Interdisciplinary Inquiry
LSTD 3503 Section 715
January 16, 23, 30
February 6, 13, 20, 27
March 6, 2007
5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Rose State College
Tom Steed Center – Room 203

Instructor
C Haley-Seikel, M.Ed.
13233 S. W. 9th Street
Yukon, Oklahoma 73099

chaley@ou.edu
Work 954-6857
227-3478 (Cell)

Course Description
This seminar provides an introduction to the practice and philosophy of interdisciplinary inquiry. It lays the foundation for subsequent learning experiences through the Liberal Studies Administrative Leadership Program, and supports student readiness for senior level research and study. The seminar promotes student learning through a combination of team and individual efforts involving a variety of conceptual, analytical, and skill building activities. Major topics addressed in this seminar include:

• An orientation to the Administrative Leadership Program
• Interpersonal communication skills and their effects on team and organizational effectiveness
• Fundamental aspects of group dynamics on the effective functioning and development of organizational and learning teams.
• Group problem-solving, analysis, and decision making issues and methods and their effects on team and organizational performance.
• The challenges and benefits of diversity in groups and organizations.
• Leadership and leadership theories as they pertain to organizational behavior and effectiveness.

Learning objectives for this seminar

• Students will: recognize and practice the major elements of the interpersonal communication skills of active listening, effective questioning, and helpful feedback and recognize the effect of these skills on interpersonal and group relations.
• Recognize several major aspects of group dynamics, including the distinction between process and content, group needs and functions and identify characteristics and behaviors that contribute to effective and ineffective groups and teams.
• Recognize a model of problem solving and identify several techniques to promote effectiveness in group analysis and problem-solving situations.
• Recognize the basic aspects of personality type theory and discuss the effects of type and temperament differences on individual decision-making, information processing, and interpersonal interaction.
• Identify several major leadership theories and their relationships to group and organizational behavior.
• Practice making oral individual or group presentations through in-class reports out of group assignments.
• Demonstrate analytical and problem-solving skills in the analysis of several articles, case studies, and in-class exercises.

Required Textbooks

Caldwell, C. (1995). Team Up for Success. Des Moines, Iowa: American Media Publishing. ISBN: 1-884926-82-7

Goldratt, Eliyahu and Cox, Jeff. (1992). The Goal. 2nd edition. Great Barrington, MA: The North River Press. ISBN: 0-88427-061-0

Suggested Texts for Reference now and later in the program

Anson, C.; Muth, M.; and Schwegler, R. (Eds.) (1999). The Longman Writer’s Companion. Longman Publishing Group. ISBN: 0-8013-3157-9.

Adler, Mortimer and Van Doren, Charles (1972) How to Read a Book. Simon and Schuster ISBN 0-671-21209-5.

Pre-Seminar Reading and Writing Assignments

1. Read The Goal and prepare a one to two-page critique on what you liked about the book and what you disliked about the book. This assignment is due no later than the second class session.
2. Read Team Up for Success.
3. Be familiar with the contents of the other books. The suggested books will be extremely useful for reading and writing assignments in all of your courses.

Instuctional Methods
The format of this course will be diverse and experiential. It includes mini-lectures, group discussions and exercises, research, oral presentations, small group interaction and role-playing. Attendance and reading of the texts and additional handouts are expected and required. Office/conference hours with the instructors will be by appointment and 30 minutes before or after class.

Grading Rubric

• Pre-Assignment – 25 points
• Puzzles – 25 points
• Attendance and Participation – 20 points
• Threaded Discussion – 20 points
• Team Presentation – 25 points
• Research Paper – 50 points
• Final Exam – 35 points
• Total – 200 points

The Pre-Assignments are due by the second class. Each student is required to write a one to two- page critique on the book The Goal: 1) what you liked about the book and 2) what you disliked about the book. In addition, each student is required to read Team Up for Success prior to the first class.

Attendance and participation is expected. You will be involved in various in-class assignments and exercises.

Threaded Discussion
The companion Web site compliments the in-class activities. Each unit is a prerequisite to the in-class discussion. The companion website is setup as a “virtual” class discussion, known as a threaded discussion or Asynchronous Learning Networks. A threaded discussion is an organized way of having a conversation with others on the net. In other words, you can complete these activities from your home or a computer lab scheduled at your convenience. It is very similar to sending an email message to a friend. The advantage to a threaded discussion over a classroom discussion is that it allows everyone the opportunity to think before they write. Everyone will be expected to participate in the threaded discussion and all assignments should be completed prior to the start of the last week’s session. In addition, you will be expected to respond to at least one other students’ response. The discussions are informal and non-threatening. If you disagree with someone’s response please be courteous. Tacky, condescending and/or slamming responses will not be tolerated. Please keep the responses upbeat, constructive and informative. Hurtful comments are hard to forget. You will be assigned a userID and password. Both will be necessary to engage in the activity. The userID and password ensure that your responses are credited to you and no one else in the class. For each unit you must:

1. Submit original responses to the questions.
2. Post at least one response to some other student’s response.

You may complete the assignments at any time – as long as the unit that applies to the in-class discussion is accomplished prior to the connecting class and/or all assignments are completed prior to the last session of the last week. There are five units:

• Unit One – Communicationa – In-class discussion third session.
• Unit Two – Team Building – In-class discussion fourth session.
• Unit Three – Personality Types – In-class discussion fifth session.
• Unit Four – Leadership – In-class discussion sixth session
• Unit Five – Interdisciplinery Studies (Social Science, Natural Science, and Humanities) – In-class discussion seventh session.

Team Presentation
Each team will be given one or more assignments involving the texts, one of which will include the development and delivery of a learning experience and presentation to the class. The teams will be challenged to deliver the learning experience or presentation with creativity and teamwork. It may entail a variety of formats including a presentation and the use of audiovisuals, handouts, role-playing or other demonstrations.

Individual Paper
Each student will be assigned a paper or case study. The document will be five to seven pages in length, double-spaced and referenced in APA format. You will be given more specific directions during class. This paper is due prior to the last class session via email.

Final Exam
The final exam will be given on the last class. Additional details will be provided prior to these assignments.

Grading Information
This class is letter graded.

Completion Policy

The College of Liberal Studies expects students to complete all assignments to earn a grade in a given course.

Incomplete (“I”) Policy

For sufficiently extenuating circumstances a student may receive a grade of “I” and receive an extension to complete. To receive a grade of “I” the student must satisfactorily complete a minimum of one-half of the course work, have a legitimate reason for not being able to complete the work during the normal time frame, request from the instructor a desire to receive an Incomplete grade via submitting a request for an “I” and a plan to the instructor about how and when the work will be completed. If the student receives a grade of “I” the instructor will indicate to the student, and to the Office of Academic Records via the official OU grade sheet, what must be done to complete the course and set a time limit appropriate to the circumstances, however, the time allowed may not exceed one calendar year. If the course has an associated Web site and the Web site has changed before the student starts work on the Incomplete, the student will contact the faculty member and the faculty member will develop comparable assignments based on the current Web site. If books have changed in the course, the faculty member should be willing to develop assignments based on the books that the student has so the student will not have to buy new books. If by the end of the year, no change in grade has been submitted, the grade of “I” will become permanent on the student’s record. If the student wants to re-enroll in the course they may, and they will need to pay full tuition and fees for the enrollment. History tells us that the longer an Incomplete goes unfinished the less likely it will ever be completed at all. The College recommends that the student remedy their incomplete grade before the start of the next semester.

If you have submitted no work, or less than half of the course assignments, you should not expect to receive a grade of “I” You will receive either an “AW” or a failing grade. Students will make arrangements with the instructor to complete coursework. Work submitted within four weeks of the final course date will be accepted without negative consequences to the grade; work submitted to remove the “I” after four weeks will have consequences to be determined by the professor. Grades of “I” must be completed within one academic year.

The University of Oklahoma Student Academic Integrity
http://www.ou.edu/provost/pronew/content/integritymenu.html

1.1 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF HONESTY

Honesty is a fundamental precept in all academic activities, and those privileged to be members of a university community have a special obligation to observe the highest standards of honesty and a right to expect the same standards of all others. Academic misconduct in any form is inimical to the purposes and functions of the university and therefore is unacceptable and rigorously proscribed.

1.2 DEFINITIONS

1.2.1 Academic Misconduct. Any act that improperly affects the evaluation of a student's academic performance or achievement. The following terms illustrate but do not delimit or define academic misconduct.

1. Cheating: the use of unauthorized materials, methods, or information in any academic exercise, including improper collaboration;
2. Plagiarism: the representation of the words or ideas of another as one's own, including:
   1. direct quotation without both attribution and indication that material is being directly quoted, e.g. quotation marks;
   2. paraphrase without attribution;
   3. paraphrase with or without attribution where the wording of the original remains substantially intact and is represented as the author's own;
   4. expression in one's own words, but without attribution, of ideas, arguments, lines of reasoning, facts, processes, or other products of the intellect where such material is learned from the work of another and is not part of the general fund of common academic knowledge;
3. Fabrication: the falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise;
4. Fraud: the falsification, forgery, or misrepresentation of academic work, including the resubmission of work performed for one class for credit in another class without the informed permission of the second instructor; or the falsification, forgery or misrepresentations of other academic records or documents, including admissions materials and transcripts; or the communication of false or misleading statements to obtain academic advantage or to avoid academic penalty;
5. Destruction, misappropriation or unauthorized possession of university property or property of another;
6. Bribery or intimidation;
7. Assisting others in any act proscribed by this code; or
8. Attempting to engage in such acts.

Accommodation for Special Needs

The College of Liberal Studies is committed to making its activities as accessible as possible. The college and the university provide a range of special services for those with disabilities. Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent her or him from fully demonstrating her or his abilities should contact Frank Rodriquez , Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs, as soon as possible to discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and to facilitate this educational opportunity.

Liberal Studies General Policy

Liberal Studies’ policy is to order books in paperback, if available. Courses, dates and instructors are subject to change. Please check with the office. Students should retain a copy of any assignments that are mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to the instructor or the office for the course. The Disability Resource Center can also be found online at http://drc.ou.edu/.

Copyright Statement

Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on this Web site are copyright by the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents. Visit OU Public Affairs for more information and for the complete Terms of Use.

Meet Your Instructor
C Haley M.Ed.
A.K.A. Touché the Running Turtle

C Haley-Seikel is the FAA Contract Manager for the College of Continuing Education’s Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control (FAA/ATC) Department. She and her staff augment and assist the FAA in their efforts to train Air Traffic Controllers. Located at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, the FAA/ATC Department is an integral part of the nation’s air traffic controller training program. In addition to the training, C and her staff assist the FAA in their efforts to revise and developed training materials in both conventional and computer-based instructional formats. C also teaches Instructional Design basics and a FAA Familiarization Introductory course. The staff includes air traffic control instructors, instructional systems development specialists, education specialists, computer system analysts, and computer programmers as well as a highly qualified support and administrative staff.

C received her Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree with a concentration in Administrative Leadership in 1998 and graduated with Distinction. She also has a Masters in Educational Psychology -- Instructional Design tract. She is the proud mother of two wonderful children, two in-law children, two stepchildren and has been blessed with four grandchildren – twin girls and two boys. In her spare time, she can be found on the back roads running with her husband and her dog Hershey.