FAQs Regarding ELPS 600 and ELPS 688
Beginning with the new cohorts and newly enrolled on-campus students, for Fall 2008, all students in the Masters and/or Tier 1 ELPS Program for Educational Administration must take ELPS 600. There will no longer be waivers for ELPS 600 for students who enter the program beginning in Fall 2008.
If you are in a cohort, the schedule for all courses in your program is created for you and ELPS 600 will be included in that schedule. For other candidates not in a cohort, ELPS 600 should be taken sometime prior to ELPS 688 (Fieldwork). Under all circumstances you should take ELPS 600 prior to taking fieldwork(ELPS 688).
The signature assignment for ELPS 600 is an action research proposal. This proposal will be planned and written during ELPS 600, then implemented (data collected and analyzed) during ELPS 688 as part of the Action Research Leadership Project (ARLP) which is a major component of your fieldwork portfolio. Your instructors will assure a consistent connection between the work conducted in ELP 600 and the work completed in ELPS 688.
A good topic is a problem or challenge at your school or district that you are interested in and that is related to student improving student achievement and that will give you a chance to practice leadership skills in addressing the problem. Your ELPS 600 instructor will help you develop this topic into a set of researchable questions with an appropriate sample, research methods, and design.. You should also make sure early in this process that your principal or site supervisor will approve your proposal as an ARLP for implementation in fieldwork.
You may begin working on your ARLP after your proposal has been finalized for ELPS 600 and your principal or site supervisor has approved your project for implementation. Even though the projectÕs final write up is not due until the portfolio for fieldwork is due in ELPS 688, it is advisable to begin planning and meeting with involved staff prior to enrollment in the fieldwork course. Your ELPS 688 instructor will provide guidance but expects that you will have a plan for the ARLP that you are ready to implement. Otherwise you may not have enough time to collect data and analyze your findings prior to submitting your ELPS 688 portfolio.
Your ELPS 688 fieldwork instructor (ELPS faculty member) and site supervisor (principal or administrator with whom you are working on your project) should approve your ARLP for fieldwork shortly after your fieldwork orientation meeting. The ELPS 688 Fieldwork orientation meeting will occur after completion of your ELPS 600 class so that you will have a finalized proposal to present at that meeting. Fieldwork orientation generally takes place within the first two weeks of the semester you are enrolled. Your ELPS 600 instructor will have helped you shape a proposal which should be discussed with your site supervisor when your supervisor signs off on your Fieldwork Application.
The proposal is a requirement for ELPS 600 and must meet the requirements for good action research as well as other elements required for the assignment including a literature review or summary, a research question and sub questions, a research plan, a strategy for collecting data, a discussion of implications for your action research, a discussion of instruments to be used for collecting data, and a bibliography. This proposal is the framework for your ARLP. The ARLP is what you will subsequently implement in ELPS 688: a combination of collecting/analyzing data, creating an action plan, plus implementing and monitoring key action steps that give you practice in leadership skills. When written up for the ELPS 688 portfolio the ARLP includes the rationale and needs assessment, the action plan for implementation (which includes your role in leading the project), and an analysis of findings with recommendations for any further cycles of implementation.*
The log which you maintain for ELPS 688 Fieldwork should reflect a minimum 60 hours of time that you have documented in planning, leading, implementing, and analyzing evidence for your ARLP.
No, the key to the ARLP is the ability to document your experience and what you learned as a potential administrator. In one cycle of implementation it is unlikely that you will have conclusive evidence regarding the effectiveness of your project in improving student achievement under any circumstances.
You should make every effort to seek the approval of the new administrator for implementing your proposal. If the administrator does not approve, then working with your fieldwork instructor, you will have to modify your plan or develop a new plan for your ARLP. However, you should utilize what you learned in ELPS 600 when considering gathering feedback and evidence for implementation in the new plan (utilizing surveys, focus groups, review of literature, ethical considerations). If you change assignments between ELPS 600 and ELPS 688, you should discuss a project with your new administrator (site supervisor) and your ELPS 688 instructor that relates to your new assignment and has the potential to improve student achievement.
Your project needs to involve more than just the pupils in your classroom if you are a teacher. Therefore, working with one or more colleagues at an elementary grade level or secondary department, with special populations or school-wide is advised. In order to show your growth in leadership, you need to be able to meet with a team of teachers and professionals to discuss implementation, give feedback on data, and analyze results. The minimum number of classrooms impacted would be two and the minimum number of students depends on the school, program, and grade level. For Special Education Programs or grades K-3, the minimum number of pupils will be less than for other grade levels or programs but should always target more than one classroom. For an after school intervention program, there should be more than 20 pupils targeted by the program.
Your site supervisor is a school district administrator who oversees your work and who previously has agreed to supervise and evaluate your field work experience by signing the Fieldwork Application form . The site supervisor is usually the principal at a school site. In a district office, the site supervisor will be the administrator in charge of that office who may have the title of Director, Coordinator, Specialist or Assistant Superintendent. The ELPS 688 fieldwork instructor is a member of the ELPS Department at CSUN who meets with you, monitors and supports your progress, evaluates your portfolio, and assigns your grade (credit/no credit).
The ARLP is the responsibility of each student. Only in the event of a large project with a clear separation of responsibilities would it be possible for two ELPS students to collaborate. For example, it might be possible to separate responsibilities for an after school intervention for over 100 students where there was a separation of responsibilities for grade levels (K-3, 4-5) or content areas (literacy, mathematics). Each ELPS student, however, would have to write up
separately both the proposal and the ARLP description and analysis even though there might be some overlap in responsibility.
One of the reasons for incorporating the preparation of an Action Research Proposal into the ELPS 600 course is to provide sufficient time for planning, implementing, analyzing, and reflecting upon evidence from the ARLP. However, in the event of illness, family emergency, or other extenuating circumstances, students may apply for an Incomplete if the ARLP and/or portfolio are not completed in time.
University policy requires the completed work to be submitted within one calendar year. Failure to do so will result in a permanent incomplete which is a no credit mark.
16. How should I organize the
write up of my Action Research Leadership Project?
The ELPS 688 portfolio section for the ARLP should include the following:
1. Action Research Proposal submitted in ELPS 600.
2. A log showing time and tasks completed related to the ARLP.
(minimum 60 hours)
3. A narrative that includes:
a. A rationale or needs assessment that identified why the project is
important for the targeted students.
b. An action plan that includes the leadership tasks undertaken as well
as data collection procedures.
c. An analysis of data collected that includes possible explanations for
that might account for results obtained.
d. A reflection that includes recommendations for any further cycles of
implementation based upon evidence collected as well as any
insights or learning that would guide your work as an administrator
in the future.
This narrative write-up (not including the log and Appendix with
sample data and artifacts) should be 8 to 12 pages prepared as a Word
document and double spaced.
4. An Appendix that includes examples of data and artifacts that are
representative of tools developed and evidence collected by the student
and used to implement and evaluate the project (e.g., meeting agendas,
field notes and observations, tape logs from interviews, memos,
questionnaires, interview protocols, and survey results). The Appendix
should not exceed 15 pages.
17. When can I begin to develop
my ELPS 688 portfolio?
Effective with enrollment in the Preliminary Administrative Services
Credential(Tier 1) and the Masters in Educational Administration you may begin
to complete some of the assignments required as part of the ELPS 688 portfolio
(you should not begin the ARLP until after ELPS 600 and the approval of your
ELPS 688 supervisor, however). Please review the Portfolio Rubric for required
assignments on the ELPS Webpage. These requirements become effective starting
with the Fall Semester 2008.
*Please note that the Action Research Proposal, in ELPS 600, and the Action Research Leadership Project, in ELPS 688, are not the only course requirements for the respective courses. Students in ELPS 600 will receive a course syllabus with specific assignments. In ELPS 688 you will be given guidelines and a portfolio rubric (available on the ELPS website also) for all items required in the portfolio.