Course Syllabus

 UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

HIED/ITEC 5090

MASTERS CAPSTONE

Online Course

SPRING 2019

Instructor Contact and Information:

Igor Akpovo, Ph.D.
Phone: 307-460-8457
Email: cakpovo@uwyo.edu

Virtual Office Hours: By Appointment. If needed, I will connect by phone or Zoom (https://zoom.us). If you need to visit with me, please contact me via email to schedule a convenient time to meet.

Prerequisites

This course is reserved for those students who have completed or are concurrently completing course work for the Higher Education Administration or Learning, Design, and Technology Master’s degree programs.

Course Description

The Capstone class provides exposure to situations students will likely encounter professionally. It establishes a forum where students apply and refine theories, principles, and skills learned during their program. Students examine and critique current scholarship and document general and degree specific competencies.

Course Goals

The Capstone course is the final core course requirement for the Plan B option of the School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy, and Design masters programs. It is designed to accomplish four goals:

1. Provide a forum where students apply theories, principles, and skills learned in core and elective courses to the kinds of situations they may encounter in professional practice
2. Provide a vehicle to document the successful completion of general and degree specific competencies in the College of Education
3. Provide opportunities to examine and critique current, field-appropriate scholarship
4. Complete the requirements of the Plan B process.

 Disability Statement

“The University of Wyoming is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and institution and does not discriminate on the basis of…individual handicap” (UW General Bulletin, 2008, p. 3). If you have a physical, learning, or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let your instructor know as soon as possible. You must register with, and provide documentation of your disability to University Disability Support Services (UDSS) at 307-766-6189 or TTY: 766-3073, in SEO room 330 Knight Hall.

Diversity Statement

The University of Wyoming values an educational environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The diversity that students and faculty bring to class, including age, country of origin, culture, disability, economic class, ethnicity, gender identity, immigration status, linguistic, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, worldview, and other social and cultural diversity is valued, respected, and considered a resource for learning.

Title IX Statement

Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment, rape, and sexual assault.  A college or university that receives federal funds may be held legally responsible when it knows about and ignores sexual harassment or assault in its programs or activities.

Required Texts

There are two required texts for this course (although books and materials from previous courses will be essential).

Ertmer, P. A., Quinn, J., & Glazewski, K. D. (2014). The ID casebook: Case studies in instructional design (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ISBN: 0-13-325825-4

American Psychology Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th revised ed.). Washington, DC: Author.  ISBN – 10: 1-4338-0561-8 

Course Overview

The underlying premise of this course is that successful professional practice requires an integration of theories, principles, and skills in the application of strategies and decisions. Prior core and elective courses were intended to provide grounding in appropriate theories, principles and skills. The Capstone provides an opportunity to integrate and apply this learning by developing strategies and decisions regarding specific cases and current scholarship. Thus, this course is structured around applicable case studies and recent research. Students will participate in a variety of activities organized around problems and research that have been drawn from the spectrum of subjects that define their field. Student participation involves interaction with others, presentations of analysis, strategy, and decisions, and written reports.

Student performance is evaluated by reference to the following criteria:

1. Development of a concise, professional, and clearly documented electronic portfolio
2. Skill in identifying relevant information of presented situations, devising strategies for addressing the situations, and assessing the likely consequences of proposed strategies and decisions
3. Skill in analyzing and evaluating current research in the field
4. Mastery of current APA publication guidelines

Course Delivery

This course is delivered via asynchronous online systems and tools. 

Interactions with instructor and peers will primarily take place on the course shell. As with other courses, there is a general Q&A discussion board. Questions associated with course structure, assignment clarification, and other broad topics that will benefit all students should be posted in this discussion board. There are also discussion boards associated with each module. Links to appropriate discussions are located in each module. 

The course is structured around various modules. The overview page for each module describes all expectations and activities associated with that module. Be sure to read this overview because it may describe readings that are not found in other pages.

Expectations:

• I consider all of you professionals and will make every attempt to respect your commitment to continued learning. Feel free to share with me any concerns regarding your learning if those concerns present a genuine barrier to your academic success.  This is a graduate level course; thus, it is assumed that you are capable of working at a graduate level and have developed academic skills needed to be successful; i.e., the ability to read, write, participate and communicate critically.  It is also assumed that you can access information and analyze it critically and responsibly.  Finally, it is assumed that you are capable of directing your own learning, can manage time, and can motivate yourselves to engage in the reading materials and discussing course content online.  I also expect assignments and activities to be submitted on or before due dates.
• Online learning requires a high level of initiative, responsibility, dedication, and self-discipline.In order to succeed in this course, members of the class also need to regularly check all messages, submit assignments on or before due dates and times, participate weekly, understand the syllabus, and regularly check for announcements posted in the course. If you have any questions, discuss the matter with me immediately so I can assist you.
• Read ahead and think ahead.  I anticipate your active participation including reading, engaging in threaded discussions and individual projects, pursuing course goals, and completing and submitting assignments on due or before dates and times.
• The most predictable breakdown occurs whenever participants are late in reading, posting their responses and submitting assignments.  This is often the result of business trips, illnesses, overload, and computer glitches.  E-mail me as soon as possible if a situation arises that will affect a due date or your learning and your peers’.  Once again, I expect weekly involvement and proof of participation.

APA Formatting

APA is the writing format adopted by the College of Education, and I expect you to know current APA guidelines and use the manual to properly organize papers, presentations, and eportfolios. Writing quality is very important in this course because it reflects on your professional development.

Course Assignments

This section provides a brief overview of assignments associated with the course. For additional details, refer to the assignments section of the course shell.

Participation.

 Because of the case-study approach of this course, active individual and group participation is essential. Each student must demonstrate verbal and written communication skills in a variety of forums. Lack of participation during the course will substantially limit your ability to demonstrate those skills. Every effort must be made to be proactive in posting, reading, and collaborating if you wish to do well in the course. I expect you to post a minimum of 3 times each week (each on separate days) in addition to participating in other module activities where applicable. Failure to meet these requirements will result in points being deducted. For most threaded discussions, your initial post is due by Wednesday at 11:59 pm. MST, and the other two on Friday at midnight MST.

Case studies. 

You will be assessed in case study discussion threads. Within these threads, you will react to assigned case studies that will help you prepare for a written case study in your Capstone Defense. Case studies will be evaluated in terms of their general acceptability before a Plan B faculty committee. "General acceptability" cannot guarantee successful performance at the examination, but the intent is to improve performance regarding critique and communication.

Profile introductions. In this assignment, you will create or update your profile in Canvas. Introduce yourself, include a recent, easily identifiable, close-up picture of yourself as well as a long-term email address that is unaffiliated with the University of Wyoming (for alumni purposes). Then examine others’ profiles in the course and provide comments on their introductions.

Electronic portfolio. You will continue developing an electronic portfolio (eportfolio) to demonstrate your understanding and competency in the program pillars of the Higher Education Administration and Learning, Design, and Technology programs. This eportfolio will become a part of your capstone defense near the end of the semester. Three assignments are associated with eportfolio development. In the first assignment, you will create your eportfolio shell, link it to your profile, and identify goals that you will/have worked on during your program. In the second assignment, you develop an introduction, resume, learning philosophy and course timeline. In the third assignment, you will document goals and milestones accomplished during the program, align them to learner outcomes, and select artifacts to represent your accomplishments.

Personal and program evaluation. You will write a paper reflecting on your ability to attain personal goals during the program. You will also reflect on strengths and limitations of the program. 

Grading Policy
The capstone course is graded as satisfactory/unsatisfactory. Students who receive 80-100% of the total points in the course will receive a satisfactory grade. Students who receive below 80% of the points will receive an unsatisfactory grade. All coursework will be graded by your instructor using the point system below.  

 

Assignments	Value
Profile Introductions	10 Points
Portfolio Template and Summaries	20 Points
Portfolio Introduction	15 Points
Portfolio Goals and Milestones	20 Points
Defense Case Study	60 Points
Personal and Program Evaluations	10 Points
Discussions	25 (5 points each)
Case Studies
Denny Clifford Stakeholder analysis	5 Points
Pat Kelsoe Consequences	5 Points
Pat Kelsoe Action Plan	10 Points
Franck Tawl Action Plan and Consequences	5 Points
TOTAL	185 points

 

Late Work

Assignment due dates are posted on the course shell. Because this course moves quickly to prepare you for the capstone defense, it is imperative that these deadlines be kept. I will not allow make-up work for lack of course participation. I am happy to provide opportunities to make up work for course assignments if you've been in touch with me and alerted me to problems. However, make-up work may not be awarded full credit. If you anticipate a legitimate absence or encounter an unavoidable situation, contact your instructor before the assignment is due to discuss alternative arrangements. The final decision is up to your instructor.  Additionally, all make-up work must be resubmitted not later than a week after receiving the option. 

Attendance and Absence policies.

As this is an online course, attendance relates primarily to weekly participation in the discussions.  Absences from weekly participation and discussion moderation will negatively impact your grades for these assignments.

Capstone Defense

Near the beginning of the semester, you will be assigned a Plan B committee (generally consisting of your adviser, a department/program representative, and a faculty member outside the department). Your defense will occur on April 5, 2019. Two weeks prior to the defense, you will submit your case study and electronic portfolio to your committee. 

Your defense is graded by your Plan B committee. Performance in your defense will not affect your grade in this course. Additionally, success in this course does not guarantee success in your defense. For more details on the defense, see the defense module in the course shell.

Academic Dishonesty Policies: 

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class.  Cases of academic dishonesty will be treated in accordance with UW Regulation 2-114.  The penalties for academic dishonesty can include, at my discretion, an “F” on an exam, an “F” on the class component exercise, and/or an “F” in the entire course.  Academic dishonesty means anything that represents someone else’s ideas as your own without attribution.  It is intellectual theft – stealing - and includes (but is not limited to) unapproved assistance on examinations, plagiarism (use of any amount of another person’s writings, blog posts, publications, and other materials without attributing that material to that person with citations), or fabrication of referenced information.  Facilitation of another person’s academic dishonesty is also considered academic dishonesty and will be treated identically.

Changes may be made, with advance notice, to the syllabus as the course proceeds.  If necessary, these changes will be communicated in writing to the students

Course Summary:

 

 

 

Date	Assignments Due
Feb 1, 2019	Profile Introduction
Feb 6, 2019	Portfolio Template and Goal Summaries
Feb 8, 2019	Portfolio Introduction
Feb 15, 2019	Portfolio Goals and Milestones
Feb 20, 2019	Denny Clifford Stakeholder Analysis
Feb 27, 2019	Eportfolio Goals: First Review Pat Kelsoe Action Plan
Mar 20, 2019	ePortfolio Goals
Mar 6, 2019	Frank Tawl action plan and consequences Pat Kelsoe Consequences
Wed Mar 20, 2019	Case Study due to Instructor
Fri Mar 22, 2019	Case Study due to committee members
Fri Mar 23, 2019	Portfolio Peer Review
Fri Apr 5, 2019	Capstone Defense
Sun Apr 22, 2018	Personal and Program Evaluation