Electronic Evidence IV – Traditional Dissertation

Advanced candidates in the Ed.D. Program will have an opportunity to practice many of the theoretical skills in leadership, communication, and research applications during the three-credit hour internship EDU 7300:  Practices in Executive Leadership, which occurs during Year 3.  This experience will provide applications of the practices of educational leadership and allow candidates to demonstrate their ability to consult with other professionals regarding a leadership problem identified in literature.  This effort will be grounded in strong research as a scholar and in dialogue with others as a scholarly practitioner.   One product that the candidate is expected to generate during the internship is a log of activities that demonstrate practical application of the candidate’s: (1) strategic planning skills, (2) use of data to impact teaching and learning, (3) ability to build and use relationships toward the same end, and  (4) the ability to successfully apply theory to practice.  Two video segments of leading a team are also expected.  The rubric listed below for KEY EVIDENCE #4 will be applied during the candidate’s traditional dissertation proposal presentation, as part of enrollment in EDU 8300.

Directions to Candidate and Requirements
During EDU 7300, the candidate will engage in a series of tasks which are designed to prepare the candidate to write and present a traditional dissertation proposal, Chapters 1 and 2, to present to the university doctoral committee (UDC).

1. The candidate will engage in designing a comprehensive literature review focused on current and significant educational issues in conjunction with his or her chosen topic.
2. In order to receive reaction and feedback, the candidate will convene a group of key people to share the synthesis of findings in literature. One or more video clips of these convening’s may be submitted to the internship coordinator.
3. In his or her activity log, the candidate will write his or her reflections of the conversations at convening’s and findings in literature as they pertain to the context of where he or she works and the setting of the proposed study.
4. In his or her activity log, the candidate will address challenges and arguments found in research, as well as how research is linked to strategies and processes in practice.
5. In his or her activity log, the candidate will address relationships formed in the process of designing a study to strengthen the discipline of educational leadership.
6. In his or her activity log, the candidate will provide evidence of dialogue with various district (or site-based) leaders and stakeholders about leading researchers and seminal studies related to his or her topic of study.
7. In his or her activity log, the candidate provides evidence of working with others to gather feedback to apply in strengthening the current literature review and planning appropriate methods for the study.
8. The internship coordinator will assess the internship activity log to determine the candidate’s level of performance related to tasks as stated in 1-7 above. The candidate will receive credit (CR) for the internship based on 150 hours of work and evidence of proficient or accomplished performances in the field. On the evaluation form, each candidate must reach a score of 3 or 4 as part of the requirements for CR for EDU 7300.

Evaluation
The internship supervisor will mentor the candidate during this process and will provide the final summative evaluation of the candidate’s ability to “work with others” in the field as he/she collaborated to create the comprehensive literature review. The summative evaluation score will be used on the evidence rubric for element 5.