EDL-5000 Effective Leadership - From Theory to Practice 
This course focuses on the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of leadership and explores the key role of school leaders in developing a positive and inclusive school culture. Aspiring school leaders will develop an understanding of the attributes, dispositions, and behaviors of effective educational leaders and reflect on how they relate to their own leadership skills and experiences. In this course, we use readings, reflective discussion, and case studies to explore foundational theories of leadership and introduce and reflect on how diversity, inclusion, and opportunity affect our abilities to develop trusting and collaborative relationships within the school community and focus stakeholders on a common mission and vision that supports the success and well-being of all students.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
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(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-5100 Inquiry and Evidence in the School Context
This course explores concepts surrounding evidence and processes for becoming critical inquirers who can distinguish fact from myth to make decisions that promote student growth and positive school and district outcomes. Course materials and activities prepare aspiring school leaders to comprehend and evaluate scholarly literature, understand school data, and use action research processes to address problems of practice. An emphasis is placed on gathering and analyzing empirical evidence, drawing conclusions, and formulating suggestions for future practice or inquiry. Discussions and activities consider what counts as data, the challenges of causal attribution, and the implications of varying definitions of success.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-5200 Standards-Based Curriculum Development, Pre-K - 12
This course approaches curriculum through a practical lens with an emphasis on developing a cohesive Pre-K to grade 12 curriculum that is aligned with state standards, engages each student in meaningful learning, and promotes the mission, vision, and core values of the school district. Aspiring leaders learn to create technically sound assessments and select appropriate instructional strategies, resources, and technologies that are engaging and present all students with an equitable opportunity to learn. Course topics include culturally relevant pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, and using multitiered systems to support English learners and a wide range of students with diverse learning needs. The course considers curriculum as a key component in systems of continuous improvement and collaborative professional learning.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-5300 Critical Issues and Theories in Curriculum Design and Evaluation, Pre-K - 12
This course approaches curriculum through critical and theoretical lenses with a focus on identifying and analyzing emerging trends and important issues in education. Aspiring leaders explore sources of curricular innovation and examine how educational innovations emerge and evolve, influence instructional practice, and impact student learning and wellbeing. Such issues include social and emotional learning, neuroscience, societal ethics and values, cultural relevance, equitable opportunity to learn, and political factors that influence the instructional program. Emphasis is placed on employing student, family, and community strengths, diversity, and culture as assets for teaching and learning.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-5400 Staff Supervision and Systems for Professional Learning
This course focuses on the school leader's role in implementing personnel processes and systems for professional learning that ensure each student has equitable access to effective teachers, learning opportunities, and academic and social support. Aspiring leaders learn how to recruit, hire, support, develop, and retain effective and caring teachers and other professional staff and develop an effective and culturally competent team invested in collective responsibility for each student'ss success. Course topics include principles of adult learning and motivation, New Jersey law related to tenure and the evaluation of educational personnel (e.g., AchieveNJ, TEACHNJ), professional frameworks for effective teaching and leadership, differentiated models for learning and growth, and the induction and mentoring of new personnel. Prospective principals practice clinical supervision and develop the ability to collaboratively examine practice and provide collegial feedback.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-5500 School Law
This course prepares aspiring school leaders to apply relevant ethics, laws, regulations, and policies to common problems faced by school or district leaders and recommend courses of action that are fair, legal, congruent with due process, and beneficial for the school community. Course topics include state and federal law related to the operation of schools including copyright, safety/negligence, investigating student misconduct, exclusionary student discipline, student and employee rights, discrimination, personnel issues, bullying and harassment (e.g., New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, Title IX), and educating students with disabilities (e.g., IDEA, ADA, §504). Aspiring administrators will evaluate school and district policies, rules, and procedures to determine the extent they foster physical and emotional safety, equitable access to learning, and educational opportunity for each student.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-6600 Supervising Equitable Learning Organizations
This course explores how supervisors of school organizations develop professional cultures where adults are engaged and motivated to create effective, safe, caring, and healthy organizations. Topics include collaboration, collective efficacy, building leadership capacity, and promoting continuous individual and organizational learning through evidence-based inquiry cycles that involve strategic goal setting, action planning, implementation, and evaluation. Aspiring school leaders learn to use data in service of equitable school and district improvement by employing contextually-appropriate leadership strategies. Critical discussions explore issues such as institutional biases and deficit-based schooling.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-5020 Strategic Leadership for Systems Change
The primary goal in this course is to prepare aspiring school leaders for the demands of leading 21st Century schools and districts. This course is designed to provide conceptual, analytical, and practical tools to answer questions such as: How does a school operate most efficiently and effectively as a system? How does organizational learning play an integral role in continuous improvement models? Where do we see the need to confront and alter inequities? How do we connect the operational management of a school with academic achievement? Which data and data collection systems are producing the most accurate and useful outcomes? Topics covered include managing change, effective data and communication systems, culture, and equity.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-6800 School Finance
The primary focus of this course is on the management of public school resources to further the mission and vision of the school district and provide equitable opportunity for each child. Course topics include general accounting principles, collaborative school and district budgeting processes, cost drivers, cost-benefit analysis, ethical and responsible stewardship of school and district resources, and the social implications of school financial and resourcing decisions. Aspiring administrators become familiar with local, state, and federal laws and policies related to school finance while examining the cyclical nature of budget development. By considering practical, political, and contextual factors, this course encourages prospective leaders to adopt a systems perspective and advocate for coherence among all aspects of the organization and its programs and services.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-6900 Developing School and Community Partnerships
This course prepares school leaders to develop equity-centered partnerships between schools, families, and communities to support the learning and wellbeing of each student. Course topics include promising practices such as culturally responsive leadership, developmental assets, trauma-informed practices, and collaborative models of whole-school reform (e.g., Full-Service Community Schools). Aspiring school leaders will develop an understanding of how to develop and sustain collective responsibility among students, teachers, school personnel, families, and community members to create communities of support where all children can learn and thrive. Activities include designing a school initiative that involves substantive collaboration with one or more community partners and advocating with families or community members to address their needs.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-7000 Field-Based Internship and Professional Portfolio for Building Administrators I
This course is the first of two consecutive internship semesters required for completion of the Master of Arts (MA) in Educational Leadership program. Each semester requires engagement in a 100-hour field-based internship experience in an authentic school or district setting. Under the supervision of a mentor administrator and course mentor, aspiring school leaders put leadership theory into practice by co-planning and implementing a series of administrative, supervisory, curricular, and professional development activities that address each of the professional standards. Candidates document their experiences in an electronic portfolio that includes artifacts of practice, letters of endorsement or support from qualified site administrators, class assignments and research papers, reflective journal entries, contact logs with mentors, and self-assessment narratives. Portfolios are assessed on their substantiation of standards-based competencies and documentation of the required internship hours.
Advisory: By the end of this course, students must complete 100 documented hours of school-based internship activities towards the 300-hour requirement for the New Jersey CE Principal endorsement. (School Business Administration candidates should take EDL-8100 and complete a 150-hour district-level internship).
PRIOR TO ENROLLING
- Prior to beginning this course, students must secure the appropriate permissions to conduct an administrative internship in their selected placements. If the administrator who signed the Administrative Supervisor form during the admissions process is no longer in their position, please contact the Office of the Dean; we will need to collaboratively identify an on-site administrator with the required credentials willing to mentor you.
- Internship activities must be above and beyond those required for your current position as a teacher or other non-administrative educational role. Hours may be completed during your prep time, lunch, before or after school, on school breaks, and on weekends.
- You may only enroll in EDL-7100 after 200 documented hours of appropriate field-based activities are completed and approved by your administrative supervisor and TESU mentor. Field-based activities are completed while enrolled in several courses in this program.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)
EDL-7100 Field-Based Internship and Professional Portfolio for Building Administrators II
This course is the final internship required for completion of the Master of Arts (MA) in Educational Leadership program. Each internship course requires engagement in a 100-hour field-based internship experience in an authentic school or district setting. Under the supervision of a mentor administrator and course mentor, aspiring school leaders put leadership theory into practice by co-planning and implementing a series of administrative, supervisory, curricular, and professional development activities that address each of the professional standards. Candidates document their experiences in an electronic portfolio that includes artifacts of practice, letters of endorsement or support from qualified site administrators, class assignments and research papers, reflective journal entries, contact logs with mentors, and self-assessment narratives. Portfolios are assessed on their substantiation of standards-based competencies and documentation of the required internship hours.
- Internship activities must be above and beyond those required for your current position as a teacher or other non-administrative educational role. Hours may be completed during your prep time, lunch, before or after school, on school breaks, and on weekends.
- You may only enroll in EDL-7100 after 200 documented hours of appropriate field-based activities are completed in EDL-7000 and in several other courses in the program. All field-based activities must be approved by your administrative supervisor and TESU mentors. By the end of this course, you must complete the full 300-hour building-level requirement for the New Jersey CE Principal endorsement.
Note: Students who are outside of New Jersey, be sure to check with your own state requirements since some states require a total of 320 hours.
Credits: 3
Delivery Methods: Online
Please contact the schools for availability.
Preview the Online Syllabus
(Please visit the University bookstore to view the correct materials for each course by semester as the contents of the actual online syllabus may differ from the preview due to updates or revisions)