March, 2007

Course Descriptions

ADED 219/ALOP 291: Applied Research in Adult Learning, 3 credits
Completed near the end of the ALPD program, this course acts as a capstone project to the student’s graduate school experience as the student identifies a research question and conducts a research project from inception through literature review, methods design, data collection, analysis of data, presentation of findings, interpretation of the data in the context of the literature, and the creation of recommendations based on the study. The class ends with a “dissemination night” where students present an overview of their research to each other and guests.

ADED 239/ALOP 245: Leadership Essentials, 3 credits
This course will serve as a foundational investigation of leadership with emphasis on theory, practice, and skill development. The goal of the course is to assist each student to become a more informed and effective manager and leader in their respective or intended work setting. The course will utilize the instructional modalities of readings and discussion, instruments designed to assess leadership/management styles and characteristics, case study analysis, chapter quizzes, web-based interaction and research.

ADED 242/ALOP 242: Living, Learning & Leading in the 21st Century, 1 credit
This course will provide an overview of the social, demographic, and technological changes impacting our society, organizations, and the communities in which we live. Special consideration will be placed on the impact of these changes on our ability to effectively influence individuals and groups toward goal accomplishment in given situations. This course also serves as an introduction to graduate study in the ALPD program.

ADED 243/ALOP 243: Performance Consulting & Human Performance Improvement, 3 credits
More and more organizations are redefining the traditional roles of training and HRD professional to that of performance improvement consultant. This class will focus on the philosophical underpinnings of performance consulting, the consulting process—in particular the contracting process, and will identify a series of tools and techniques necessary to diagnose performance gaps and identify a range of interventions that can close performance gaps and improve individual, team or organizational performance in systematic and reproducible ways.

ADED 244/ALOP 265: Using Technology for Learning, 2 credits
(formerly: Distance Educational and Instructional Technologies, 1 credit)
In this course, students will explore a variety of existing and emerging technologies, and will be challenged to identify intentional and effective uses of these technologies to enable or support learning. In addition, students will become familiar with Blackboard, an online environment they will use throughout their graduate studies.

ADED 245 (also EDL 245)/ALOP 252: Leadership in Organizations, 3 credits
The demand for effective leadership in organizations is great. The purpose of this course is to explore several major theories of organizations and the implication organizational theory has for diagnosis and action. It will focus on those in leadership positions and the problems, dilemmas, and opportunities they face in educational, public, private, and human service organizations. (Prerequisite: ADED 239)

ADED 247/ALOP 247: Adult and Organizational Learning, 3 credits
This foundation course investigates factors that affect adult learning and the organizational cultures that promote or inhibit learning. Students explore topics that include; learning styles, brain-compatible learning, learning organizations and multiple intelligences with a focus on developing effective instructional strategies. Significant time is spent in personal assessment of learning styles, preferences, motivational learning orientations, and other learning aspects.

ADED 250/ALOP 272: Human Resource Management, 3 credits
This course focuses on the strategic nature of human resource practices such as selection, performance management, compensation, benefits, and employee relations. Several methods of measuring the effectiveness of the human resource function are discussed along with major issues, resources, and best practices.

ADED 261/ALOP 244: Strategic Thinking and Decision-Making, 3 credits
Effective leadership and team membership relies on effective decision-making, and effective decision-making relies on strategic thinking. This course will examine how leaders and others can use systematic, creative processes to think robustly and strategically about a variety of issues (including strategic planning). The course will also examine the theory and practice of ethical decision-making and problem-solving, decision making in a group setting, and the link between decision-making and results. Learning will occur through readings, individual thinking and reflection, experiential learning activities, as well as in-class and online discussions and experiences.

ADED 262/ALOP 262: Needs Analysis and Evaluation, 3 credit
This course focuses on the “thinking evaluator.” The purpose of this course is to assist you in building or enhancing your practical skills and theoretical knowledge in analyzing learning and performance needs and evaluating the results of a learning intervention. We will explore needs assessment and evaluation through a systematic and comprehensive approach to the theory and practice of evaluation. In addition to providing a rigorous review and critique of evaluation methods and techniques, each learner will conduct an actual needs assessment or evaluation.

ADED 263/ALOP 263: Designing Learning Interventions, 3 credits
This course uses a structured methodology for developing effective learning interventions for a variety of settings (formal and informal), a variety of media (face-to-face, online, other technology-supported, and paper-based), and with a variety of content. This structured process is the framework for critical and practical looks at instructional design from needs assessment, through objectives, identification of key topics, designing the training flow and actual activities, developing the necessary materials, and creating a strategy for evaluating the outcome of the learning intervention. Because students design actual learning interventions through an in-class case study as well as an individual real-world project, students are able to develop their instructional design skills from their current level of skill and knowledge, regardless of previous experience in designing learning interventions.

ADED 264/ALOP 264: Methods and Technologies of Facilitation, 3 credits
Through this course, students will look at specific issues, methods and skill for planned learning events in both face-to-face and online learning environments. We will concentrate on the theoretical underpinnings and rationale for various approaches to facilitation, the basic platform skills required for effective delivery and management of training situations, and the facilitation competencies required for facilitating non-training learning events and situations.

ADED 298/ALOP 273: Compensation & Benefits, 3 credits
This course focuses on the fundamentals of compensation and benefits philosophies, designs, and best practices, incorporating latest issues/trends along with their potential implications. Students will participate in strategic goal and program development, examining how compensation and benefit designs impact individual/organization performance and contribute to defining organization culture.

ADED ### (or PAdM 287)/ALOP 274: Contemporary Workplace/Workforce Issues, 3 credits
This course analyzes major workplace/force issues in a contemporary organization, which include mental illness, drug abuse, violence, alcoholism and diversity. Other topics will be discussed based on the changing nature of technology, work, demographics, and design of organizations.

ADED ###/ALOP 249: Ethics, 3 credits
This course will provide a framework for evaluating and ameliorating ethical dilemma in an organizational and societal context. It will examine the roles and processes leaders and others can use to model and advance ethical behavior and make sound judgments. A special emphasis of this class will be to examine ethics as a perennial issue through a literary analysis of classic and contemporary works of fiction and non-fiction.

ADED ###/ALOP 254: Organizational Savvy and Communication, 3 credits
Today’s organizations are challenging, complex systems where success depends on the ability to navigate the political and communication environment to effectively work with others to accomplish individual and organizational goals. This class will examine tools and techniques for identifying and effectively interacting with organizational and political challenges and realities, and will base this in the historical evolution of organizations. In addition, a variety of communication challenges, strategies, and techniques will be examined.

ADED 279: Internship

ADED 298/ALOP 253: Organizational Development and Leading Change, 3 credits
Change is a constant factor in today’s organizations and effective leaders will be required to be effective leaders of change. This class will focus on improving organizations through successfully leading change as well as leading change for self, others, and teams. In addition to exploring contemporary OD and change theories, we will look at how to create and manage a plan for change including creating a strategy for change that creates bottom line results, creating and communicating a vision for change, enrolling others in the change effort, and managing resistance to change and conflict. Learning will occur through readings, reflection, a variety of experiential learning activities, as well as in-class and on-line discussions and experiences.

ADED 298: Women and Leadership
Students will review the status of women in leadership positions and the factors that have influenced under-representation of women in executive ranks; compare the effect of time on leadership theories and on gender stereotypes; explore the ways that both sexes view and utilize power; define gender differences that have been documented in leadership studies, including communication differences between men and women. This is not a women's study class but an exploration of how gender differences and tensions impact organizations and challenges that leaders face.