Michigan State University College of Education Department of Educational Administration Program in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) Course Descriptions 2010-2011 _______________________________________________________________________________________ EAD 315: STUDENT LEADERSHIP Note: The Department of Educational Administration is a graduate department but it also offers an undergraduate leadership course. EAD 315 is a three-credit, pass/no-pass course designed to prepare students for leadership roles and responsibilities at Michigan State University as well as in their community, career, and organizational activities after graduation. The course begins with the premise that while there might be some “born” leaders, leaders can also be made. Becoming an effective leader is an ongoing process that requires practice and experience. During the semester, students develop and critically reflect on their personal understanding of leadership, and set goals for becoming an effective leader. Several broad themes are examined in the course, including leadership language; leadership theories and styles; self-awareness, personal management, and productivity techniques; awareness of one's values, ethics, motivations, strengths, and limitations; an understanding of interculturalism and the importance of a global perspective; communication; decision-making; group dynamics, including followership and power; and flexibility. EAD 315 is designed as a laboratory course, with time devoted to both reading and talking about leadership and the application of ideas through activity and practice. Success in this course requires that students perform satisfactorily on five separate elements including: attendance, participation, individual leadership goal setting, a group observation project, and writing assignments. Students from all majors enroll in this course which is recognized as an elective for all degree programs. Course instructors are full time university staff who consider leadership development to be part of their job responsibilities or HALE graduate students for whom a teaching apprenticeship is a supplemental element of the overall program plan. EAD 801 (HALE M.A. Section): LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Course Overview: Leadership development is a broad concept with many varying interpretations. Certainly the literature on leaders and what attributes great leaders possess is continually debated. We will explore our own attributes and what each of us possesses that can be used to make us more effective leaders. This self-knowledge will be used to better understand some of the more common theories of leadership and leadership development. We will also examine the structure of current organizations and what those organizations might look like in the future. Likewise, we will spend time discussing the skills, values, abilities, etc. that the leader of the future will need to possess. This course serves as an introduction to the academics of leadership on college campuses. As a graduate level course, it assumes some general exposure either to the theoretical concepts and/or the actual practice of leadership. The course is designed to blend these perspectives. Leadership is viewed as art, philosophy, social science, science, and a lifestyle choice. Emphasis is given to manifestations of leadership in the higher education setting, which by nature draw on business, political, sociological and psychological constructs and approaches. Leadership is closely tied to administration/management, governance and organizational theory; we will not delve into distinctions nor attempt to duplicate courses in those areas, although we will in fact intersect all three of those domains. The2 course is limited in scope to institutional level leadership and to the US; however, students are encouraged to consider professional, state/federal, or international leadership for their individual projects. Course Objectives: This course examines the interaction of leadership with organizational culture and development, within institutions of higher education. The readings and assignments in this course are designed to: • Provide an opportunity for course participants to read, reflect and synthesize various views about higher education leadership. • Develop an understanding of leadership issues as they pertain to institutions of higher education. • Apply the aforementioned acquired knowledge to problem solving situations. • Develop a personal definition of leadership based on readings, discussions, self-disclosure inventories, and experiential exercises. • Develop a clearer understanding of and ability to articulate one’s personal leadership philosophy. • Describe, analyze, synthesize and evaluate various leadership theories discussed in the readings and class discussions and describe how they play a part in your personal definition of leadership. EAD 802: BUILDING A LEARNING ORGANIZATION The purpose of this course is to help participants become designers and members of organizations that engage in practices that encourage learning in organizations. The focus of traditional staff training and development functions has often been to teach workers the skills needed to perform their jobs and to increase the effectiveness of employees and the organization. As we understand how learning occurs, and consider the current and future realities of organizations, we realize that learning in organizations must occur at the individual, group, and organization levels. Successful organizations will be ones that build capacities within individual employees, capitalize on the collaborative contributions of teams, and are able to effectively respond to change and increased complexity. In this course, we will explore how communities of practice (Wenger, 1999, 2002) can allow organization members to share their learning, solve problems, and enhance organizational performance. The publication of The Fifth Discipline (Senge, 1990) provided organizations with a framework for creating “learning organizations” in order to enhance the individual and collective capacities of organization members for the purpose of increasing organizational success. We will examine the disciplines of learning organizations; identify practices to support creating learning organizations; and explore the implications of becoming a learning organization on organizational