EDLD 580: Consulting to Groups Instructor: Cheryl Getz Contact information: Email: (cgetz@sandiego.edu) Phone: (w) 619-260-4289 (c) 858-212-2186 Office: MRH 275K
Semester: Fall 2008 Room: TBD somewhere in MRH Day/time: Wednesday’s 5:15-10:00pm Saturday, Nov. 22: 8 am–7 pm (Tentative; includes 2-hr grading session) Final TA class meeting: Wed Dec 3 Final grading session: Wed Dec 17
Course Description In this course students will take on the role of teaching assistant (TA) for EDLD 550/600: Leadership Theory and Practice. Teaching the theory and application of leadership requires a solid knowledge base and a highly developed capacity to engage with students in class in ways that challenge and also support them in their learning. Teaching assistants in this course will gain an appreciation of the dynamic processes that are present in the course as a result of the case-in-point pedagogy utilized. This teaching method requires reflection and inquiry on one’s own and the group’s actions and behaviors as they occur. Thus TA’s will learn about and improve their ability to think and work at a systemic level while working within their role as teaching assistant. TA’s will provide weekly feedback to students in the course verbally and in writing; and the TA’s will receive ongoing guidance from teaching associates and instructors in this process. Readings and other assignments are designed to help TA’s integrate theoretical components with the practical applications of teaching leadership using case-in-point pedagogy. Prerequisite: EDLD 550 or 600
Course Objectives In this course teaching assistants will:
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Understand the theory and application of some of the basic elements of group relations and case-in-point pedagogy such as: self and role; group consciousness; holding steady; holding environment; parallel process; and the use of anxiety (to name a few).
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Improve capacity to understand and express internal experiences and use this knowledge in the service of their own and others learning.
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Develop and maintain a respectful and curious stance toward their own and others learning.
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Enhance their ability to use their authority as teaching assistant in the service of leadership.
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Improve their ability to engage with students in the class and to provide useful and appropriate feedback to them.
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Develop the ability to consider intra-personal, interpersonal, group, and systems perspectives in order to understand what is happening in the group as a whole.
Required readings TEXT BOOK: Daloz-Parks, S. (2005). Leadership can be taught. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. READINGS AVAILABLE ON COURSE WEBSITE Ford, Kathyrn (1997). The importance of intra-personal abilities for competency in group relations work. Proceedings from the twelfth scientific meeting of AKRI. pp. 253-262. London: AK Rice Institute. French, R.B. (1997). The teacher as container of anxiety: Psychoanalysis and the role of the teacher. Journal of Management Education. 21, 483-495. Smith, Kenwyn (1995). On using the self as instrument: Lessons from a facilitators experience. In J. Gillette & M. McCollom (Eds). Groups in context. pp. 277-294. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Wells, Leroy, Jr. (1995). The group as a whole: A systemic socioanalytic perspective on interpersonal and group relations. In J. Gillette & M. McCollom (Eds). Groups in context. pp. 49-85. Reading, MA: AddisonWesley. Additional readings Additional readings may be assigned throughout the course. They will be handed out in class, or posted on the course website. (A USD email account is required). As teaching assistants, you will be guiding students in many ways through the journey of this course. Thus, it is expected that you are aware of the readings that have been assigned to the students. Since you have all taken either EDLD 550 or 600, you have probably already read many of the readings assigned to the students. If there is a reading in a particular week that you have not read,
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or one you feel you need to review, I recommend that you take the time to access that reading and read it prior to the class when the reading is assigned.
Course Requirements and Evaluation Student work will be evaluated on the basis of effort, consistency, timeliness and progress made on developing individual competencies. It is therefore very important that TA’s: come prepared having done the reading, consistently show up on time, participate fully, and be responsive (in your role as TA) to the students in your assigned small group. Participation and attendance: 20% It is expected that TA’s come to each weekly class meetings on time and stay until the end of class. It is understood that there may be one or two occasions when emergencies arise, or when you may have to miss a class for personal or professional reasons. When possible, please try to plan ahead and let the instructors, teaching associates, your peers and the students in your small group know in advance. In the spirit of collegiality, we should all try to step in when someone needs to be away for any reason. Attendance also includes two 2-3 hour grading sessions on November 22 and December 18, where you will discuss the students in your small groups and make grade recommendations to Terri. Your participation in pre and post class meetings, as well as during the course is an essential element in providing a holding environment for the students in this course. Keep in mind that we are all a part of the larger system, and your work as TA’s will be to continuously explore what you and the TA group represent for the system-as-a-whole. As such each TA will be have the opportunity to integrate your learning and report the work of the TA’s back to the instructor of the course (Terri) during TA meetings. You will not be evaluated on the number of times you speak, or the ways in which your comments are or are not taken in by others. What will be taken into consideration is your ability to reflect on your work and to respond and develop as a result of your reflections and also feedback from instructors, teaching associates and other TA’s. Responding, reviewing and grading student work
30%
Weekly grading of student papers As you might recall from your own experience as a student in 550 or 600, the teaching assistants are an integral component of the students’ experience. A major aspect of your work as a TA is to provide weekly feedback to students in your small group. How well you take up this role to serve in this capacity is up
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to you. This is not as simple as grading traditional assignments such as course papers or exams. You need to think deeply about the types of comments you consider based on what you perceive as each student’s learning edge each week. You can learn to connect with each student by reading with intention, and listening carefully to what emerges in you as you review your groups work; this will often provide you with clues that will help you better understand your small group individually and collectively. Oftentimes when we are unsure ourselves of what is going on, afraid to make mistakes, or fear being judged by others, we have a tendency to hide our confusion, keep it to ourselves, and thus we might make comments that are disconnected and/or obscure. It’s important to be in touch with these feelings and use them to better understand how to do your work; ask for feedback from other TA’s, teaching associates or course instructors. In addition, the thoughts and feelings that emerge within you are just as likely to be present in the students’ experience. Recognizing this emergent parallel process between you and the students is important and can help you move your work to the systems level. Given the large number of students in this course, we are all aware of the challenges in getting feedback to students and to instructors in a timely manner. Thus, the timing of students turning in papers, TA’s providing feedback, and instructors providing feedback to TA’s is as follows: Saturday by Noon Students turn in weekly questionnaires to TA’s via WebCT. Monday by 9:00 pm TA’s provide feedback/comments on the questionnaires and post via WebCT to instructors and teaching associates. Wednesday by Noon Instructors and teaching associates review and provide feedback to TA’s where appropriate; then forward feedback/comments on to the students via WebCT. In addition, there will be two to three written assignments that will not be graded that students will turn in for your review. The schedule for this process will be determined later in the course. You will be evaluated on the timeliness, consistency, and the extent to which you utilize the feedback received by others to develop in this area. Weekly progress reports It is important that you get to know the students in your small groups, and pay attention to their progress throughout the course. As such each TA will be responsible for keeping on-going progress worksheets for each small group member that tracks large group attendance, large group participation, weekly
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questionnaire grades, and completion of any other written assignments. Other grading As the course progresses you will know the students in your small group probably better than anyone else. Eventually, you will get a sense of their strengths, and the areas that they might need to improve upon. By giving consistent feedback, you may help them see their blind spots or provide insights to them to help them understand a particular concept or situation. Or they might provide you with insights! (It’s always important to keep your mind open to this, as we are all learners in this course). One way to get a better sense of students’ progress (in addition to what you will learn about them via the weekly assignments) is by reading and then providing grade recommendations for midterms and final papers for each member of your small group. This is an important responsibility; one that should be taken very seriously. In addition, and as previously noted, there are two grading sessions (Nov and Dec) where you will be asked to reflect on your students’ progress, and make final grade recommendations to the instructor for each member of your small group. Reflection papers (4) 50% It is always good practice to reflect on your learning, thus I would encourage you to keep an ongoing personal journal and find ways (however difficult) to make the time and create the space for inquiry and reflection. As those with an interest in the study and practice of leadership, ongoing inquiry into your own actions and behaviors can greatly enhance your leadership effectiveness, not to mention the many ways that inquiry can positively impact your personal and professional life. In an effort to support you in your learning, I’m interested in hearing from you four times throughout the course. I will provide prompts for your initial and final reflections, but the other two (which will be turned in during the semester) you are free to write about any aspects of the course and/or your learning that make sense to you, and contribute to your overall learning (and mine as I reflect on your work). (Reflections 1-3 should be 3-5 pages; reflection 4 should be 5-7 pages. Late papers will be accepted, but points will be deducted for each day the paper is late)
(Due September 10) Paper #1 Intention: what is your intention for your own learning in this course?
(10%)
Your first assignment for the course is to reflect on what you hope to gain from working as a teaching assistant in this course. This is your opportunity to take responsibility for your own learning. My hope is that I will be able to support you in whatever way(s) make sense to you as you develop your skills in using
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case-in-point methodology. You may be taking this course because you would like to use the method in your own teaching; or perhaps you have no interest in teaching, but you want to learn more about analyzing groups and situations from a systems perspective. Whatever your intention it is important that you clarify this from the start, and seek to understand the areas where you feel most competent, and those areas you feel you want to strengthen.
Paper #2
(Due October 15)
(10%)
Paper #3
(Due November 12)
(10%)
Paper #4 (Due December 10) Integration: How do you make sense of your learning?
(20%)
Now that the course is over, and as you reflect on your initial stated intention, what have you learned from your TA experience? Try to integrate the feedback you received, any readings you found helpful and your personal reflections from the semester. In this reflection students are also asked to reflect on their work during the semester, and to briefly discuss the grade they feel they deserve for the course. Final course grade breakdown: 94 – 100 90 – 93 86 – 89 82 – 85 78 – 81 74 – 77 70 – 73 66 – 69 65 below
A AB+ B BC+ C CD
Important notes to students The instructor reserves the right to make changes / additions to the syllabus during the semester in response to student needs. Grade of Incomplete: The grade of Incomplete (“I”) may be recorded to indicate (1) that the requirements of a course have been substantially completed but, for a legitimate reason, a small fraction of the work remains to be completed, and, (2) that the record of the student in the course justifies the expectation that he or she will complete the work and obtain the passing grade by the deadline. It is the student’s responsibility to explain to the instructor the reasons for non-completion of work and to request an incomplete grade prior to the posting of final grades. Students who receive a grade of incomplete must submit all missing work no later than the end of the tenth week of the next regular semester, otherwise the “I” grade will become a permanent “F.” 6
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Requests for Accommodation: Reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be made for course participants with disabilities who require specific instructional and testing modifications. Students with such requirements must identify themselves to the University of San Diego Disability Services Office (619.260.4655) before the beginning of the course. Every effort will be made to accommodate students’ needs, however, performance standards for the course will not be modified in considering specific accommodations.
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