Syllabus for EDL-510
THE INQUIRY PROCESS—A FRAMEWORK
This course will introduce students to action research. Future educational leaders will study an intervention chosen specifically to respond to a research problem identified through reflection. The goal of the course and of action research is for students to gain better knowledge of their practice while improving the situation in which the practice is conducted. Students will develop competencies as an educational leader as outlined in the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium standards (ISLLC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; NJDOE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
The key issues and essential questions in this course focus on developing as a reflective practitioner as well as on how to design and implement an effective inquiry-based learning project that will inform and improve practice.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.
ISBN-13: 978-1433805615
As a capstone experience in the Educational Leadership program, you will prepare an electronic portfolio that demonstrates your incremental achievement of the program standards. Each course in the program helps you to identify artifacts to place in your portfolio on completion of the course. To this end, you are required to purchase an electronic portfolio registration code upon your entry into the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership program. Basic directions for purchasing access to and using your electronic portfolio are posted within the Educational Leadership Students Organization (online community).
The Inquiry Process—a Framework is a three-credit, online graduate course, consisting of eight modules. Modules include an overview, key issues and essential questions, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
The primary goal of this course is to help you develop and implement an action research project. All activities, readings, postings, and reflections are designed to prepare you for this project. For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, post reflections to your My Journal space, and complete various action research activities culminating in a final action research project. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.
Each module in the course has two online discussion activities: an initial forum titled Getting Started and a subsequent Discussion Forum.
Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Forum interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning. Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions and be professional and courteous.
Evaluation Rubric for Discussion Forums
Reflection activities give you an opportunity to think about a particular concept in terms of your action research process, your attitudes, and your perceptions of your experience. Your reflections on your progress through your action research project also assist you in writing your portfolio artifact reflection.
At the end of the course, you will refer back to your reflections as you develop your portfolio narrative for your electronic portfolio. Your portfolio narrative will chronicle your journey through part of or through the entire action research project and will provide documentation and support for your artifact.
Evaluation Rubric for Reflections
As stated earlier, the primary goal of the course is to help you develop and implement an action research project. As you progress through the course, you complete components of your project and submit them to the mentor for comments and feedback. For the final module, you synthesize the elements to produce the final project.
Evaluation Rubric for Action Research Project
The artifact for this course is your action research project or a part of it that you select to place in your electronic portfolio. Preface this artifact with a brief Reflection that describes the process of the activity, the ISLLC standards it addresses, and how this prepares you for school leadership. As you develop your narrative to accompany your artifact, refer back to the reflections you wrote for your learning journal.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | B | = | 83–87 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–82 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | F | = | Below 73 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.
For more, see:
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