Syllabus for EDL-820
FIELD-BASED PRACTICUM FOR SUPERINTENDENTS
The Field-Based Practicum for Superintendents is the culminating activity for students seeking the School Administrator endorsement. It requires a 150-hour internship experience at the district level, at a school site or at an alternative site. In the Practicum, students can put leadership theory into practice, working with a local school superintendent or other district official. Students will develop the practical skills and knowledge necessary to become an informed, dynamic professional at the senior administrator level in a comprehensive school district serving children in pre-K-12. The field experience will test the application of theory, challenge the ability to promote the success of all students, and provide opportunities to develop the skills necessary to solve complex organizational issues. The course experience will culminate in a final Capstone narrative or executive summary that demonstrates the candidate’s understanding and acceptance of the responsibility of making decisions typical of those made by educational leaders.
After successfully 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: 978-0415996235 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1412921831
ISBN: 978-1452241081
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 Field-Based Practicum for Superintendents is a 12-week, three-credit, graduate course that consists of six modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles and topics are listed below.
Module 1: Governance
Module 2: Political Systems
Module 3: Action Research and Process of Inquiry
Module 4: Gender, Race, and the Superintendency
Module 5: Recruitment, Retention, and Staff Development; Facilities Issues
Module 6: The Superintendent and Public Relations
The assessment strategy for the Field-Based Practicum for Superintendents includes module discussion forums, reflective log entries, and activity reports, each addressing specific module objectives, topics, and field experiences. At the start of the course, you develop and submit a detailed action plan of your internship activities. The course culminates in a final practicum report—a capstone narrative or executive summary that relates theory to practice and wraps up the entire practicum experience. See below for further details about each assessment component.
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 class discussion forums (Module 1 also has an ungraded but required Introductions Forum). All discussion forums take place asynchronously.
Class discussion forums provide daily or weekly opportunities to exchange ideas and thoughts with other students. The course mentor will monitor the board and participate as appropriate. During this aspect of the course, you respond to questions that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. The course texts and external Web sites will serve as reference points for the discussion and will assist you in better understanding the scope of the superintendency as a career.
Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions. You are expected to post well-reasoned and thoughtful reflections for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to
your readings. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic.
Click the link below for an evaluation rubric that will aid in the grading of online discussions.
You will develop a 150-hour, 12-week action plan (approximately 12.5 hours per week) that uses a school district as the base of study, all under the mentorship of a certified school administrator. The action plan will comprise six activities (or sets of activities)—one for each module of the course—and address specific module objectives, topics, and field experiences consistent with district-wide objectives and the six ISLLC standards. It will include objectives aligned with standards, proposed activities, timelines, and anticipated outcomes. For further details, see Module 1.
Click the link below for an evaluation rubric that will aid in the grading of the action plan.
You will maintain a reflective log on the course Web site that will include personal observations, comments, ideas, and other statements that monitor the various steps of the practicum. The log is shared with the course mentor only.
Click the link below for an evaluation rubric that will aid in the grading of reflective logs.
On completing each module's practicum activity (or set of activities), you will prepare and submit an activity report in which you describe the activity and its relationship to ISLLC standards and the original action plan, list your accomplishments, describe any feedback from the on-site administrator, and provide artifacts.
Click the link below for an evaluation rubric that will aid in the grading of activity reports.
You will produce a final report in electronic format. Included will be samples of your work during the practicum.
Click the link below for an evaluation rubric that will aid in the grading of the final report.
You will organize all the products of the practicum into an artifact file for review by the University mentor and yourself. It will serve as both a means to evaluate your work as well as a means to display to others the outcomes of the experience.
The on-site mentor or school administrator will provide feedback on your performance relative to the ISLLC standards.
The principal artifacts for this course are the documents you create that can support the hours accrued for the practicum. These can include memoranda, meeting agenda, formal presentations, etc. Accompanying each artifact is a reflective narrative that describes the process and how the artifact meets specific standards and prepares you for school leadership.
Upload your artifacts to your electronic portfolio, and be certain to indicate their alignment to the applicable ISLLC standards.
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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