Manhattanville College

 

Instructor: Kathy Dickinson Rockwood, Ed.D.                        Summer 2006

Phone: (914) 323-3149                                                           Location: Brownson 132

E-Mail: rockwoodk@mville.edu                                 

Office Hours:  By appointment                                                Course: EDAD 5225                                     

 

National Principals Leadership Institute (July 8-July 15)

 

Institute Theme: Building Teams to Make a Difference

 

Description: In this age of accountability, standards, and high-stakes testing, the challenges for school leaders have become even greater.  Toward that end school leaders must consider the design of their school improvement efforts and the role that teams play. They also but must strive to make a difference in the lives of the student body that goes beyond student achievement. The National Principals Leadership Institute will address these concerns by connecting superintendents, district staff, principals, assistant principals, and aspiring leaders with nationally prominent presenters in a problem-based learning model.  The Institute will be held at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus.  In order to take this course for credit, requirements include completion of prior class work during May/June and commitment to attend and actively participate during the week of the Institute in July.

 

Course Schedule:

May 18 – 4:30-6:30 Course overview

 

Week of June 12 – Online Exchange (refer to assignment)

 

Week of July 3 – Online Exchange (refer to assignment)

 

July 8-15 (9:00-5:00/refer to program brochure) - attend institute sessions; plan on coming together most days during lunchtime to debrief the proceedings.

 

July 20 – TBD Class will meet to debrief learnings and evaluate value of overall institute.

 

     Required Reading:

 

      Harvey, T., & Drolet, B. (2004). Building teams, building people: Expanding the fifth resource. 

     Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield Publishing Group.

 

Summary of Course Instructional Focus & Assessment

 

Objectives (Standards that apply):	Learning Activities/Assignment	Performance Assessment
1. Develop an in-depth understanding of what it takes to develop and sustain successful, high-performing teams.	Leadership Institute presentations, site visit, team planning meetings, team-building exercises, team self-assessment, and selected readings   Daily reflective journal   Self-directed readings   Final paper	Journal Guidelines   Summarize and share insights with cohort   Framework for final paper: guiding questions & rubric
2. Identify effective practices and performance measures that are evident in successful schools and businesses that are striving to develop productive teams and responsive organizations.	Leadership Institute presentations, site visit, team discussions, and selected readings   Daily reflective journal   Interview administrator   Final paper	Discussion during cohort debriefings   Journal guidelines   Online exchange   Framework for final paper: guiding questions & rubric
3. Understand the role and critical actions of school leaders in developing and supporting high-performing teams that will impact school improvement priorities.	Leadership Institute presentations, site visit, and team planning meetings   Document process dialogue during Institute   Interview administrator   Final Paper	Online exchange   Framework for final paper: guiding questions & rubric
4. Contribute to the development of your Institute team’s action plan that delineates how  “great” schools can make a difference in three arenas: academic achievement, social and emotional development, and understanding of justice	Daily team planning at Institute   Document process dialogue; incorporate into journal and final paper	Team plan & final presentation   Framework for paper: guiding questions & rubric
5. Individuals will engage in personal reflection about their leadership skills and knowledge.	Reflective journal   Final paper	Journal Guidelines   Framework for paper: guiding questions & rubric
6. Expand professional perspectives and beliefs by participating in a diverse network of practitioners.	Cohort discussions during Institute; debrief overall value of Institute   Final paper	Framework for paper: guiding questions & rubric

 

Requirements:

·        Attendance and Participation – 40%

It is expected that individuals will attend each day and become actively involved.  Attendance is critical.

Individuals will be assigned to a team, which will be charged with developing an action plan by the end of the week.  Teamwork will be shared with the cohort.

 

·        Readings:  10%

Each individual is expected to choose one book or 4-5 current journal articles (refer to reading list that specifically targets work from the Institute presenters--or find additional sources) that relate to the Institute theme.   Individuals will share this information with class colleagues during online exchanges prior to the Institute.

 

·        Reflective Journal – 10%

Students are expected to maintain brief daily journal responses during the week of the Institute.  Computers will be made available during the day for interested individuals.  Address some of the following general questions in your reflections: 1) What insights did you glean about the leader’s role? 2) What questions emerged for you? 3) What aspect of the day’s deliberation do you want to remember? 4) What did you learn from informal exchanges with other participants?  Salient sections of these journal entries can be incorporated into the final paper. Journals should be attached to the final paper.

 

·        Online Exchange – 20%

1)      Interview your school administrator regarding his/her views about the scope of school improvement priorities and the role that teams play in that process. We will develop an interview protocol as a group. Share with cohort during a discussion forum during the week of July 3.

2)      Reading exchange – Share resource links and summarize sources during discussion forum during week of June 12.

 

·        Final Paper – 20%

Guiding questions will provide the framework for reflecting on insights and enhanced understanding of the leader’s role in orchestrating a comprehensive school improvement process.  This information will be finalized (with student input) and distributed during the week of the Institute.

 

Evaluation/Grading

Grading in this course will be guided by active participation in the Institute activities and team work, online exchange with members of the leadership cohort, ongoing reflection and ability to synthesize the Institute learning experiences. Rubrics and question protocols will establish the expectations for each assignment. Students will be given an opportunity to revise assignments that are below expectations.  Anything below a B is not acceptable for graduate work. The grading scale is as follows:

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Readings:

 

*Allison, S. (1999). Beyond the limits: A woman’s triumph on Everest. Seattle, WA:  Hara Publishing

 

*Allison, S. (1999). Many mountains to climb: Reflections on competence, courage, and commitment. Seattle, WA: Milestone Books.

 

*Barker, J. (1992). Five regions of the future: Preparing your business for tomorrow’s technology   revolution. New York: The Penguin

         Group.

 

*Barker, J. (1993). Paradigms: Business of discovering the future. London: Collins  Publishing.

 

*Brazile, D. (2005). Cooking with grease: Stirring the pots in America. New York: Simon & Schuster.

 

Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 

Fullan, M. (2003). The moral imperative of school leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

 

Fullan, M. ( 2004). Leadership and sustainability: System thinkers in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

 

Gardner, H. (2000). The disciplined mind: Beyond facts and standardized tests, the K-12 education that every child deserves. New York:

        Penguin Putnam.

 

*Gandhi, A. (2003). Legacy of love: My education in the path of nonviolence. Santa Rosa, CA: North Bay Publishing

 

*Guinier, L. (1998). Lift every voice: Turning a civil rights setback into a new vision of social justice. New York: Simon & Shuster.

 

*Guinier, L. & Torres, T. (2003). The miner’s canary: Enlisting race, resisting power, transforming democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

       University Press.

 

*Kickbush, C. C. (2003). Journey to the future: A roadmap for success for youth.   Raleigh, NC: Liberty   Publishing Group

 

* 2006 Institute presenters