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.
