ECTE 655

Quality Improvement Practices

 

Instructor:                             Katherine (Kitty) Manley. Professor

Office Address:                    School of Education and Human Services

                                                627  Bishop Hall

 Phone:                                   (231) 591-2726 (office)  (231) 591-2041 (office FAX)

E-Mail:                                   drkittyfsu@yahoo.com

Home Page:                           http://www.netonecom.net/~manleyk

                                               

Course Description:  Explore the various quality improvement practices of Baldrige award winning educational institutions.  The course will provide opportunities to study formal and informal educational leadership systems and support structures for addressing key communities.  Examine similarities, differences and trends in key aspects of process management, including learning-focused education design, education delivery, school services and operations as well as how key processes are designed, implemented, managed and improved to achieve better performance.

 

Textbook

 

There is a coursepack for this course—no textbook.

 

There are six topics for this course and the objectives link to each topic:

(1)           to evaluate different leadership systems of Baldrige winning companies and educational institutions

(2)           to describe leadership systems and how leaders guide setting directions and in developing and sustaining effective leadership throughout the organization

(3)           to describe a school’s responsibility to the public and how a school can practice good citizenship

(4)           to describe how quality learning-focused programs and offerings are designed, implemented and improved;

(5)           to describe how quality education delivery processes are designed, implemented, managed and improved

(6)           to describe how quality support processes are designed, implemented, managed and improved

 

The course is divided into six units:

 

Unit 1:    Leadership Systems

Unit 2:   Leader’s Role

Unit 3:  Schools as Citizens

Unit 4:  Quality Learning

Unit 5:    Quality Delivery Processes

Unit 6:    Quality Support Processes

 

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:    There are nine required assignments

 

Evaluation/Grade

 

Participation in regularly scheduled class discussion regarding the course tasks is important to the seminar learning format.  The completion of an assignment does not assure receiving the grade point as assigned to the project.  The quality of work will be a primary consideration.

 

 

A grade up to a B can be achieved by satisfactorily completing these five REQUIRED assignments:

 

Assignment

Directions

Assignment 1

Read a series of articles and respond to the questions presented in the assignment

Assignment 2

Individually complete a Zero-Based Job Analysis Questionnaire

Assignment 3

For a real or fictitious school, write (1) a mission statement, (2) a set of vision statements, and (3) a set of value statements.

Assignment 4

This is a three part assignment on the Balanced Scorecard.  Part I, answer the questions in the table.  Part II, provide five useful things schools/training department could benefit from that you found from reading about the Balanced Scorecard.  Part III, create a balanced scorecard for the mission, vision, value statements you created in Assignment 3. 

Assignment 5

View a video tape and make a list of 10 strategies/ideas from the tape that could improve the quality of what we do in education and training.  Bring sufficient copies of your list to class so that every student can have a copy of your list.

Assignment 6

Select a leader from a list provided by the instructor.  Using a list of 9 characteristics of leaders, for the leader you have, select three of these characteristics and provide an example of when your leader demonstrated this characteristic. 

Assignment 7

You must research the literature and complete ten “Sharing Best Practices Worksheets”.

Assignment 8

Select a high yield strategy related to the Baldrige items discussed in this course.  Research the strategy and provide a written report.

Assignment 9

Individually perform a Baldrige examiners assessment for a case study on Items 1.2, 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3

 

 

A grade up to a B+ can be achieved by meeting the criteria for a B and one of the following

           

Assignment

Directions

Assignment 10

Complete a Leadership Audit on the internet. Write a two page report that contains (1) your major leadership strengths identified by the survey; (2) the major weaknesses you identified, and (3) a recommended action plan you might consider for improving.

Assignment 11

Supervisory Styles and Procedures--Respond to questions regarding a former or current supervisor

Assignment 12

Conduct a School Climate Audit

           

           

A grade up to an A- can be achieved by meeting the criteria for a B+ and one of the following

 

Assignment

Directions

Assignment 13

Submit five journal articles related to one of the units covered in this course. (See sample)

Assignment 14

Select a book from the Bibliography and write a book report.

Assignment 15

Write a five page paper on one of the units covered in this course.

                       

 

A grade up to an A can be achieved by meeting the criteria for an A- and one of the following:

 

Assignment

Directions

Assignment 16

Create a Personal Plan

Assign 13, 14, 15

Complete one of the assignments for an A-.  This CANNOT be the same assignment you submitted  for the A- grade.  Therefore, if you did Assignment 13 for the A-, you must do Assignment 14 or 15 or the A grade.