David G. Imig UNI EdD Reevaluation Retreat

University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA

March 23, 2012

Common Commitment to Distinguishing and Differentiating Between the Doctorate in

Education Research Scholars vs. Scholarly Practitioners Practical and Narrative Knowledge vs. Analytic

KnowledgeGuided by a Set of Shared PrinciplesWork Based on a Shared Language (Shulman)

Capstones and Laboratories of Practice and Decathlons and Signature

Pedagogies

Strengthening Professions

Strengthening Doctoral Education (PhD & EdD)

Fostering aStewardship of a Profession

vis a vis Stewardship of a Discipline

Lee S. Shulman

Redesigning the Ed.D.

Rise of the Ed.D.& the Professionalization Agenda

-Teachers College-Harvard - Expansion of Graduate Education

Doctoral Debate- Century of debate- Calls for change

Recent calls for change- Shulman et al- Levine (MBA)-AERA/NAEd Taxonomy Effort

End of Schooling (as we Know It)Today’s Learners – digitally savvyDemographic Change with Minority Youth

+50% by 2023 (23% Speak Non-English At Home)

New skill sets – digital tools (online, mobile and blended learning)

Redesign the school building – laboratories and design studios – course development

Changing roles of teachers (“unbundling”)

Financial Constraints will Shape the Future of Higher Education (Reduced Public Investment)

Greater Demand for Less Expensive, More Convenient & Flexible Higher Education (Three Year/12 Month Calendar) with Hybrid Learning

Transformed Student Population (Minorities Outnumber Majorities, Females Outnumber Males) with Fewer Full Time Students

Greater Emphasis on Teaching and LearningMore Emphasis on Mission/Shrinking Number of

Traditional Colleges and Universities/More For-Profit Institutions

“there is very little that students cannot find on their own if they are inspired to do so. And many of them will be surfing the Net in class. The faculty member, therefore, may become less an oracle and more an organize and guide, someone who adds perspective and context, finds the best articles and research, and sweeps away misconceptions and bad information.”

(A.M. Brower, The College of 2020.)

Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Business)Research & Development (EARPA)ApplicationSystems Thinking (Engineering)Next Generation ModelsData Based LearningBest Practices

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) – Advanced Board Certification in School Leadership

NBPTS – Advanced Certification in Subject Matter Fields

National Research Council – Studies of Doctoral Education (EdD-PhD Distinctions)

Regional Accreditation Agency InterestProfessional Accreditation Organization Interest

(Scope of Responsibility)

It is a sense of being part of something larger than oneself. It is a sense of belonging, or a sense of accompaniment. It is the feeling in your bones that you are not alone. While ambition drives us to achieve, connectedness is my word for the force that urges us to ally, to affiliate, to enter into mutual relationships, to take strength and to grow through cooperative behavior. (E. Hallowell , 1993)

The Scholarly Practitioner uses Professional Practice and Knowledge as a Resource for the Formulation and Production of Scholarly Practice and Knowledge as well as for Evaluating, Testing, Applying, Extending or Modifying Existing Knowledge. (Benitz & Shapiro, 1998)

The Core of Leaders

hipWhat it is that

we expect leaders to be able to know

and do

Pra

cti

cu

m &

C

ap

ston

e

Design of Learning Environments

Curriculum Design

Education, Culture,and Society

ELL & Special Education

Teacher Leadership

Framed around questions of equity, ethics and social justice

Prepare leaders who will make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, organizations & communities

Provide opportunities to develop collaborative and communication skills with diverse communities

Emphasize the generation, transformation & use of a professional knowledge base

Community College/

Liberal Arts/Comprehensive

CollegeFaculty &

Leaders

PK-12 School

Leadership/

Teaching

Agency/Organization

For Profit Providers/BusinessesOther/

International

Graduate School ofEducation

ResearchExtensive

Admissions

Core Sign

Ped

Capstone

Inquiry

Professional Practitioner Preparation

Program

Highly-Qualified Candidate (Performance)

LEADERSHIP

FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC

Comprehensive Examination Scoring RubricsThesis or Seminar PapersCourse GradesRatings on Alumni SurveysTechnical Standards RubricsLetters of CommendationPeer Reviewed Manuscripts, Grant ProposalsPeer Reviewed Conference Submissions and

PresentationsOutcomes Based Assessment Reports from

ProjectsDissertation Scoring RubricPlacement Resume

Capstones Dimensions

Purpose Gap in literature vs. gap in practice

Approach Traditional vs. alternative

Format Individual vs. group

Product Five chapters vs. ??

The culminating experience that demonstrates the scholarly practitioner’s ability to solve problems of practice, the Dissertation in Practice exhibits the doctoral candidate’s ability “to think, to perform, and to act with integrity” (Shulman, 2005).

Based on expressed need from the student’s field or practice; be a specific problem of practice; demonstrate expertise and knowledge; and demonstrate a scholarly approach.

The capstone experience does not have to begin at the end of the coursework. Rather, portions of it can be spiraled throughout the curriculum, laying the foundational work from which the student can build and making the experience not so overwhelming.

Knowing the intent/purpose/structure/format for the capstone(s) at the beginning enables this to be the starting place from which the program can build backwards.

•Faculty qualifications & advisement

considerations•Admission criteria

GRE scores) & prior work experience considerations•Group (team) products vs.

individual candidate contributions

•Early decision re: degree choice•Status perceptions &

qualitative concerns•Resource considerations•Rightsizing graduate programs•Benchmarking

Persistent Problems: Abiding Concerns

• The PhD and EdD should be different

• “Coursework-only” doctorates are unacceptable – professional practice experiences are essential.

• The EdD is dependent upon “engaged research” – with questions

derived from external entities

• There is need for explicit criteria for framing and assessing the EdD

• There is the need for the EdD to be as rigorous as the PPD in other fields

• Standards of excellence must be more than credit hours earned.

Perception: Graduate Education has “Changed Little in 40 Years” (Measuring Up 2006)

Competition: Domestic Alternative Providers and Foreign Universities and Distance Learning Opportunities (Carey Report)

Need for Standards for Doctoral Programs: (Right-Sizing Demands)

Consensus: A Need for Professional Practice Doctorates (Psychology, A&S, Pharmacology, Engineering)

Resource Generation: (Declining Public Support/Rising Dependence on Tuition)

Campus Expectations: Emphasis on Research and High Quality (NRC, AERA and NSF/CGS 2020 Project)

Need to Attend to Career Path (CGS, 2010)

AVOID perception of “mission creep” or “degree

inflation”

AVOID perception of “mission creep” or “degree

inflation”

AVOID

“PhD-lite” tag

ARRIVE at a set

of standard

s for doctoral

programs

ARRIVE at a set

of standard

s for doctoral

programs

GAIN credibility for

the EdD as the degree of

choice for professional practitioners

Institutional change= difficult

Institutional change= difficult

Faculty buy-in=challenge

CPED Initiative & Institutional Challenges

Letting go of traditional

dissertation

Shulman, L.S., et.al. (2006) Reclaiming Education’s Doctorates. (ER)

Walker, G.E., et.al. (2008) The Formation of Scholars: Rethinking Doctoral Education for the 21st Century. (CF)

Golde, C.M., et.al. (2005) Envisioning the Future of Doctoral Education: Preparing Stewards of the Discipline. (CF)

Lynch, C. & Hulse, C. (2007) Task Force Report on the Professional Doctorate. (CGS)

Perry, J.A. & Imig, D. (2010) CPED: Project Report on the Education Doctorate. (CPED)

Shulman, L.S. (2000) Rethinking the Doctorate. (CF)

Sullivan, W. (2005) Work and Integrity: The Crisis & Promise of Professionalism in America. (CF)

Directed at Real Problems and Real Solutions

Emphasis is on Preparing Transformational Leaders to Change Schools and Colleges & Other Learning Organizations

Enabling Doctoral Programs to Meet the Needs of Practitioners (Part Time

Students with Full Time Responsibilities)Doing So in a Rigorous, Responsible,

Practical, Transparent, and Ethical Manner

THANK YOU!Jill A. Perry jillaperry@cpedinitiative.orgDavid Imig davidimig@cpedinitiative.org