Workforce Education and Development (WFED)

This course is grounded in the current research literature, theoretical frameworks, analysis, and methodologies within the discipline of Workforce Education and Development. Within this course students will engage in synthesis of knowledge and analytical work. The objective of this course is to contribute to the student's ability to expand the frontiers of knowledge, and produce creative scholarly writing products with a particular focus on scholarship within the field of Workforce Education and Development. The course content includes: (1) Research literature and theoretical frameworks in Workforce Education and Development; (2) The annotated bibliography foundation; (3) Analysis and methodologies within Workforce Education and Development; (4) The literature review process; (5) Developing positive writing habits; (6) Writing for publication in Workforce Education and Development; (7) Research presentation formats; and (8) Enhancement of Scholarship for the future.

Introduction to theories and concepts of managing workforce education programs in the public and private sector.

Study of topics related to curriculum and instructional leadership in workforce education in the public and private sectors.

Sources of revenue, budget preparation, purchasing, and the management of physical facilities in vocational education.

A study of ethical issues in workforce education environments in inudstry and education.

Planning and implementing staff development activities, student guidance services, admissions, student organizations, and placement.

Provides opportunities to acquire and practice skills in descriptive and inferential statistics.

Use of labor supply models to evaluate investments in workforce education and development.

Explores models and methods for analyzing policies for workforce education.

Discussion of legislation and educational requirements for education based at the worksite including cooperative education, youth apprenticeship, and apprenticeship programs.

Research techniques in workforce education.

An investigation of historical, philosophical, and professional foundations of workforce education.

Development of major concepts, skills and techniques required by workplace learning professionals to support and facilitate organization change.

Acquire skills to identify training and development needs, distinguish problems with management versus training solutions, develop and evaluate training solutions. WF ED 573 Needs Assessment for Workforce Development Professionals (3) WF ED 573 is designed for workforce development professionals to familiarize them with the models, concepts, and techniques for designing, implementing, and analyzing the results of training needs assessments in organizations. After successfully completing this course, they will have the necessary skills and competencies to identify human performance problems, distinguish between training and non-training plans of action, and design and develop appropriate plans of action in response to human performance problems.

This course provides a foundation in process consultation. Process refers to how groups interact and how people get along.

This course familiarizes students with approaches to assessing and feeding back data in organization development (OD) and consulting services. WF ED 582 Assessing Data: Organizational Diagnosis (3) This course familiarizes students with approaches to assessing and feeding back data in organization development (OD) and consulting services. It helps students to develop the specialized competencies essential to diagnosing organizations for change efforts/interventions.Students in the course will learn various ways by which to define and conceptualize assessment, feedback, and diagnosis for OD and consulting efforts. Students will learn how to distinguish between the unique approaches to organizational diagnosis used by OD consultants and by management consultants to detect the underlying root causes of problems rather than the mere symptoms of such problems. OD consultants who work inside organizations (internal consultants) may face unique challenges in organizational diagnosis that differ from those challenges faced by consultants who are brought in from outside (external consultants), and this course will explore those challenges faced by each type of consultant and how those consultants may overcome those special challenges. The course will encourage students to identify the consulting competencies that OD consultants need to diagnose organizational problems, and the students will be invited to compare themselves to those competencies so that they will know what special skills they need to develop to be effective organizational diagnosticians and how to develop those skills. The course reviews the important elements necessary in establishing a strategic diagnostic plan for OD, implementing it, and evaluating the assessment and feedback strategy. Students will learn how to demonstrate the skills essential to separating symptoms (presenting problems) from underlying root causes during initial meetings and contacts with prospective OD sponsors and clients. Additionally, the course will examine how to prepare assessment and feedback protocols and reports for OD and change management interventions. Finally, the course will summarize current thinking and research on organizational diagnosis, assessment and feedback methods as well as ethical issues affecting organizational diagnosis and OD assessment and feedback.

This course familiarizes students with approaches to evaluating organization development (OD) and consulting services.

Platform skills focuses on theory and practice related to delivering well-crafted and effective training presentations.

Study of special topics relating to problems, practices, methodologies and special competency needs in industrial training.

WF ED 595A Field Based Project for Workforce Development Professionals (2-5 per semester/maximum of 5) WF ED 595A is a field based experiential learning course for students to identify a training and/or organization development project in business, industry, or government and carry out contract problem analysis and resolutions.

Supervised study with an administrator or researcher at a cooperating school, state governmental agency, or research institution.

Validation of teaching and co-op coordinator competencies learned in prerequisite courses during interaction with professional staff while functioning under the supervision of a certified cooperative coordinator.

Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Formal courses given on a topic or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently.

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An opportunity for graduate students to teach a college level course under the supervision of an experience professor.

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This course examines advanced learning laboratory organization and management processes to facilitate learning and skill development in a safe environment. WF ED 806 Program and Facilities Management for Work Force Development Professionals (3) Program and Facilities Management for Workforce Development Professionals thoroughly examines the two categories of managing an educational laboratory, which include the physical operations and program management responsibilities. The physical operations deal with the actual physical facility including the building, tools, equipment, and maintenance. The program management aspect deals with the safety organization and the functionality of the environment. This course will present advanced principles of managing facilities and focus on the safety and functionality aspects that are imperative in the development of successful learning environments. Additionally, students will explore advanced concepts of occupational safety and health as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor (i.e., OSHA & NIOSH), which are vital to every technical program and workplace. Emphasis will be placed on the individual laboratory and instructional strategies regarding safety within the educational environment and greater world-of-work. Throughout the course students will read and reflect upon practical, theoretical and research oriented literature about occupational education programs and facilities management, laboratory supervision and instruction as well as on occupational safety and health. At the end of the semester, students will design and showcase a comprehensive safety implementation plan, which promotes successful management, supervision and instruction.

This course examines principles and practices of Career and Technical Student Organizations to promote enhanced learning and skills development. WF ED 807 Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) (3) This course examines principles and practices of organizing, managing and advising Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) to promote enhanced learning and skill development within Career and Technical Education (CTE). Emphasis is placed on the integral relationship between CTSOs and CTE, as well as advisor responsibilities. Students will learn specific procedures for establishing programs of work; incorporating local, state and national events and activities into career and technical curriculum and instruction; advisor roles and ethical imperatives; financial operations; integration of academics; public relations; and student recruitment and retention.

This course examines advanced assessment techniques associated with learning in an integrated competency-based Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. This course examines advanced assessment techniques as well as recording and reporting procedures to promote enhanced learning and skill development within Career and Technical Education (CTE). Emphasis is placed on the integral relationship between competency-based learning and CTE, as well as instructor responsibilities. This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop the competencies needed to facilitate their implementation and management of a classroom- and laboratory-based assessment program.

Global Talent Development (GTD) is the systematic process of developing employees to be in the right place at the right time to do the right things to achieve the right results in ways that align with business strategy, organizational values, and organizational ethics. The Global Talent Development Leader is the person in the organization who facilitates this process. Part of a larger talent management effort, GTD emphasizes growing the organization's internal talent to meet present and future needs.

In this course, students will be asked to do more than accept the conventional wisdom of organization development and change. Students will look at the standard approaches and then beyond them to examine critically the processes associated with planning, developing, and implementing training and development programs in the context of the whole organization. Students will focus on how to create changes that take into account the individuals who comprise the organization at the same time that the changes improve the organization's overall effectiveness. A key point of emphasis will be the connection between the models, theories, and strategies and the students' workplaces and their professional practices. Students will be encouraged to share stories about their experiences - both past and current - that illustrate or raise questions about concepts discussed in the course

The Whole System Change Approach is a change model for transforming any business into a thriving organization by aligning internal systems with external forces and engaging every person in an organization. This course provides the background and theory for building a Whole System Change Approach that is sustainable and strategic. The approach is intended to alter the relationship between an organization and its environment, and to affect outcomes at the organization level, including revenue, profitability, and culture. WFED 870 (Whole System Change) is designed to familiarize students with the Whole System Change Approach, including models, concepts, techniques for designing large-scale changes, implementing, and evaluating results of the whole system change intervention in organizations.

The purpose of this course is to explore current policy and practices in contemporary organizations. This course is designed to familiarize students with recent trends, practices, theories, research, and cases. This knowledge will prepare students to become competitive OD/HRD professionals.

This course aims to equip OD/HRD professionals with the technological acumen necessary for their consulting practice and work efficiency. Emerging topics such as security and big data have become integral to technology usage in the workplace. In this course, students will learn about such trends and develop an understanding of how to intervene in organization processes to improve performance by utilizing technological tactics and software programs to gather, visualize, and present data to client organizations. Other tools and technologies that enhance knowledge management, team-building, and project management will also be explored.

This course familiarizes students with self as an instrument of change and sensitizes individuals to their role in group dynamics.

This course provides students with necessary skills to facilitate small groups and teams. WF ED 880 Facilitating Groups and Teams (3) This course acquaints students with the role of facilitator and provides a comprehensive introduction to facilitation. Small group facilitators focus on group process and help groups work collectively to accomplish common goals. The course will build student skills in facilitation, acquaint students with the competencies of facilitation, review the role of facilitation in small group situations, and explore current research and practice in small group/team facilitation. The course examines theoretical and practical perspectives of facilitation and provides opportunities to practice facilitation techniques and build facilitation skills.

This course familiarizes students with the unique issues in marketing organization development (OD) and OD consulting services.

This course focuses on organization change and development interventions, where an intervention means a change effort.

This course provides a foundation in the theories, principles and techniques of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). WFED 884 Appreciative Inquiry (3) This course provides a foundation in the theories, principles and techniques of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), sometimes called "positive change theory" or "positive organizational scholarship." Students will build practical competencies necessary to carry out various AI interventions based on the theories and techniques of organization development and change management. The course will teach students how to define Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and distinguish it from alternative approaches to organization development (OD) and change management (CM). The course describes how AI relates to training and development and other performance improvement interventions, summarizes the history of AI, explains important theories of organizations and describes how small group and large group change interventions using AI differ from training interventions, describes each step in a common AI model and explain how it is applied. The course also reviews ethical issues affecting AI, identifies and summarizes future organizational trends affecting AI, and describes what they might mean for practitioners who use AI.

Appreciative inquiry has been called the next generation of organization development. Appreciative inquiry is a strength-based approach to change methodology, as well as a paradigm of thought, a worldview, and a way of being in the world. For these reasons, appreciative inquiry coaching is a timely and important topic. The knowledge and skills related to appreciative inquiry coaching gained during this course will prepare students to become well-rounded OD/HRD professionals.

Students will work in teams to carry out an OD intervention in a field setting.

This course provides an in-depth look of appreciative leadership. Students will learn the story of appreciative leadership through assigned readings, discussions, and videos, as well as assignments that allow them to analyze and practice appreciative learning. They will also have the opportunity to practice applying class concepts to actual workplace situations and to develop their own leadership styles

Supervised, professionally oriented, off-campus, nongroup instruction, including field experiences, practicums, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required.