.
What future goals have you set to continue your growth as a leader and/or what experiences or contexts
would you like to continue working in?
Your report should be a minimum of 10 double-spaced pages. In addition to the report, include any supporting
documents (appendices, attachments) that demonstrate your activities or were related to your goals such as
program materials, lesson plans and lesson content, meeting agendas, brochures, field notes, interview notes,
analysis of readings, research on specific topics, etc.
Turn in your papers (142A Four Towers) by December 5th by 5:00 p.m.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for questions or concerns.
Leadership Book Report
Choose a leadership book that you think will help you in your desired career. This may be a book on leadership
principles or practices.
After reading your book, write a 2-3-page paper to briefly describe the contents. Include a one paragraph
summary. The second paragraph should contain only one or two key points you gleaned from the tome. In the
third paragraph, complete your paper by critiquing the book and sharing why you would or would not
recommend this book to others. Submit via eLC in a MS Word (97-2003 .doc) or rich text format (.rtf).
Paper format: one-inch margins, 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font, double-spaced.
Written report
Summary of the main points of the book
Connection with content and your life
Critique of the book
Grammar, punctuation, spelling, format, etc.
Weight
20
50
15
15
Guidelines for determining course grade
A-F System
0-100% scale 0-4 System equivalent
A
= 94-100%
4.0
A- = 90-93.99%
3.7
B+ = 87-89.99%
3.3
B
= 84-86.99%
3.0
BC+
C
CD
F
=
=
=
=
=
=
80-83.99%
77-79.99%
74-76.99%
70-73.99%
60-69.99%
0-59.99%
2.7
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.0
0
Student Responsibility
Deadline
Points
Plan of work document (Items 1-4.3)
Sept 2nd
100
Attendance
100
Leadership Inventory instruments: Jung typology, Managerial
Grid, Conflict Resolution, & others
Throughout
Semester
100
Journals Posts – via email to dwd@uga.edu
Throughout
Semester
100
Leadership book review
Oct 19th
100
Final assignment
Dec 5th
300
Total
800
All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” All students are
responsible to inform themselves about those standards before performing any academic work.
Recommended Readings
Bennis, W. (1994). On Becoming a Leader. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Blanchard, K. & Tracy, B. (1995). How Leaders Lead. Chicago: Dartnell Corporation.
Blanchard, K. & Waghorn, T. (1997). Mission Impossible. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill.
Bolman, L.G., & Deal, T.E., (1997). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco CA: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Burns, J.M., (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
Carnegie, D. (1936). How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Covey, S.R. (1991). Principle Centered Leadership. New York: Simon & Shuster.
Covey, S.R., (1989). Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Shuster
Cohen, B. & Greenfield, J. (1997). Ben & Jerry’s Double-Dip. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Depree, M. (1989). Leadership is an Art. New York. Dell Publishing.
DePree, M., (1992). Leadership Jazz. New York. Dell Publishing.
Depree, M., (1997). Leading Without Power. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Drucker Foundation, (1996). The Leader of the Future. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Greenleaf, R. K., (1996). On Becoming a Servant Leader. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H., & Johnson, D.E., (1996). Management of Organizational Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Hesselbein, F., & Cohen, P.M., (1999). Leader to Leader. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (1999). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Northouse, P.G. (2003). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Moore, L. (1985). Motivating Volunteers. Vancouver, B.C., Canada: Vancouver Volunteer Center.
Nanus, B., & Dobbs, S.M., (1999). Leaders Who Make a Difference. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Inc. Publishers.
Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall