EDL 297A Topics in Leadership: The Leadership Challenge

Course Syllabus
Section 19 (1 credits/graded)
Thursday, 10 am – 10:50 am
Psychology 307

Instructor: Office number: 520-626-5646

Elizabeth Nguyen Office location: Student Engagement and
Graduate Assistant, Leadership Programs Career Development 411 (4th floor of the
elizabethnguyen@email.arizona.edu Student Union Memorial Center)
Office hours: Wednesday, 10 am – 12 pm

Course Overview:
Today’s world demands a new level of professional preparation and social engagement from college
graduates. They face a competitive job market, pressing societal problems, and unparalleled
opportunities. This course is designed to introduce students to being a leader in our society.

Major Purposes:
• To understand and be able to personally apply the 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership
• To gain a deeper understanding of their strengths, personal mission, values, and skills as a
leader
• To value the importance of engaging in socially just leadership
• To participate in a community engaged learning project
• To learn what it means to be an engaged community leader
• To enhance their ability to work in teams through activities, exercises, case studies, and
discussions

Course Objective:
Using class lecture, presentation, discussion, interactive activities, assignments, and projects, students
will be able to:
• Create a resume
• Develop a robust LinkedIn profile
• Analyze upon their 5 Strengths as an individual and a leader
• Reflect upon their 5 Strengths as an individual and a leader
• Establish a relationship with a non-profit organization
• Identify the value of volunteerism
• Recognize the 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership
• Apply the 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership
• Evaluate the importance of leadership in everyday life
• Develop an engagement plan

Course Prerequisites:
No course prerequisite is required.

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Required Course Materials:
• Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2014). The student leadership challenge: 5 Practices for becoming an exemplary
leader. San Francisco, CA: Wiley
o Found in UA Bookstore
o Found online through the UA Library
• StrengthQuest Online Access Code from Gallup, Inc.
o Found in UA Bookstore
o Found online through Clifton (but recommended to go through the UA Bookstore
because it is easier)

Required Internet Access:

• https://d2l.arizona.edu/

Required Outside-of-Class-Time Activities:

• Volunteer with a non-profit of choice as a service-learning project for a total of 4 hours over
the course of the semester
• One event attendance of your choice of the following for a total of 2 hours (dates to be
provided during the first two weeks of class)
o Case Competition Finals
o Capstone Presentations
o Game of Themes

Course Format:
This course is designed to be an experience in leadership. Through team and community building
exercises, students will begin to develop relationships with one another, thus creating a space of
trust and consideration of others. Learning in this class requires students to be active participants in
the learning process. It is imperative that students come to class prepared to engage in dialogue
surrounding the leadership principles addressed in the readings and in everyday life. Learning can
and should be intellectually challenging and requires hard work and extensive time. Hands-on
activities will often be utilized as learning tools. This will be a very interactive and dynamic class.

Course Policies:
Classroom Behavior Policy
• Students are expected to turn off their computers and smart devices during class. Texting
during class or having your cell phone ring or vibrate during class may result in a loss of
attendance points and being asked to leave class for that session.
• Laptops may only be used when the instructor warrants that a laptop is necessary (ex.
activity researching information online or to take notes for the group). Laptops must be off
and closed during class discussions, when students are presenting, and during activities that
do not require the use of a laptop. Failure to follow this policy may result in a loss of
attendance points and being asked to leave class for that session.
• Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may
be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the
instructor.
• This course supports elective gender pronoun use and self-identification; rosters indicating
such choices will be updated throughout the semester, upon student request. As the course

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 includes group work and in-class discussion, it is vitally important for us to create an
educational environment of inclusion and mutual respect.
• Inclusive Excellence is a fundamental part of the University of Arizona's strategic plan and
culture, as well as the Blue Chip Leadership Experience. As part of this initiative, the
institution embraces and practices diversity and inclusiveness. These values are expected,
respected and welcomed in this course.
Attendance and Participation
A key learning tool for this class is participation in discussions and exercises. It is important that
you come prepared to class to actively participate in all class discussions, exercises, and special
outside activities. Active participation is a personal responsibility that is inherent in leadership
and is paramount to your success in this course.
• Students who are absent are responsible for materials covered during their absence, and
are required to complete and submit course assignments on or before 10 am on their due
date.
• Students who observe religious holidays that fall on a class day will be excused from the
session if they notify the instructor at least 2 weeks in advance of the absence.
• Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean’s designee) will be
honored.
• Attendance will be kept for this class, but there are no attendance points. If students
miss more than 2 hours over the course of the semester, points will be deducted for
every 15 minutes (or partial 15 minutes) missed.
o 1 absence = 50 minutes. Attendance will be prorated each class session to
account for students coming late or leaving early. 1 point deduction for every 15
minute (or partial 15 minute) time block missed from class beyond the 2 hours.

The UA’s policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is
available at: http://catalog.arizona.edu/2015-16/policies/classatten.html. The UA policy
regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or practice will be
accommodated where reasonable, http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-
accommodation-policy. Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean
Designee) will be honored. See: http://uhap.web.arizona.edu/policy/appointed-
personnel/7.04.02

Accessibility and Accommodations

Our goal in this classroom is that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you
anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, please let me know
immediately so that we can discuss options. You are also welcome to contact Disability
Resources (520-621-3268) to establish reasonable accommodations. For additional information
on Disability Resources and reasonable accommodations, please visit http://drc.arizona.edu/.

If you have reasonable accommodations, please plan to meet with me by appointment or during
office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may
impact your ability to fully participate.

Please be aware that the accessible table and chairs in this room should remain available for
students who find that standard classroom seating is does not accommodate their needs.

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Threatening Behavior Policy
The UA Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to any
member of the University community, including to one’s self. See:
http://policy.arizona.edu/education-and-student-affairs/threatening-behavior-students.

Code of Academic Integrity

Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and
applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of
independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code
of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See:
http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academic-integrity/students/academic-integrity.

UA Nondiscrimination and Anti-harassment Policy

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination;
see http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy.
Our classroom is a place where everyone is encouraged to express well-formed opinions and
their reasons for those opinions. We also want to create a tolerant and open environment where
such opinions can be expressed without resorting to bullying or discrimination of others.

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 Course Calendar
Date Topics in Leadership Readings Due Assignments Due
Jan 11 Introduction and Overview
Jan 18 Defining Leadership Kouzes & Posner’s Reading Reflection 1 –
The Student Leadership Defining Leadership
Challenge. pp.3-17
(Chapter 1)

Jan 25 Inspire a Shared Vision- Kouzes & Posner’s Reading Reflection 2 –

Community Partner The Student Leadership Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge. pp. 64-111
(Chapter 4 & 5)
Feb 01 Model the Way: Overview Kouzes & Posner’s Reading Reflection 3 –
The Student Leadership Model the Way
Challenge. pp. 21-61
(Chapter 2 & 3)

Feb 08 Model the Way: Clarifying Values StrengthsQuest

in Action (StrengthsQuest Pt. 1) Assessment Print Out

Feb 15 Model the Way-Clarifying Values in

Action (StrengthsQuest Pt. 2)
Feb 22 Model the Way- Set the Example StrengthsQuest Summary

Resume Module Due –

On D2L

Resume Draft 1 Due –

Submit to D2L
Mar 01 Inspire a Shared Vision-Overview Resume Draft 2 Due –
Submit to D2L
Mar 08 Spring Break Resume Final Due –
Submit to D2L
Mar 15 StrengthsQuest Part 3 LinkedIn Check
(remember to connect
with your instructor)
Mar 22 Getting Involved: Engagement Kouzes & Posner’s Reading Reflection 4–
Panel The Student Leadership Enable Others to Act
Challenge. pp. 162-208
(Chapter 8 & 9)

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 Date Topics in Leadership Readings Due Assignments Due
Mar 29 Enable Others to Act-Stereotypes Complete Engagement
Plan Module

Upload Engagement Plan

PDF to D2L

Apr 05 Challenge the Process-Social Justice Kouzes & Posner’s Reading Reflection 5 –
Pt. 1 The Student Leadership Challenge the Process
Challenge. pp. 113-158
(Chapter 6 & 7)
Apr 12 Challenge the Process-Social Justice
Pt. 2
Apr 19 Encourage the Heart Pt. 1 Kouzes & Posner’s Reading Reflection 6 –
The Student Leadership Encourage the Heart
Challenge. pp. 211-254
(Chapter 10 & 11) Community Service
Reflection
Apr 26 Encourage the Heart Pt. 2 Event Attendance
Reflection Due – no later
than this day
May 08 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Presentations: Personal
Final Presentation: Leadership Reflection

Subject to Change Statement

Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be
subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

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 Assignments Point Value
Reading Reflections (x5) 10 points each (Total
possible points 60/50)
StrengthsQuest Assessment Print Out 20 points
Strengths Quest Summary 15 points
Resume Module and Draft 1 10 points
Resume Draft 1 10 points
Resume Draft 2 20 points
Resume Final and Upload to D2L 30 points
LinkedIn Check 15 points
Community Service 50 points
Community Service Reflection 20 points
Engagement Plan Module and PDF 15 points
Event Attendance: Case Competition/Capstone/Game of Themes 20 points
Final Presentation: Personal Leadership Reflection 50 points

Grading Scale
A = 325-292
B = 291-260
C = 259-227
D = 226-195
E = < 194

Note: The above grade scale reflects the minimum number of points needed for each grade.
Grades will not be rounded up; you must reach the minimum number of points for a certain
grade to earn that grade.

Incomplete or Withdrawal
Requests for incomplete (I) or withdrawal (W) must be made in accordance with University
policies, which are available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-
system#incomplete and http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-
system#Withdrawal respectively.

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Assignment Expectation:
Written Work
Because the ability to communicate through writing is an important component of college
success, it is imperative that each student be able to use the resources available to be able to
submit well-written work.
• Format: All papers are to be written in 12 point Times New Roman or Arial fonts,
double spacing, and one inch margins.
• Spelling and Grammar: You are responsible for ensuring your assignments are free of
spelling and grammatical errors. Assignments will be marked down according to each
assignment rubric for spelling/grammar errors.

Submissions
• Assignments are due on the date listed on the syllabus by 10:00am.
• Late assignments will be accepted with a penalty of 10% for each day the assignment is late.
For the purposes of late assignments, each day is 10:01 am to 10:00 am the following day.
• Students attending class during which an assignment is due must turn in the assignment
electronically through the D2L Assignment box, unless otherwise specified in the syllabus.
Students who anticipate being absent from a class will need to submit the assignment before
the class begins.
• The Final Exam time cannot be rescheduled unless as directed by University policy. It is
your responsibility to schedule travel, work, etc. around the exam time.

Assignment Description:
Reading Reflections
For each week you are assigned a reading from The Student Leadership Challenge, you will
complete a 1 page reflection assignment – no header needed (double spaced). If you include a
header it will not count towards your 1 page that is required.

Reflection prompt questions that will accompany the reading will be posted on D2L. Utilize the
suggested questions to guide your reading and answer the questions in your reflection
assignments. There will be 6 total reading reflections and 5 out of the 6 will count towards your
final grade. Each reading reflection is worth 10 points each for a total of 50 points throughout
the semester.

Reflections are due on the assigned day prior to the start of class and should be submitted on
D2L. If you complete all 6 reflections, you will earn up to an additional 10 points.

StrengthsQuest Assessment
You will be taking an assessment to determine your leadership strengths. This assessment is
online and can be accessed using the code you purchased in the Bookstore.
Print a page with your results and bring to class. Do not write you name on it, the print out
will have your name on it.

StrengthsQuest Summary
Based on the results from your StrengthsQuest Assessment, please provide a bulleted summary
(using the format below) of each of your top 5 strengths in your own words:
• Being a ________(fill in name of strength) means …

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 • I use my _______(fill in name of strength) by… (in your life, work, activities, etc.)
Submit your Summary on D2L.

Resume Module
First you will watch the module “Resume Module” on D2L. You must complete the entire
module on D2L, 10pts will be associated with completing the module. This will help you create a
first draft for your Resume.

Resume Draft 1
You will create a 1-page resume based on what you learned in the Resume Module.
Print a copy of your resume and bring your resume to class.

Resume Draft 2
You will revise your 1-page resume based on what you learned in class.
Upload your revised Resume to D2L.

Resume Final Draft

You will revise your 1 page resume based on the feedback from your prior resume.
Upload your final Resume to D2L as a PDF document.

Community Service Project

You will engage in a 4 hour service project with a community partner. Please refer to D2L for
the date and time of your service project.

Community Service Reflection

Answer the following questions in a 1.5 page reflection:
• Summarize in 2-3 sentences what the purpose of the project was.
• Explain what you learned from this experience (about the issue and the people affected
and how you served the community)
• What will you take away from this experience?
• Relate your experience to one of the 5 leadership practices.
Submit your Community Service Reflection on D2L.

LinkedIn Check
In order to professionally prepare you to represent yourself to employers, you will create/or
update your LinkedIn profile (linkedin.com).
Profile Section:
• Name, Professional photo, Professional headline (see your TA and Instructors
Profiles as examples),
• Create a Custom URL (see your Instructors as an example)
• The URL is located under you name/photo area, if you put your mouse over the
URL a setting button will appear and then you can edit it to remove the random
numbers
• Experience – 1 listing from your resume
• Education – 1 listing including your Major/Minor and dates of attendance
• Summary – provide a brief summary of your Top 5 strengths, skills, and experience

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 •Volunteering Experience – 1 listing
o Name of Organization
o Organization Summary: This is a summary of what the organization does.
o Volunteer Work Description: This is a summary of what you did as volunteer
(brief description of what you did, why you did it, how long you did it for,
impact of your involvement, and what you learned that could help you in a
future job).
o Organization – 1 listing
• Name of Organization
o Organization Summary: This is a summary of what the organization does.
o Position(s) or Role(s) Held in this Organization: This is a summary of the
positions or roles you have held in the organization (brief description of what
you did, why you did it, how long you did it for, impact of your involvement,
and what you learned that could help you in a future job). Remember,
“member” is a role.
Connect with your Instructor on LinkedIn to earn credit for this assignment:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguyenlizy

Engagement Plan Module with Engagement Plan

For this assignment you will be completing an online module called “Engagement Plan” on
D2L.

Note: You will be printing a PDF from the module after you finish, do not close the module
screen until you print the PDF. When you close this screen you will not be able to access your
answers again, thus you will need to start over. You will get 15 points when you upload the PDF
to D2L.

Once you reach the end of module, complete the following:

1. On the last slide of the module (note: this slide will not show up unless you type answers
into the module) you will see a button that says “Print Results” press this button and
type your name in the box that appears.
2. Your answers will appear in a new window on your internet browser. If this does not
work, make sure your pop-ups are enabled and try again.
3. You can print your answers as a PDF. If you do not know how to do this, click the
“Notes” tab on the left side of the player for instructions.
4. Upload this PDF to D2L

Event Attendance: Case Competition Finals or Capstone Presentations or Game of Themes

You will either attend Case Competition Finals on 04/07/17, or a Capstone presentation of a
Phase IV student (dates TBA), or Game of Themes to learn about Year 2 of Blue Chip (date
TBD). The dates of the Capstone presentations will be posted on D2L. Once you have attended
one of these events you will turn in a 1-page reflection on what you learned from the event you
attended. In your reflection tell us what event you attended.
Submit your Event Attendance Reflection through the Dropbox on D2L.

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Presentation: Personal Leadership Reflection
Create a representation of your growth as a leader this year and what you want to accomplish in
the future. You will present this at the final exam; you will have NO MORE THAN 3 minutes
to present.

To create this you should reflect on the following prompts:

• What has been your greatest area of growth as a leader this year? What experience(s) did
you have this year that you were able to utilize your leadership skills?
• Apply 1 concept you learned from class.
• Tell us about an engagement goal you have for the future, use content from your
engagement plan

This representation can take the following self-created forms:

• Poem
• Song
• Collage
• Story
• Creative Speech to a unique audience (ex. at your former high school graduation, at Blue
Chip Opening Event next year)
• Or other form of creative expression – Seek permission from instructor

Bonus Points - Due before 05/03

Completing one or more of these activities for bonus points requires that you apply what you
have learned in class or asks you to get more involved. Each activity if completed fully and
thoroughly will earn you up to 10 bonus points towards your final grade.

Activities: (you can complete 1 or any combination or all of these activities)

• Resume Lab: Attend a Resume Lab at Career Services to get your resume reviewed and
then submit proof of your appointment on D2L along with one piece of feedback you
incorporated into your resume.
• In-depth application of one of your top 5 Strengths: Write a 1-page reflection on how
you have used 1 of your top strengths this semester. Submit the reflection on D2L.
• Take the LPI and submit a 1-page summary of your results: Take the Leadership
Practices Inventory assessment online using the code provided in the back of your book.
Upload a copy of your results as a PDF along with a 1 page reflection of your Top 2
Practices and how you have used these practices in your personal, academic, or
professional life on D2L. If you bought a used book you can purchase a code online at:
http://www.studentleadershipchallenge.com/Assessments.aspx select the “Student
Leadership Practices Inventory Self Online” to purchase a code.
• Extra Blue Chip Event: Attend an additional Blue Chip event after you have attended
one of the ones required for this class (You cannot earn extra class points for attending
Theater Sports, because it is required for you to finish Blue Chip). Once you have
attended an event you will turn in a 1-page reflection on what you learned from the
event you attended. In your reflection you need to tell us what event you attended.

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