ORGL 500- Organizational Leadership
(required course)
As an introductory
course to the MA ORGL, this class encouraged self-reflection on what it means
to be leader. It explored different
aspects of this concept: what makes a poor leader, what makes a great leader,
what is required of you to be a leader, and how will you lead? In the process of self-reflection, students
studied organizational dysfunction, learned about different frameworks to view
a situation, and also came up with their own leadership philosophy.
I found this
course to be a great starting point for the program as it set a strong
foundation for what was to come. I liked
that I had to come up with my leadership philosophy, and it helped me start to
formulate a plan for what I wanted to do with my masters.
Course Competencies
· Describe and analyze the root causes of
organizational dysfunction using scholarly work to support your assertions.
· Describe and analyze an organization or
organizational issue using the five frames of organizational structure.
· Develop a personal/professional leadership
philosophy.
· Understand and implement the APA writing
style.
ORGL 501- Methods of Organizational
Research (required course)
This course challenges students to
design an original empirical research project.
Although students do not actually collect and analyze data, they learn
the process behind conducting a research project. Students had to focus their research topic,
create an annotated bibliography, write a thorough literature review, and
ground their methodology.
I found this course extremely
helpful because it taught me how to research a topic thoroughly and report on
it. As I researched my topic of
leadership in the elementary school classroom, I became more passionate on the
subject. This course allowed me to
explore something that would become a much bigger project- the elementary
leadership curriculum. I helped to spark
my interest and gave me the tools to make it happen.
Course Competencies
·
Develop
a research design topic and to learn about the scientific method and its
application to organizational research.
·
Design
a research project by reviewing the literature and specifying a hypothesis.
·
Describe
the actual research procedure to be used to collect data, and design the data
collection instruments (surveys, scales, observation check lists, interview
questions, data recording forms, or the like), and describe the proposed
sample.
·
Critically evaluate the research design in terms
of its validity (construct validity of your measures or instruments, internal
validity of the design, and external validity of the sample), its reliability
(stability and consistency of the instruments). and ethics.
ORGL 502- Leadership and Imagination
(required course)
This course is a residency class
that helps students open their eyes to new perspectives. With the theme of “seeing and seeing again”
as the undercurrent of the class, students are challenged to use their
imagination through visual arts, drama, creativity, and architecture. It is a great class to interact with your
peers face-to-face in a way that pushes students to think outside of the
box. Although the course is very
arts-based, students learn to view real-life situations through different
lenses as a way of finding the best solution to a problem.
I really enjoyed being on campus
with my peers during this course. I
found the themes inspirational and refreshing.
I have kept the idea of “seeing again” in my life every day since then
and it has helped me be creative in solving problems that I face.
Course Competencies
·
Describe, analyze, and evaluate various
interpretations of the play Richard III, both read and performed (in a posting
shared with other students and read by the teacher);
·
Describe, analyze, and evaluate the dynamics of
the creative process (in weekly postings shared with other students and read by
the teacher); and
·
Apply, analyze, and interpret the dynamics of
the creative process present in organizational leadership (in a project shared
with other students and the teacher).
ORGL 503- Organizational Ethics (required
course)
This course has a focus on defining
your worldview- an important awareness that every good leader should have
because it influences your values, morals, leadership practices, and how you
relate to other people. It also explores ethical dilemmas, moral choices, and
decision making in the hopes of preparing students to create ethical solutions
to real life problems in the future.
I thought that this course was very
interesting and it challenged the way we handle situations. I enjoyed analyzing my organization from an
ethical standpoint as it helped me think of new ways to handle problems such as
bullying and discipline. I thought that
examining the movie of 12 Angry Men was a good way to apply some of the
concepts and theories we learned about.
Course Competencies
·
Develop a strategy to describe personal
responses to ethical problems
·
Develop a strategy to describe personal
worldviews
·
Develop a strategy to balance personal virtues
with the organizational values
·
Develop a strategy to create a cooperative
community with shared values
·
Develop a strategy to analyze ethical dilemmas
and recommend a course of action
ORGL 504- Organizational Communication
(required course)
The ORGL Communications course
looks at different ways of communicating in an organization, as it is a key
factor to success. To get a deeper look
at communication, students explore the ideas of organizational culture, socialization,
systems theory, technology, and globalization.
Students culminate their knowledge by completing a case study and
creating and conducting a communication audit.
The culminating project, the audit,
was very valuable to me. I learned how
to create and conduct a proper survey- a skill I used in my leadership
project. I also found out more about my
section in the school and the relations within and outside of the section. This was important information that my principal
was able to use to improve communication for us.
Course Competencies
·
Identify and be able to discuss major issues
regarding communication and leadership in organizational settings
·
Demonstrate an understanding of organizational
communication theories and related processes.
·
Develop skills in analyzing and making
recommendations regarding communication and leadership in varied organizational
settings, scenarios and/or case studies.
·
Enhance your own competency as a communicator
and leader in organizations.
·
Apply critical thinking to the ethical issues
surrounding organizational communication and leadership
ORGL 505- Organizational Theory (required
course)
This course is an introduction to
the study of organizations and the different theories that organizations put
into practice. Students gain an
understanding of how different organizations function through metaphors, from
multiple frames and perspectives, and through case studies.
I really enjoyed using metaphors to
view different organizations, including mine.
It was interesting to do “group work” online with my peers and I think
we came up with a great project about Starbucks.
Course Competencies
·
An overview of the field of Organizational
Theory. Students will learn how to think about organizations in the context of
Bolman and Deal’s four frames and Gareth Morgan’s insight into the use of
metaphor to describe organizations and how they can be designed and managed.
·
Students will learn how to view organizations
from multiple frames and perspectives and be able to apply the frames to
interpret organizational behavior.
·
Students will be challenged to apply their
knowledge of organizational theory to a collaborative group project to design a
“real-life” intervention.
·
Students will be able to apply the theories to
their own organization and identify areas of change that could improve their
organization.
ORGL 506- Leadership and Diversity
Leadership and Diversity allows
students to explore the ways in which society constructs identity through race,
class, age, gender, and ethnicity.
Students begin by looking at themselves and identifying how their own
perceptions of where they come from affect the roles they play. They explore how communities around the world
view different people and how their roles change based on diversity. Students examined their organization through
the lens of concepts such as empowerment, respect, empathy, and community.
Analyzing my school through the
lens of class and community really helped me clarify some of the inequalities
that are present. These inequalities
helped to spark my proposals and executions of two staff teambuilding sessions.
Course Competencies
·
Student can explain and evaluate the impact of
race and ethnicity on an individual’s life. Student can demonstrate the ability
to understand the perspective of another by applying intercultural
communication theory and practices.
·
Student can describe and analyze various issues
affecting gender and communication in social groups and in organizations.
·
Student can articulate and critique the impact
of SES on identity development, communication competence, and life chances.
·
Students can describe and exhibit respectful
behaviors, provide an empathetic explanation of various individuals’
perspectives, through use of competent intercultural communication.
·
Students can apply concepts learned about race,
class, gender, and intercultural communication to improve their personal
leadership and communication competencies.
ORGL 516- Organization Development
This course focuses on the practice
and profession of Organization Development.
Students learn how internal and external OD consultants support
organizations and change. They look at
different methods, theories, and models that OD consultants use to foster
efficiency and change within departments and small teams, to larger groups and
whole organizations.
I found this course very
interesting as I am interested in heading in this direction in the future. I think it was a good introduction to
consulting and I enjoyed taking a closer look at the problems with the
curriculum at my school. OD consulting
is definitely something I would like to learn more about after having taken
this course.
Course Competencies
·
Become aware of the nature, application and
practice of the profession of Organizational Development.
·
Developed an understanding of some of the major
OD intervention methods and tools used to increase individual, team,
departmental, and organizational effectiveness (e.g. team building, strategic
planning, large group event facilitation, internal communications, merger
dynamics, leadership development, and management training).
ORGL 518- Transformational Leadership
This course explores the process of
transformation- both as humans and as leaders.
With an initial focus on personal transformation and finding your true
self, the course moves towards best practices that can be use with larger
groups and organizations. Students learn how to facilitate transformation
within organizations and how to be transformational leaders; that is, how to
not only support those you work with, but give them the tools they need to
become leaders themselves.
Transformational leadership is about unlocking the potential of those
you work with to raise them to a higher level and to find their true selves.
This was one of the most inspiring
courses for me and transformational leadership is something that I have tried
to put into action since the course. I
have really been trying to be this kind of leader in my classroom as well as in
the leadership projects I do for the school.
I want my students to be capable leaders and citizens without me once
they leave my class.
Course Competencies
·
Describe and analyze transformation and why is
it important to leadership?
·
Describe and analyze a personal transformational
experience using the principles of transformational leadership to support your assertions.
·
Conduct a literature review of scholoarly works
which focus on transformational leadership.
·
Conduct a case study of transformation which
addresses the dynamics of your organization and how you can facilitate
transformation.
·
Describe and analyze the principles of
transforming leadership, implications for organizational life, and questions
that need to be addressed for the future.
ORGL 550- Teambuilding I
Teambuilding I is a 3-day intensive
course that helps students understand leadership and team development. Through a combination of information sessions
and team challenges, students learn through experience as they get to know each
other and solve problems together. They learn about communication methods,
leadership models and styles, and stages of team development. All of these are put into practice in during
the challenge parts of the course.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting some
of my peers in this class and working with them to solve team challenges. I have been able to put what I learned from
this course to use in the teambuilding sessions that I have run with the staff
at my school.
Course Competencies
·
To increase knowledge, understanding, and skills
related to leadership.
·
To increase knowledge and understanding of team
development, and to become a more effective team member in working with people
of diverse backgrounds, cultures, philosophies, approaches, strengths, and
limitations.
·
To improve skills related to effective problem
solving and decision-making.
·
To improve communication skills.
ORGL 670- Independent Study: Projects in
Human Behavior
This unique course allows students
to explore and research a topic that they are passionate about, with the
guidance of a professor. In this course,
I designed a leadership curriculum for a third grade classroom, collected and
analyzed data, conducted two literature reviews, modified the curriculum,
created self-evaluations and questionnaires, and designed a new program to
implement in the 2013-2014 school year.
I enjoyed this course because it required discipline and was driven by
my passion.
Course Competencies
·
The student selects a topic or question for
study (readings) or defines the experience and method of evaluation (projects)
with the advice and approval of the faculty member assigned to the course;
·
The student creates a bibliography (readings) or
schedule (projects) which defines the work he or she will undertake related to
the topic, question, or experience;
·
Each week, the student shares the work he or she
has accomplished with the other students in the course, receiving feedback both
from the students and the faculty member assigned to the course; both readings
and projects result in a written summary of the student's work, and this
written summary is evaluated by the faculty member
ORGL 680- Leadership Seminar (Required
Course)
In this final capstone course of
the MA ORGL program, I created a leadership portfolio to show not only what I
learned throughout the program, but also how I applied it in my organization
and in my life. It is a testament to the
successful completion of this journey and a reminder of the theories,
strategies, models, and methods I have obtained throughout these two and a half
years. The portfolio will be helpful in
the future as I start applying to jobs in the leadership field.
