Course Descriptions
- 4700 Special Topics in K-12 Admin (1 to 5 credits)
- 4801 Fndtns of Educationl Leadershp (2 credits)
- Students examine educational leadership from perspectives of historical development, theory, research and current practice in modern school systems. Students are introduced to the roles of administrators within the system. An introduction to board development and relations, community outreach and marketing, and interpersonal skills/conflict resolution are included.
- 4805 Personnel Management (2 credits)
- An examination of organizational dimensions, non-power planning, recruitment, selection, placement and induction, staff development, appraisal, rewards, collective bargaining, and practice of negotiation skills.
- 4806 Legal Aspects of School Admin (2 credits)
- This course is designed to provide educators with the basic information that will be helpful in dealing with the legal aspects they will encounter in public schools. Basic foundations of the American legal system will be studied as well as practical applications of law, which must be understood by educators. Information from this course will help educators practice "preventive law" by focusing on educational issues in an attempt to reduce litigious situations.
- 4807 Research for School Reform (2 credits)
- This course is designed to assist prospective administrators in the development and application of skills and knowledge associated with research-based, research validated promising practices, and to bring these to day-to-day leadership. This course examines current leadership theories and how to apply research on leadership skills and behavior to the principalship. Students analyze their own leadership styles and apply their learning to leadership scenarios in order to refine their skills as school leaders.
- 4810 School Admin: Case Studies (3 credits)
- Focus on current critical aspects of work of effective superintendents and other administrators in key decision- making roles; includes reading, discussions and guest presenters who are practicing administrators; problem scenarios presented for resolution.
- 4812 Perspectives-District Admin (3 credits)
- District leaders absolutely must focus their actions on the common goal of improving student learning, and school systems must be organized to make this the fundamental priority. The purpose of this course is to examine district-level leadership, policies, and practices that support a school community committed to and focused achievement gaps, providing resources, monitoring and using accountability data, and working with the community and school board leadership.
- 4815 Elementary Internship (1 to 2 credits)
- Opportunity to be supervised in on-the-jopb experience to better prepare school administration students for administration careers. Elementary level.
- 4816 Secondary Internship (1 to 2 credits)
- Opportunity to be supervised in on-the-job experience to better prepare school administration students for administration careers. Secondary level.
- 4817 Superintendency Internship (1 to 6 credits)
- Opportunity to be supervised in on-the-job experience to better prepare school administration students for administration careers. Superintendent's office placement.
- 4819 Organization Theory & Behavior (3 credits)
- Educational institutions are complez, political organizations with a wide variety of constituents and many layers of sometimes competing cultures, systems, and explicit and implicit goals, Leaders who work with these systems must find ways to make meaning of the organization and the context in which work occurs. This course will look at organizational behavior from several points of view, with the goal of understanding major theories that have been developed and learning to apply these theories in the management and study of organizations. The roles and responsibilities of various members of the organizations will be examined as well as the governance and control issues surrounding education. Organizational analysis will be viewed through the lens of structural, political, human resource and symbolic frames.
- 4820 School Admin: Prog & Eval (3 credits)
- The purpose of this course is to review theories of program evaluation, evaluation designs and analysis, and current trends in evaluation. Program evaluation aims to determine whether a program, regulation, or policy is achieving its objectives by ascertaining whether it had the desired effect on intended outcomes. The evaluation process may include evaluation of programs, products, personnel, policy, performance, proposals, technology, research, theory, and even of evaluation itself. The course equips students with basic evaluation tools and understandings necessary to be thoughtful consumers and effective users of program evaluations in improving policy outcomes and designing more effective programs and policies. It is designed to provide students with the meaning and methods of program and policy instrument evaluation in education with the intent to contribute to informed decision making and enlightened change. Students analyze evaluations of the effectiveness of a variety of programs through discussion, field work, and case studies.
- 4821 School Reform & Current Ed Iss (3 credits)
- An introduction to contemporary issues and theories of educational administration. Overview of major educational administrative and organization trends currently unfolding. These trends are analyzed for validity, education soundness, and leadership implications. Students will also take a closer look at the concept of school reform and the various efforts towards this endeavor.
- 4822 Leadership in Complex Systems (3 credits)
- Roles, responsibilities and behaviors of successful leaders in complex systems; development of understanding and skills that can be used in dealing with many complex issues that face school administrators of the 21st century; functioning effectively in a complex environment where leadership is an interaction between leader, followers and situation and where power and influence affect leader-follower relationships.
- 4823 Educational Policy Making-U.S. (3 credits)
- Designed to give educational leaders a foundation in understanding how policy is created. The course examines decision making and the growth of state and federal powers and policy making; the role of state board, the governor?s and legislature?s significance; the role and power of associations and their impact on decision-making; the changing nature of local boards of education; law making and setting of educational policies using Colorado and legislative process as examples.
- 4827 Foundns of Ed. Hist. & Phil. (3 credits)
- This foundational course which will examine the various theoretical, ethical, historical and philosophical perspectives that will inform educational leaders as policy and change strategies are formulated.
- 4828 Leadership for 21st Century (3 credits)
- Designed to assist leaders, at the district or building level, in the implementation of standards-based education to improve student learning and achievement. Primary emphasis is given to applying strategies for addressing critical issues in sustaining the equitable access to learning in a standards-based educational organization.
- 4829 Instructional Leadership (2 credits)
- Serves prospective principals in the development and application of skills and knowledge associated with curriculum planning, development, assessment and program evaluation. Curriculum issues are examined from various contexts to enable students to understand how external demands influence curriculum decisions. Participants are assisted in developing an understanding of issues of diversity and multiculturalism and their influence on the development and supervision of the curriculum. Although the major focus is on local aspects of standards-based education, some attention is given to the national role in this area.
- 4830 Student Supports and Services (3 credits)
- Considerable attention will be given to the examination of the needs of the individual student in the learning environment as well as research on child development, learning styles, brain-based learning theories and models of teaching. Primary focus areas are supports for special education students, English language learners, gifted students, and students in poverty.
- 4831 Instructional Sprvsn & Eval (3 credits)
- Study and application of a variety of approaches for supervising and evaluating instruction, including approaches to classroom observation; adapting, adopting, and designing various evaluation systems; advantages and problems of various student achievement and engagement indicators; induction, mentoring, and peer support systems; and leading professional development for self and staff.
- 4833 Strategic Resource Management (3 credits)
- School-site budgeting and accounting practices; resourcing the new school; how schools are funded; relationship of other resource decisions (such as scheduling) to the school operation; grant writing and fundraising.
- 4834 Sem: Multicultural Issues (4 credits)
- Extends understanding of complex systems' operations and responses by examining multicultural issues in the historical and social context and complexity of schools and school districts. Opportunities will be provided for students to develop an understanding of issues of diversity and the relationship of these issues to the roles and work of school/district administrators. The exploration of multicultural issues will occur through the examination of various themes relative to school/district administration such as curriculum, administration, human resources, policy and reform. Particular emphasis will be given to the exploration of the historical and future purposes of schooling in a democratic/pluralistic society in an effort to help students to develop critical knowledge and skills essential for providing leadership in 21st century schools.
- 4835 Curr/Inst & Studnt Achievement (3 credits)
- This course will examine educational practices that are meeting success as schools and districts attempt to learn, grow, and reinvent themselves using the principles of organizational learning. Participants will understand basic systems theory and gain practical and theoretical tools to improve curriculum development, instruction, and student achievement.
- 4836 Improving School Culture (3 credits)
- School culture is a complex and challenging issue for most school leaders to shape and manage. The culture of school means many things that will be addressed in this class including school climate, parent engagement, teacher engagement, student connectedness, culturally competent practices, positive youth development, and the quality of human relationships in the school environment. This course will enable school leaders to look in depth at their schools in order to assess its culture, develop specific plans to create a climate of authentic relationships among students, parents, staff, and community.
- 4838 Ed Leadership in Digital Age (3 credits)
- This course is based upon the National Technology Standards for administrators. Students will develop their own personal technology skills and be exposed to the latest technological resources for school administrators. Participants will explore the latest efforts related to data-driven decision making for enhancing student performance and the integration of technology into the curriculum.
- 4839 Entrepreneurial Leadership (3 credits)
- Students explore and develop entrepreneurial skills that will enhance existing educational organizations and create new educational settings. This course examines strategies of visioning, mission building and branding; defining and assessing value and quality; developing competitive strategy; building networks and partnerships; assessing risk and gauging opportunity; building systems and sustainability; recruiting and developing staff, boards, and stakeholders; engaging communities; and acquiring sources of funding.
- 4844 Policy Analysis in Education (4 credits)
- This course introduces policy analysis as a set of applied research practices and approaches undertaken within a diverse community of scholars and analysts. It also introduces knowledge about important education policies derived from representative work in the field.
- 4845 Adv Program & Policy Research (4 credits)
- This course takes students' knowledge of programs and policies impacting P20 educational systems to a broader level of understanding. We combine conceptual readings and discussions of three key areas of policy development, impacts, and program improvement with hands-on work with important analytic approaches: systematic evaluability assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, dynamic systems modeling, and introduction to meta-evaluation and meta-analysis techniques. Students must have solid understanding of P20 education systems, program evaluation theory and practices, and at least introductory level policy analysis.
- 4848 Bus Admin for School Leaders (3 credits)
- Schools are a large and complex business. This course will equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to lead a school or school district. Key topics will include school management, human resources, organizational change, entrepreneurship, and bargaining.
- 4849 Action Rsrch for School Ldrs (4 credits)
- This course emphasizes the use of research methods which are linked to research needed in schools. Students will learn to identify, analyze and solve problems. Some of the action research methods include focus groups, interviews, observations, school records and surveys. Capstone project will relate directly to the improvement of school policy and practice.
- 4859 Action Research Capstone (1 credits)
- Provides support for students as they develop their action research project (ADMN 4849) into the Capstone for the Masters in Educational Administration.
- 4991 MA Independent Study (1 to 10 credits)
- 4992 Directed Study (1 to 10 credits)
- 4995 Research - M.A. Thesis (1 to 10 credits)
- 4XXX K-12 Administration Transfer (1 to 10 credits)
- 5100 Data Use for School Improvemnt (2 credits)
- School leaders need to apply quantitative and qualitative research skills in a variety of ways to understand and improve the work of schools. This course reviews methods, applications, and data sources, including assessments and large-scale datasets, for continuous school improvement and program evaluation.
- 5991 PhD Independent Study (1 to 10 credits)
- Special projects in the field of education, taken by arrangement of Educational Administration faculty.
- 5992 Directed Study (2 to 10 credits)
- 5993 Doctoral Research Seminar (1 to 4 credits)
- The Doctoral Research Seminar is designed to prepare students to undertake the completion of doctoral research or a dissertation. The research process can often be confusing and overwhelming, especially for students coming from a cohort-based program. This course assists students in turning a research idea into the EDD doctoral research project or a polished dissertation proposal and provides students strategies for making the process manageable and enjoyable.
- 5995 Dissertation Research (1 to 10 credits)
