Welcome Welcome to EDUC 7620, the Learning Community seminar for the Spring 2024 semester.  This course will be fully on line via zoom.  The link will be on the Canvas site for this course. About the Course ​ Course Description: This graduate seminar is designed to:  (1) introduce students to character, character development, and character education;  (2) provide in depth knowledge about their definitions, processes, and empirical support; (3) introduce the critical role of school leadership in comprehensive, sustained and effective character education. Students will explore readings about character and its development in education and will discuss in a seminar format.  Topics to be covered include defining character, how character develops, empirical studies of what works in fostering character development in schools, and forms of implementation at the pre-school, elementary, middle, high school, and college.  There will be an emphasis on the role of school leadership in character education school transformation/improvement.  The course will provide information that will enable students to better understand and more effectively design, implement, lead, and assess character education. Course objectives: 1. Students will know the nature of character and how it is developed. 2. Students will understand how schools foster character development. 3. Students will effectively evaluate the evidence for and against models of fostering character. 4. Students will effectively compare different approaches to character education. 5. Students will be able to apply developmental and structural differences to understanding optimalways to implement character education at various levels. 6. Students will understand and be able to apply strategies from the PRIMED model. 7. Students will understand how to effectively lead schools of character. 8. Students will apply course learning to create an implementation plan for character education. . Required texts:  Berkowitz, M.W. (2021).  PRIMED for Character Education.  New York:  Routledge.   Lickona, T. (1991). Educating for character.  NY: Bantam. Supplemental articles and chapters (all provided on Canvas): Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Bell, J. (1995, March). Understanding adultism: A major obstacle in developing     ​​positive adult-youth relationships. YouthBuild, USA. 1-7.​ Berkowitz, M. W. (2012b). Moral and character education. In K.R. Harris, S. Graham, & T. Urdan (Eds.), APA educational psychology handbook: Vol. 2. Individual differences, cultural variations, and contextual factors in educational psychology (pp. 247-264). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.  Berkowitz, M.W., Lickona, T., Nast, T., Schaeffer, E., & Bohlin, K. (2020).  The 11 Principles of Effective Character Education: A Brief History.  Journal of Character Education, 16, 1-10 Berkowitz, M.W., Pelster, K., & Johnston, A. (2012).  Leading in the Middle: A Tale  of Pro-social Education Reform in Two Principals and Two Middle Schools.  In Brown, P., Corrigan, M. & Higgins-D’Alessandro, A. (Eds.), The handbook of prosocial education: Volume 2 (pp. 619-626). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Bryk. A.S. & Schneider, B. (2003). Trust in schools: A core resource for school  ​​reform.  Educational Leadership,60(6), 40-45. Character.org  Eleven Principles Framework Dalton, J., & Watson, M. (1997).  Among friends: Classrooms where caring and  ​​learning prevail.  Oakland, CA: Developmental Studies Center. Damon, W., & Colby, A. (2015).  The power of ideals:  The real story of moral  ​​choice. New York: Oxford University Press. [Chapter 3] Handford, V., & Leithwood, K. (2013). Why teachers trust school leaders. Journal of Educational Administration, 51(2), 194-212. Johnson, A. Case Study 6A. Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtue Shields, D.L. (2011).  Character as the aim of education.  Phi Delta Kappan, 92 (8), 48-53.  [https://doi.org/10.1177%2F003172171109200810](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F003172171109200810) ​Tschannen-Moran, M. (2004). Trust matters: Leadership for successful schools. San Francisco,  CA: Jossey-Bass. Time Requirements:  Class will meet on Tuesdaynights from 5:30 – 8:00 (Central Time).   Assessment/Grading In addition to weekly readings and discussions, there will be a final integrative paper assigned.   Furthermore engaged, participatory attendance is also a component of the overall grade.  There are two sets of periodic assignments.  Each week you will be asked to submit reactions to the assigned readings.  And there are six “unit” worksheets that you will be required to fill out during the course, as we complete each “unit.”. Feedback and Grading Timeline: Graded work with feedback will be returned no less than one week after it has been received.You can find grades in Canvas. There is a rubric provided (in this syllabus and on Canvas) for the course paper. There are also guidelines for the grading of the reflections and worksheets.  You can click your score on line to seefeedback on the rubrics. Grading Scale:   The grading standards for this course are consistent with the requirements of the Graduate School of the University of Missouri – St. Louis.  These standards state in part that:“the grade of ‘A’ is awarded for work of outstanding merit, ‘B’ for work that is entirely satisfactory, ‘C’ for work that is acceptable only to the extent of fulfilling advanced degree requirements, ‘D’ grades will not be awarded to graduate students, and the grade of ‘F’ will require the course to be retaken.   Grade Scale:  Grades in this course will be assigned on a plus/minus scale as follows: 93% and up = A​​ 90% to 92.9% = A-​​ 87% t0 89.9% = B+​​ 83% to 86.9% = B​​ 80% to 82. % = B -​​ 77% to 79.9% = C+​​ 73% to 76.9% = C​​ 70% to 72.9% = C-​​ 69% and below = F Activities and Grading: Class participation – 70 pts total (5 points per class meeting)   Criteria: • Attend all class meetings • Arrive on time and stay for full class meeting • Active constructive participation in class discussions and activities • Evidence that all assigned readings have been read and can be applied to class discussions. Weekly reflections – 52 points Each of the 14 reflections will be assigned between 0 and 3 points.  The document entitled “Weekly Reflections Instuctions” in the Canvas Syllabus module explains the scoring criteria.  The main criteria is submission (at least one half hour before the scheduled class meeting), thoughtful clear content, at least 3 discrete ideas. PRIMED Worksheets – 30 points There are six PRIMED worksheets, one for each of the letters/design principles of PRIMED.  They are due (see Canvas modules) after we copy that specific design principle.  Each is worth from 0-5 points.  The grading criteria and instructions are in the document “PRIMED Worksheet Instructions” in the Canvas Syllabus module. Writing assignment 100 pts There is one major writing assignment due at the end of the semester (see schedule below for due date).  I will use thescoring guide below in grading papers. Proposal for comprehensive character education plan – 100 points  Due 11/30/20 Each student is expected to develop an extensive five-year plan for character education implementation in the school setting.  (If a student is not currently working in a school setting, then an alternative target site is to be negotiated with the instructor.)   Expectations will include when and how a character initiative is introduced, timelines and specific plans for staff development and buy in, parent inclusion, student involvement, the use of data, and overarching long-term goals.  More information on this assignment is provided in Canvas in the Syllabus module: “Introduce to Implementation Plan Paper.” APA Format is required for all papers in this class.  All papers should have correctly and fully cited work from your readings and videos.  Google Purdue OWL for APA support if you need it.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated. | | | |---|---| |Writing Rubric| | |Criteria|Ratings|| |Purpose and Narrative Flow|\| \| \| \| \|<br>\|---\|---\|---\|---\|<br>\|Demonstrates athorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose. Consistent line of reasoning and organization<br><br>20.0 pts\|Demonstrates adequate consideration of context, audience, and purpose.Generally clear narrative flow.<br><br>17 pts\|Demonstrates awareness of context, audience, and purpose.Uneven line of reasoning/organization.<br><br>15 pts\|Demonstrates minimal attention to context, audience, and purpose snd/or Difficult to follow line of reasoning and organization.<br><br>13 pts\||| |Content Mastery|\| \| \| \| \|<br>\|---\|---\|---\|---\|<br>\|Uses appropriate, relevant, compelling content to illustrate mastery of the subject, conveying the writer's understanding throughout the whole work.<br><br>20.0 pts\|Uses appropriate, relevant,compelling content to develop ideaswithin the contextthroughout the whole work.<br><br>17 pts\|Uses appropriate,relevant content to explore ideas through most of the work.<br><br>15 pts\|Uses appropriate content to develop simple ideas in some parts of the work.<br><br>13  pts\||| |Sources and Evidence|\| \| \| \| \|<br>\|---\|---\|---\|---\|<br>\|Demonstrates skillful use of high-quality, credible, relevant sources to develop and justify ideas that are appropriate for the writing. APA consistent use of citations and references to support claims.<br><br>20.0 pts\|Demonstrates consistent use of credible, relevant sources to support ideas in the writing.Generally adequate use of APA style references and citations.<br><br>17 pts\|Demonstrates an attempt to use credible/relevant sources to support ideas in the writing. Inconsistent or inaccurate formatting of references and/or citations.<br><br>15 pts\|Demonstrates an attempt to use sources to support ideas in the writing.  Many unsupported claims.  Minimal or no use of APA style citations and/or references.<br><br>13 pts\|| |Control of <br><br>Syntax and Mechanics|\| \| \| \| \|<br>\|---\|---\|---\|---\|<br>\|Uses graceful language that skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency, and is virtually error-free.<br><br>20.0 pts\|Uses straight-forward language that generally conveys meaning to readers. The language has few errors.<br><br>17 pts\|Uses language that generally conveys meaning to readers with clarity, although writing may include some errors.<br><br>15 pts\|Uses language that sometimes impedesmeaning because of errors in usage.<br><br>13 pts\|| |||| |Assignment Requirements|\| \| \| \| \|<br>\|---\|---\|---\|---\|<br>\|Meets and exceeds all requirements for the specific assignment.<br><br>20.0 pts\|Meets all requirements for the specific assignment.<br><br>17 pts\|Meets most of the requirements for the specific assignment.<br><br>15 pts\|Missing at least two of the requirements for the specific assignment<br><br>13 pts.\||| |||| || | Course Schedule - Subject to changes  Date​​Topic​​​​Assignments /Readings ​ 1/16​​Intro to Course ​​​Dalton & Watson, (1987) pg, 154-174​ What is Character?​​Shields (2011) ​ Assignment Overview​​Lickona book CH 4 ​​​ ​​​​​​ 1/23 ​​How character develops​Damon and Colby, Motivation & Learning CH 3​ ​​​​​​Berkowitz – Moral and Character Education ​ ​​ 1/30​​What is character educ?​Jubilee Framework ​​​​​​Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Framework ​​​​​​Lickona powerpoint​ ​​​​​​Berkowitz (2021) CH 1-3 CASEL framework 2/6​​PRIMED​​​Berkowitz, (2021), Chapter 4 ​​​​​​​​​​ 2/13​​11 Principles of C.E.​​Johnston chapter ​​​​​​The 11 Principles Framework ​​​​​​Berkowitz et al. (2020) ​​ 2/20​​P. - Prioritization​​Berkowitz (2021), CH 5 (6-9 optional) ​​​​​​Lickona CH 1-2 ​​​​​​Berkowitz live and animated videos​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​ 2/27​​P. – Role of Leadership​​Berkowitz, (2021) CH 10​ ​​​​ 3/5​​R. - Relationships​​ ​​​​​​Berkowitz (2021), Chapters, 11-13 ​​​​​​Lickona CH 5  Duckworth article on relationships ​ 3/12 [MWB in Boston]​​R – Role of ​Bryk & Schneider – Trust in Schools leadership/Trust/Adult Culture​Tschannen-Moran (2004) CH 1-2​​ ​​​​Lickona book CH 17 3/19​​SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS MEETING ​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 3/26​​I. - Intrinsic Motivation​​Kohn (see module overview for URL)​ Lickona CH 7, 12 Berkowitz (2021) CH 14-16               ​​​​​ 4/2​​M. - Modeling ​​​Lickona, CH 5(review)) ​​​​​​Berkowitz (2021) CH 17-18 Bell (1995) ​​​​​​Giraffe website: [www.giraffe.org](http://www.giraffe.org/) ​​​​​​ 4/9​​E. - Empowerment​​Lickona, CH 8 ​​​​Berkowitz (2021) CH 19-20 ​​​​​​​​​ 4/16​​E- Role of leadership ​​Berkowitz, Pelster & Johnston - Leading in the Middle ​​Servant Leadership​​Berkowitz, Leading Schools of Character ​​​​​​Bier (2021) on servant leadership ​​​​​​Character Ed Implementation Paper Due 4/23MWB in AL​D- Developmental Pedagogy​Berkowitz (2021) CH 21-22 ​​​​Lickona book CH 10, 11, 15 ​​​​​​ 4/30​​Putting it all together​​Berkowitz (2021) CH 23​​​ ​ ​ We want our learning environment to be honest and fair. The assessments in our course provide you with an opportunity to showcase what you know and learn from what you may not yet have mastered. When you submit work with your name on it, this is a written statement that credit for the work belongs to you alone. If the work was a product of collaboration (such as a group project), each student is expected to clearly acknowledge in writing all persons who contributed to its completion. Each assignment and exam in our course will include clear guidelines about the rules around each assessment including what materials are appropriate to use. It is always required that the work you submit is your own, uses proper citation, avoids collusion or falsification. If you have a question about an assignment, do not hesitate to contact me for clarification. You are responsible for being attentive to and observant of University policies about academic honesty as stated in the [University’s Campus Policies](http://www.umsl.edu/services/academic/policy/academic-dishonesty.html) and [Code of Student Conduct](http://bulletin.umsl.edu/studentconduct/) found in the UMSL Bulletin.