Blog Assignment #4

Your fourth and final blog post is due April 24, 2014. Please write approximately 500 words on the following prompt:

"In your own words, based on your experiences in this class -  define "leadership". Additionally, write a philosophy statement that describes the components of effective and successful leadership." What experiences in this course, in your job, in conversations with others, campus involvement, etc. contribute to your philosophy? How does your philosophy now differ from your attitudes toward leadership at the beginning of the course?

Video Links

Hi everyone,

As requested, here are the YouTube links to the 2014 Leadership Awards videos we watched at the end of class today. Much credit goes out to my director and editor, J. Randall Hicks from Student Life!

Leadership Awards Opening Video

Leadership Awards Digital Short

-Matt

Blog Assignment #3

Your third blog post is due prior to class on Thursday April 10. Please write approximately 500 words on the following prompt:

"What is a comment, thought, or action from one of your classmates this semester that has re-framed your perspective on leadership in some way. Why? You are also welcome to reference passages from the readings."

You are also required to read at least one classmates blog post, and comment on it.

Blog Assignment #2

Your second blog post is due prior to class on Thursday March 27th. Please write approximately 500 words on the following prompt:

"How are values critical to leadership and what are my own personal values?"

In your response, be sure to reference class readings, class discussions, activities we've done, or videos we've watched.

You are also required to read at least one classmates blog post, and comment on it.

This Ohio State Life Project

The interviewee:

“Great stories happen to those who can tell them.” - Ira Glass

Everyone has a story. Some people will make for a better interview than others. When choosing your interviewee, it might be tempting to go for a big name. However, that person may be incredibly boring. When looking around for your interviewee, make sure you pay just as much attention to “how” they tell the story, as you do to “what” the story is. You’ll thank yourself later.

On that note - a good story has a narrative arc to it. There is the attention getter: “why do we care about this.” There is rising action, as the details of the story become clear and suspense builds…”what is going to happen next?!” The story climaxes with its “a-ha!” moment, and then comes the most important part. We learn “what is universal about this story we just heard?” How can others relate to this story, or what can they learn from it.

When you make initial contact with your interviewee, be professional. Introduce yourself, your involvement with our course, and why you’re contacting them. Do any preliminary research you can about the interviewee and be prepared!

For the actual interview, make sure you have all the equipment you need prior to the start, and double-check everything to make sure it’s working properly. Allow yourself 30-45 minutes to chat (in the final product, you’ll edit this down to 5-10 minutes). Ask the person to speak slowly and clearly. Ask appropriate follow-up questions if they start to go off topic or drone on. Find their story and be fascinated by it!

After the interview is done, followup with a handwritten thank you card - send it the day after you record the interview. And when you have your final copy, invite your interviewee to our last class, or offer to share the audio copy with them.

Software:

You are welcome to use any software you’re comfortable with. I use the iMovie program, that comes standard on all apple computers. Ignoring the visual component (or setting a black screen as the default for the duration of the project), I cut and paste the interview audio, with my own narration (you can use the computer's built-in mic), and any music files I want to utilize throughout the program.

Recording Device:

You can get a great, basic, audio recorder by downloading the TASCAM PCM Recorder app to your smartphone. Familiarize yourself with the app prior to your actual interview (for example - have someone listen on headphones, while you are recording, to insure your levels are set appropriately). You can upload the audio file from your phone to a computer for editing.

ESHESA 2570: TEAM AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Tuesdays Thursdays 3:55 – 6:50 PM

Scott Lab E0245

INSTRUCTOR

Matt Van Jura                                                                   

The Ohio Union, Office of Student Life                                                  

2076 Ohio Union: Keith B. Key Center for Student Leadership and Service                            

614-247-8431 vanjura.1@osu.edu                                                             

Office hours by appointment                                                                    

COURSE PURPOSE

Educational Policy and Leadership 2570 provides an overview of the theory related to and skills necessary for the practice of effective leadership in team and organizational settings.  Leadership is explored as an integral component of a student's career and life plan. As requested by students, special focus sections will be offered. The course purpose remains constant in all sections, however the supplemental readings may change and class discussion will focus on application of the principles to the specific interests of students in the section.

The general undergraduate section of this course will focus on the Relational Model of Leadership, including various applications of the model to personal and campus experiences of students in the class.

COURSE OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of this course students will:

1.       Demonstrate an understanding of leadership theory and research, specifically the Relational Leadership Model.

2.       Demonstrate an increased awareness of the personal qualities and skills they bring to leadership settings.

3.       Demonstrate an increased understanding of leadership as a process and the elements affecting leadership in group/organizational contexts.

4.       Demonstrate increased confidence and skill in practicing leadership in the collegiate, workplace, and/or community setting.

REQUIRED READINGS

1.       Komives, et al., Exploring Leadership for College Students Who Want to Make a Difference, 2007. Second Edition.

2.       Supplemental readings to be provided by the instructors as needed.

LEARNING EXPECTATIONS

This course will require students to learn through group activities which will have them interact and share with others.  Given this, students will be expected to perform in the following manner:

1.       Be on time and present for each class.

2.       Participate in class discussions and activities.

3.       Respect opinions that differ from your own.  Attempt to learn from alternative perspectives.

4.       Submit assignments on time.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments are subject to change based upon instructor discretion with notice to students at least one week prior to date the assignment is due.

Class Participation and Preparation (35 Points Total)

• Attendance at each class session for the entire class meeting period.
• Regular checking of the course blog for updates, readings, assignments, etc.
• Completion of reading assignments and homework prior to the class for which they are assigned.
• Contribution to class discussions and participation in class activities that demonstrates working knowledge of the content of assigned readings.
• Challenging and supporting classmates appropriately during discussions and activities
• Sharing current and past leadership experiences.

Course Blog (30 Points Total)

Each student is asked to maintain a blog throughout the duration of the course, reflecting on their shared experiences and theoretical learning from class. Blog entries will require students to actively and creatively reflect on and make meaning of class material in an experimental and holistic manner. Blog assignments are the equivalent of traditional written assignments and should be treated with the same level of importance. 

Prompts for blog assignments will be posted the week prior to when the blog assignment is due. Prompts will be based on course reading and/or in-class activities and will ask you to apply what you have read or what we have done in class to your own life and experiences. Unless noted, blog postings are to be written in “Scholarly Personal Narrative” format, and should be at least 500 words. Blog entries may be posted publicly to the website, or emailed directly to the instructor (by the date/time due) as a word document if you wish to keep your writing private. If you chose to author a private reflection, please plan to write no more than two private entries for the term – as this will limit classmates from reading and commenting on your ideas.

In addition to maintaining an individual blog, each student will engage with their classmates by reading and commenting on each other’s blogs. It is expected that each student will read and comment on the blog entries of four other classmates during the term. You can find each other’s blogs by linking your blog to the class blog. It is required that you use Blogger and link your blog with the class blog - http://2570spring14.blogspot.com/

You will have 4 blog assignments. Blog assignments are due by 11:59pm Wednesday, each week.

To earn full points

• Complete blog entries and comments on time
• Address all aspects of the prompt thoroughly and thoughtfully, referencing theoretical learning and/or classroom experiences in addition to personal thoughts. Your blog entries will likely seek their own length in this regard, but any questions regarding amount or type of content should be brought to the instructor’s attention by the student.
• Provide blog comments that include your reactions, thoughts, additional information, questions, or a new perspective for the blog author.
• Be authentic and creative. Entries must include text but may also include links to outside pages and articles, videos, music, images, etc.

This Ohio State Life Project (35 Points)

Leadership is a lifelong pursuit – but this course will culminate with the This Ohio State Life project. Using the components of the “Relational Leadership Model” as a foundation, all members of the class will work in teams to produce an “episode” of the hit radio broadcast, This Ohio State Life.

This Ohio State Life is similar to the popular program that bears a similar name – This American Life, hosted by Ira Glass on Public Radio International (PRI). Episodes of both programs are centered around a particular theme, and each episode is divided into “acts.” Each act is a different story, that somehow ties to the theme of that week’s episode.

At the conclusion of the term, our class will present an original episode of This Ohio State Life, focusing lessons in leadership. Students enrolled in the 2570 class will be divided teams and assigned roles on their team (interviewer, technical editor, project manager, etc.) The students on each team must work together to find a person within the Ohio State community (a student, someone on their team, a faculty member, advisor, alum, staff member, etc.) with a story to tell about leadership. The story must (in some way) strongly relate to a topic we’ve discussed in the course.

Each team will work together to identify an interviewee, record the interview, and edit the audio into a final product. While conducting the interview, students must practice the Generative Listening skills discussed in class, ask appropriate follow-up questions, and allow the interviewee to review the final product before sharing with the class. Each team will work together to edit the interview and create a 5 - 10 minute audio production that introduces the story, tells the story, connects the story to readings/scholarship from class, and leaves the listener with a “takeaway message.” Teams can employ a range of tactics while editing to help tell their story – this can include narration, original audio from the interview, audio from team meetings, as students work together to sort out the direction of their story, etc.

This assignment is worth 35 points. 10 points will come from the quality of your final product. 10 points will be a grade you assign yourself based on how well you work with your teammates and incorporate lessons you’ve learned about leadership in this team environment. 15 points will be awarded based on feedback from your peers (Did you contribute a fair amount of work to the product? Did you communicate effectively with teammates? How did you respond to conflict or stress as a member of this team?).

“But wait! I’ve never worked with audio recordings before!” No worries, working in a team to complete this project, troubleshooting, and learning a new medium is part of your final grade. The university has tools to help you along the way, and we’ll get into these technical questions at a later time. In the meantime, downloading the PCMRecorder app to a smartphone, registering an account on www.soundcloud.com, or reading the “Make Radio” page on the This American Life website (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/about/make-radio) will get you started.

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GRADING

Each class session will include in-class activities and discussion.  Because of the interactive nature of this class, students are expected to attend and contribute to each class session in addition to completing assignments.  The point value of each component is as follows:

35 points              Attendance and Participation (1 point for coming to each class and staying for duration, 1 point for participating at least 1 time per class, 3 “freebies”)

30 points              Complete blog assignments on time, completing assignments in a thorough manner that addresses all aspects of the prompt. (6 points per written reflection – 4 points for reading/commenting on the reflections of 4 classmates)

35 points              This Ohio State Life______

100 points           Total     

Letter grades will be applied as follows:

A         93-100                      C+       77-79                        E          < 59

A-        90-92                        C         73-76

B+       87-89                        C-        70-72

B         83-86                        D+       67-69

B-        80-82                        D         60-66

Late Assignments

Late assignments will be accepted up to 2 days late with grading penalties (90% of grade for up to 1 day late, 80% for 2 days late, 0% credit for assignments later than two days).

Attendance

Since much of the learning in the course is derived from in-class experiences and discussion, attendance is crucial to student learning.  An unexcused absence will automatically result in a drop of one letter grade. Absences will be excused for legitimate medical, family, or other reasons.  Students must send notice of absence to the instructor at least 24 hours in advance, except for in the case of emergency or extenuating circumstances. Failure to comply with this request will automatically result in an unexcused absence. The opportunity to make up class participation points is only offered for excused absences. Making up these points includes completion of any missed in-class work at the discretion of the instructor. It is expected that even if a student cannot attend a particular class period that they still complete the assigned course preparation reading and homework. Consult with your instructor(s) for additional guidance.

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COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION

Students will be asked to complete the University Student Evaluation of Instruction form during the last week of classes, prior to finals week.  Students will are encouraged to provide feedback on instruction, as well as the course structure and content.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

As members of a University community, students are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty in all course work.  Penalties for plagiarism, cheating, or other acts of academic dishonesty may include receiving a failing grade, dismissal from the University, or revocation of degree.  More information can be found in The Ohio State University Code of Student Conduct.

ADA STATEMENT

Students who have documented any learning disabilities with the Office of Disability Services are encouraged to meet with the course instructors to discuss arrangements for any approved accommodations.  Please contact the Office of Disability Services at 292-3307 if you have any questions.  Students requiring modified versions of written materials (large print, Braille, tape, etc.), class modifications (e.g. American Sign Language), or an alternate format for submission of written materials, please privately contact one of the instructors.  Every effort will be made to work with you to accommodate your specific learning needs.