QS PRN

EdD in Professional Leadership, Inquiry, and Transformation

Concordia University | Portland Oregon

CORE & CONCENTRATION COURSES

Candidates in the Professional Leadership, Inquiry, and Transformation concentration will select 4 courses (total of 12 credit hours) from Concordia’s Ed.D. concentration course offering. Courses in the existing Administrative Leadership concentration cannot be selected.

EDDC 700 Scholarly Writing - Identity
0.5 credits
The courses in this sequence (EDDC 700 through 705), Scholarly Writing, provide opportunities for doctoral candidates to develop and refine their scholarly writing during the first year of the education doctorate in order to become successful writers both during and beyond their academic career. Course topics include writing article abstracts and analyses, critiques, and literature surveys. Strategies for reading critically, organizing and developing thoughts, choosing appropriate vocabulary, and revising their own writing are also covered. Candidates will practice concrete strategies for drafting and revising texts and will develop greater metacognitive awareness of their writing processes. Through peer editing experiences, candidates will develop the ability to be thoughtful readers of their peers’ writing. Candidates write and revise various genres of scholarly writing during the course sequence, culminating in 705 with a revised draft of the Comprehensive Connection paper.

EDDC 712 The Ethical Educator
3 credits
This course is grounded in the belief that it is the responsibility of educators to employ ethical practice in the daily activities of their personal and professional lives. Educators must also ensure that the institutional policies and practices of their school or organization adhere to the application of ethical practice throughout the workplace. The course will emphasize human subjects research issues of harm and deception. This study of the use of ethical principles in an educational context will include an examination of the underlying assumptions and implicit or explicit policies that can support or erode ethical practice. As a result of the activities and discussions completed in this course, candidates will have the opportunity to transform their personal and professional ethical lives and priorities.

EDDC 701 Scholarly Writing - Style
0.5 credits

EDDC 714 Transformational Learning
3 credits
Based on the view that an individual’s beliefs influence his or her actions in powerful ways, this course encourages candidates to reframe their world-view to move away from knowledge transmission towards transformational learning. Candidates will deconstruct conformity to social and cultural canons which have permeated U.S. public schools to a negative effect. They will examine theories that are meant to catalyze social transformation and individual change, and develop their own theory and practice of transformative learning for social change.

EDDC 702 Scholarly Writing - Analysis
0.5 credits

EDDC 716 Creativity, Inquiry, and Innovation
3 credits
This course emphasizes the need for organizations to foster an environment where creativity, inventiveness, and entrepreneurship are expectations in the culture. Topics are investigated through popular literature and case studies of individuals who have made significant break-through contributions in the areas of science, music, art, and business. The course will address such questions as “What is the essence of creative work? Can creativity be learned? How critical is it for organizations and leaders to innovate? What conditions are necessary in the workplace to foster an environment where creativity, experimentation, and innovation are welcomed? Who determines what is creative and what is not? Why is innovation more likely found in the commercial and nonprofit sector rather than schools?” Lastly, the course hopes to tap the creative potential within all of us and illustrate its value for our own growth as well as the health of the organization.

EDDC 703 Scholarly Writing - Synthesis
3 credits
This course emphasizes the need for organizations to foster an environment where creativity, inventiveness, and entrepreneurship are expectations in the culture. Topics are investigated through popular literature and case studies of individuals who have made significant break-through contributions in the areas of science, music, art, and business. The course will address such questions as “What is the essence of creative work? Can creativity be learned? How critical is it for organizations and leaders to innovate? What conditions are necessary in the workplace to foster an environment where creativity, experimentation, and innovation are welcomed? Who determines what is creative and what is not? Why is innovation more likely found in the commercial and nonprofit sector rather than schools?” Lastly, the course hopes to tap the creative potential within all of us and illustrate its value for our own growth as well as the health of the organization.

EDDC 718 Leading Organizational Change
3 credits
This course focuses on helping learners internalize the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and values necessary for facilitating organizational improvement in schools and colleges. In particular, it zeros in on the theory and technology of Organizational Development (OD), and the “what, why, and how” of planned change in diverse educational settings from pre-school to graduate school. Additionally, the course content is undergirded by person-centered values, democratic leadership skills, as well as the ideology of service-management, and is aimed at facilitating excellence in student-centered teaching and learning.

EDDC 704 Scholarly Writing - Issue Exploration
0.5 credits

EDDx 1 Concentration Course 1
3 credits
The first course specific to your concentration.

EDDC 705 Scholarly Writing - Connections
0.5 credits

EDDx 2 Concentration Course 2
3 credits
The second course specific to your concentration.

First Saturday of Spring Break

Spent some time researching a local vintner, that also has a sister brewery. Because, science! Also, research. 

I wanted to check out the bud break. It's a thing. And, I have questions about this year's harvest outlook. 

Really, I wanted excuse to take the top off the Jeep and a conversation starter. I wanted to check in with the vineyard manager, as Mount Saint Joseph will be sourcing grapes from the foothills again this season. 

Spring Break 2019

This year feels different. Not sure why. Possible reasons include: 

• missed LEAD3 this year 
• finalized my application for an EdD program
• sore muscles from the DIY project I started today

I really enjoyed LEAD3 symposium last year in San Francisco, and I was disappointed to miss this year's event in Universal City. Next year, I'm not sure if there will be any district funding to make it happen but I may just pay my own way. 

Now waiting to hear if I've been accepted into a doctorate degree program, and decided it was time to redesign the spare bedroom, make it into a real office. If I'm going to be working on an EdD for the next three years, I need a real workspace. 

Ripped out the carpet and padding today. New flooring tomorrow. Then, a trip to IKEA later this week. 

Started a new pocket notebook today. A few colleagues asked why I used an analog system. Maybe they thought it was odd that the "tech teacher" doesn't prefer Google or some fancy app to take notes. 

I've tried many of them, and they have their merits. But, there's just something satisfying about pen/pencil and paper. It's more intentional, and it's far less distracting. 

A computer is a Lite-Brite® for bad ideas.    

Pixels just don't give me that same kind of feeling. For years, I have kept two pocket notebooks going: one for home and one for work.  

Each notebook serves a specific purpose. The home notebook serves as a personal journal. I record a few lines a day. Some people call that a diary. Some call it a memorandum. I tend to think of it as a source for reflection. It helps me distill my thoughts, and assists me in tracking events.  

The work notebook contains a linear series of notes, lists, to-do items, and reminders. It follows me most places, and keeps my current. 

It never needs recharging. It never needs a software update. And, it's relatively inexpensive. That's my simple process. 

• How do you manage your email account(s)? 
• Do you check it regularly, or when you get an alert? 
• Do you have your work email on your phone? If so, do you use a stand-alone app or do you mix your work and personal email accounts on one app? 
• Do you feel like there’s an expectation that you’ll be checking your email outside of your regular office hours/work days? 

These are questions I’ve been asking other teachers lately. Perhaps I’ve been thinking a lot about email (and management) because I’m on every almost email list and group in our district. And, I often feel obligated to read them in real time. Even on weekends. 

To wean myself off the work email habit, I’ve started deactivating my work email account on the weekends. I’ve been doing this for several months now. It’s been surprisingly easy. At least, I haven’t missed anything important—nothing that couldn’t wait until Monday morning. 

And, no one has complained. I’m thinking that next school year, I’m going to set office hours on my work email account. Banker’s hour’s. I’ll still keep my analog lists, or course.