| Course Code | Name | Course Description |
| IL7000-8 | The Culture of Learning | Skillful instructional leaders occupy many jobs within educational organizations. These jobs include principals, district administrators, teacher leaders, staff support, community organizers, and parents and students who accept leadership responsibilities. Anyone responsible for creating a culture of learning engages in instructional leadership tasks. Effective instructional leaders must be able to articulate essential links between instructional tasks, student learning, and organizational goals. In this course, doctoral Learners will explore myriad ways to engage these instructional domains. Through course activities, Learners will engage topics including technology integration, philosophically sound curriculum decision-making, visionary leadership traits, and curriculum management. |
| EDU8002-8 | Educational Research Methodology | This Doctoral level course provides learners with an overview of the research process, and an opportunity to learn about educational research methodology and the components of a dissertation. The course will also provide the learner with the opportunity to identify and develop a research topic, define a research problem, describe the purpose of the research study, and establish associated research question(s). The learner will prepare a Topic Paper and a preliminary annotated bibliography for the dissertation topic in the Signature Assignment. |
| IL7001-8 | Leader as Advocate and Decision Maker | Instructional leaders are at the pinnacle of decision-making in any organization. Typically, decisions filter down through the ranks until outcomes reach and impact stakeholders. Decision-making requires careful consideration of the overlapping spheres of influence at work in educational organizations. It is essential that instructional leaders have a deep understanding of promoting vision and mission for the organization to meet its goals. One of the most important facets of this is when the leader acts as an educational advocate. Advocates promote positive leadership and learning and focus on effective core values, beliefs, and purpose of the educational endeavor. In this course, doctoral Learners will engage the complex decision-making concepts and processes while reflecting on staff development and instructional supervision. |
| EDU8003-8 | Statistics I | This course provides an introductory exploration of statistics for the graduate Learner. It includes instruction on the calculation, use, and interpretation of descriptive statistics, and introduces inferential statistical analysis. The emphasis of this course is on providing a working knowledge of basic statistical concepts to help the Learner understand statistical methodology used in education, and also more generally, developing a working knowledge of statistical usage in everyday life. |
| IL7002-8 | Leader as Community Advocate | Instructional leaders must forge relationships with stakeholders in the community to build effective learning organizations. This is an era of heightened accountability and leaders need to be as transparent as possible with operational aspects of the school to allow community members to understand the intricacies of managing education organizations. In this course, doctoral Learners will develop the skills to seamlessly engage stakeholders in partnerships to enhance educational operations at all levels. The Learner will develop knowledge of professional learning communities and ways to stimulate community leadership. |
| EDU8202-8 | Research Design | In this course, the Learner acquires the basic skills necessary for the interpretation and application of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. The Learner will examine the formal research process carefully, with an emphasis on practical applications and skill development. Critical concepts and principles intrinsic to research paradigms, study designs, and methods of inquiry are presented to empower the Learner’s ability to formulate and respond to research questions. The resources listed below from the Northcentral University Dissertation Center are critical resources throughout the whole research process – learners are highly encouraged to become deeply familiar with the resources from the Northcentral University Dissertation Center. |
| EDU8005-8 | Qualitative Research Design | This course is an examination of qualitative methods for studying human behavior including grounded theory, narrative analysis, ethnography, mixed methods, and case studies. |
| CT7000-8 | Developing Instructional Strategies and Curriculum | In Developing Instructional Strategies and Curriculum, Learners will contrast and analyze instructional strategies based on a framework of architectural principles. Learners will integrate and implement curriculum theories and models that can include differentiated instruction and the infusion of technology. Curriculum standards, requirements, issues, and trends will be evaluated for the production and promotion of recommendations for effective change. |
| EDU8006-8 | Statistics II | This course is an intermediate examination of statistical analyses commonly used for research in education. It prepares the doctoral student with the skills required to plan, conduct (using SPSS), report, and interpret quantitative statistical analyses. Topics include: basic statistical knowledge, probability theory, exploratory date analysis, assumptions for statistical tests, parametric and nonparametric tests. Specific analyses include: correlation, regression (simple, multiple, and logistic), basic ANOVA and advanced ANOVA techniques. |
| CT7007-8 | Leadership for Student Achievement | Leadership for Student Achievement provides doctoral learners with learning opportunities to maximize student achievement; major instructional models are compared and evaluated so as to enable a positive, supportive classroom environment. The diverse needs of learners and their learning styles are assessed and possible pro-active changes are suggested using reflective practices and the insights of differentiated instruction. Student discipline patterns and discipline management techniques are analyzed and evaluated to minimize disruptive behavior and increase learning. Doctoral learners will examine and appraise research-based instructional strategies for effective classroom management. Action research plans that will explore classroom self-selected management topics will be expected. |
| EDU8007-8 | Quantitative Research Design | This course provides Learners with the skills essential for designing experimental, quasi-experiment, and survey studies; analyzing the data collected in these studies, and interpreting the results of data analyses. Learners will explore designs and statistical techniques to use with their envisioned dissertation research. |
| ED7014-8 | Practices in School Organization | School organizations serve as models of effective teaching and successful student engagement and learning. In this course, the doctoral learner will examine the organizational structure of schools and school systems and their relationships to and effects on school programs, teaching strategies, testing and measurement, and evaluation of programs in schools. The learner will consider the way schools are organized about time, space, and other resources. Organizational dynamics will be explored and there will be an opportunity to engage operational factors that influence the school climate including human resources, organizational outreach, and capacity. Finally, the learner will explore stakeholder participation in organizational practice. |
| EDU8207-8 | Planning Dissertation Research in Education | Students in this course will begin the process of writing a dissertation for a research or professional doctorate. The course will address the University dissertation process and aids to successfully complete a dissertation, including self-care and time management. |
