Leadership ASB A/B

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College Preparatory Elective – Interdisciplinary / Other Subject Template

(Required Information needed to prepare for course submission)

Leadership ASB A/B

• Course Guidance

GENERAL COLLEGE PREP ELECTIVE GUIDANCE

The intent of the college preparatory elective requirement is to encourage prospective UC students to fill out their high school

programs with courses that will meet one or more of a number of objectives:

o To strengthen general study skills, particularly analytical reading, expository writing, and oral communications

o To provide an opportunity to begin work that could lead directly into a major program of study at the University, and

o To experience, in some depth, new areas of academic disciplines that might form the basis for future major or minor studies at

the University

Quality. All courses selected to meet the "g" elective requirement are expected to meet standards of quality similar to those

required for the "a-f" requirements. Courses acceptable for the "g" elective area should be advanced courses designed for the 11th

and 12th grade level and/or have appropriate prerequisites. Elective courses should present material at a sufficient depth to allow

students to achieve mastery of fundamental knowledge that prepares them for University work or a future career path.

COLLEGE PREP ELECTIVE: INTERDISCIPLINARY/OTHER GUIDANCE

o Courses must be rigorous in terms of academic content and student expectations.

• Course Content

NOTE: The following questions are subject specific and ask for detailed information regarding the course curriculum. Since UC has developed their

own criteria for the review of curricula, it is not necessary (and preferred) that the State Standards are not listed when submitting course

descriptions to the University. When preparing the course submission, keep in mind that your audience is the UC High School Articulation unit and

UC faculty. Include relevant information that would assist those reviewing the course and provide UC a better understanding and clarity about the

intent of the curriculum. UC expects to see information that would show specific, detailed evidence of the course rigor and development of

essential skills and habits of mind. Course template components need to be more expository and illustrative of the integration of each course

component and how the overarching goals are being accomplished. The text boxes below will expand to accommodate additional text.

Course Purpose: What is the purpose of this course? Please provide a brief description of the goals and expected

outcomes. (How these will be accomplished should be reserved for the Course Outline, Key and Written assignments,

Assessments, and/or Instructional Methods.)

NOTE: More specificity than a simple recitation of the State Standards is needed.

This class is designed to teach leadership skills and governmental structure which ultimately

enhances school pride, spirit and culture as well as the student's individual knowledge of a working

government. The class will focus on standards designed by the California Association of Directors of

Activities and Common Core State Standards, including public speaking, written communication,

service learning, presentation skills, community service, government hierarchy, procedures and

elections, personal and social development, goal setting, group dynamics, business marketing,

finance accounting, advertising, business law and research while positively impacting the entire

student body.

Course Outline: A detailed descriptive summary of all topics covered. All historical knowledge is expected to be

empirically based, give examples. Show examples of how the text is incorporated into the topics covered. A mere

listing of topics in outline form is not sufficient (i.e. textbook table of contents or California State Standards).

The course includes five units that cover an instructional year. These units are: service learning, government,

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personal and social development, business, communications, and leadership research paper/project.

Service learning includes presentation skills, community service, and citizenship. Presentation skills

include the practice of organizing a presentation into a well thought-out submittal of ideas and

designing a lesson that addresses the appropriate audience. During community service, students

are given an opportunity to have an understanding of what it is like to serve other people for the

benefit of another. Through citizenship, students have the experience of giving without receiving

another in return, have compassion for other people's challenges, accepting people for who they are,

and understanding differences.

The government unit includes government hierarchy, procedures, elections, organizations, and

effective meetings. Through government hierarchy, students understand the importance of following

chain of command, understand the importance of following procedures, take part in reviewing the

student constitution, take part in committees and understand how the smaller group contributes to

the good of the while, and are familiar with the formation of a government consisting of

representatives. Through procedures, students understand the legal implications of not/following

procedures and the important of rules and regulations and experience creating them. In elections,

students recognize fair campaigning and marketing of one's self or a group one supports,

understand the importance of positive salesmanship and voter persuasion, use an opportunity to

make a speech or presentation, and understand the makings of a representative government and

the workings of a democracy. Through organizations, students are introduced to various student,

school, parent, and community groups and their importance to the work of the whole school, and will

have an unde5randing of the financial restrictions and guidelines of such organizations. During

effective meetings, students will understand group dynamics, experience and obtain a working

knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure, and understand the importance of accurate agendas and

minutes for meetings.

The unit on personal and social development includes group dynamics, goal setting, interpersonal

skills, and self-esteem/self-awareness. Group dynamics includes understanding different personality

types and how they contribute to a group setting, realizing the important of the diversity of others,

having the opportunity to accept a leadership role in an activity and to serve as both leader and

follower, enlist others in sharing a vision, celebrating accomplishments and contributions or others,

and passing on authority when appropriate; goal setting includes the creation of goals and

objectives, setting and meeting timelines with periodic review, and the importance of prioritizing

events; interpersonal skills includes creating ways of grabbing attention and planning timely events

suitable for a variety of audiences; self-esteem/self- awareness includes students improving the way

they feel about themselves through various activities, group, and individual work.

The Business Unit includes sections of marketing, finance accounting, advertising, customer service,

communication, and business law. Marketing includes practicing different advertising techniques,

recognizing the correlations between price and unit sold, experimentation with different product

displays to create optimal sales and selling a variety of items evaluating the better sellers; finance

accounting includes creating and tracking a working budget, projection of income, understanding the

concept of profit and loss, and ordering merchandise for sales and class use; advertising includes

evaluating a target audience and how it affects sales, using a variety of ways to get their message

out to the population, learning creative ways to make posters, making sure customers know all they

need to know about the project or activity; customer service includes students recognizing customer

satisfaction is in the best interest of the group, discussion and practice ways of controlling a crowd in

an appropriate manner, practicing ways to communicate with others effectively, and discussing and

practicing communicating with the public so they are aware of the goings-on of the group;

communication includes the opportunity to utilize an assortment of written communications, and an

opportunity to use various forms of oral communication, business law includes understanding school

finance law when it pertains to the sale of goods, the receipt of money, and acceptable practices

for fundraising and club funds and how this affects allowable fundraisers and income.

During the communications unit, students will focus on subtopics including, but not limited to:

Written Communication, Interviewing Skills, Public Speaking, Crowd Control, Conflict Resolution,

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Creative Thinking, Evaluation, and Interpersonal Skills. Critical thinking in Written Communication is

evaluated by the creation of a journal and multimedia project regarding personal skills and talents,

planning and organizing a meeting agenda using proper format, present reports for committee work

and creating eye-catching, effective posters by evaluating the audience of the poster. During

Interviewing Skills, students demonstrate confidence and attentiveness, understand the importance

of appropriate and professional appearance, practice preparing and asking valuable questions, and

know how to research the desired position. Public Speaking includes students practicing speaking

clearly, holding a microphone at an appropriate distance while using a loud, clear voice,

demonstration of style and enthusiasm, learning how to motivate an audience, demonstration of

appropriate pacing and tempo, creating eye contact, and knowing the audience and purpose of

whom they are speaking. Crowd control will include students understanding the importance of

providing a safe location for the number in attendance, creation of appropriate comments to

encourage cooperation, knowledge of when and who to talk to for questions and assistance, how to

plan ahead for potential problems, and the preparation of location and manpower. Conflict

Resolution includes students either solving the problem or leading those in conflict to the appropriate

person, openly discussing problems and concerns being faced by the group or individuals,

understanding the importance of coming to a solution in a variety of ways, and understanding the

hierarchical nature of persons in charge. Creative Thinking includes students creating ways to grab

an audience's attention by evaluating the audience, participating in brainstorming ideas, and

planning timely events suitable for a particular audience. Through Evaluation, providing feedback in

a constructive manner is essential, along with using appropriate positive and negative prompts to

bring about constructive change. Interpersonal Skills include demonstration of teamwork and

consensus building, showing knowledge of when to take each role, treating others the way they wish

to be treated, listen to a variety of points of view, use constructive criticism, communicate using "I"

statements, using appropriate body language, taking on a task without being asked, establish and

practice guidelines and rules, accept constructive criticism and acknowledge the strengths and

accomplishments of others.

The research paper/project unit focuses on the elements of argumentative writing based on

research. It will involve the process of research, critical thinking, source evaluation, organization,

and composition. Students will explore, interpret, and evaluate sources related to a specific topic

(leadership), then outline, draft, revise, edit, and proofread their composition. This paper is

designed for students to support their stand on an issue. The argumentative research paper

analysis uses information as evidence to support its point. Objectives include: synthesizing a limited

number of a variety of sources, evaluating sources, writing a thesis statement, citing sources

properly, avoiding plagiarism, drawing a conclusion, producing a limited research paper.

Key Assignments: Detailed descriptions of all Key Assignments which should incorporate activities and projects, as

well as, short answers and essay questions. How do assignments incorporate topics? Include all assignments that

students will be required to complete. Assignments should be linked to components mentioned in the course outline.

It is not appropriate or necessary to include instructions given to students regarding the execution of assignments

(formatting, timeliness, etc.). Do not include exams or assessments in this section.

Service learning assignments:

1. "Speaking their Language" project - based on the quote by Nelson Mandela, "If you speak a

language a man understands, you speak to his head. If you speak his language, you speak to his

heart", this project involves learning about students represented in our school

community in order to provide for their needs in activities and events. Student government

members create a questionnaire that includes open- ended questions about interests, concerns, and

ideas. Student government members, in groups of 2, walk around campus during lunch for two

weeks. During their walks, they ask students to answer the questions, and the members write down

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the answers. They get the names of students who would be interested in serving on a limited

committee to discuss their ideas. Student government members then create a

document that includes the questions and all of the answers they received. During the third week of

the unit, the students go back and personally invite those students who said that they would join a

committee to a lunch meeting. The meeting is led by the Executive Board of the Associated Student

Body, and all attendees are encouraged to share their ideas for implementing the events proposed

on the questionnaires. A second meeting is then planned, at which the attendees divide into sub-

committees (3-4) that include at least one student government member. These sub-committees are

tasked with choosing one of the event ideas, then planning, creating, and implementing the event.

This includes the outline for the event, ordering and purchasing any supplies, publicity, volunteers,

sound, script, and supervision. Evaluation will be by peer evaluation of committees, self-evaluation,

and teacher evaluation by rubric.

2. Community Service projects - Students are required to complete four community service

projects per year. Two of them must be student created - including the event outline, logistics,

publicity, volunteers, space, and crowd control. Evaluation is through peer evaluation, self-

evaluation and teacher evaluation. The other two can be community service projects through an

outside organization. Students are graded for active participation in the community service project.

Government Assignments:

1. Student Government Business meetings - twice per week, student government representatives

will hold business meetings in which they report on old and new business, approve expenditures and

fundraisers for all Associated Student Body accounts, and give committee reports.

Agendas for these meetings are created with input from all committees within the student

government (four sets of class officers and six commissioners made up of 2-4 students), and all

pertinent paperwork must be included. Each committee must submit a report for at least

one meeting per week. They must include at least two agenda items per semester. Agendas are

prepared and distributed, and the meetings are conducted by the President of the Associated

Student Body using Parliamentary Procedure. Minutes are taken by the Secretary of the

Associated Student Body, and are distributed the day after the meeting for approval by all student

government members. During the first two weeks of school, students learn about Parliamentary

Procedure and complete a quiz based on their study. Evaluation of the business

meetings is based on the submission of the weekly report and the two agenda items per semester,

plus the hands-on application of procedure.

2. Panther Senate - at least once per semester, two representatives from each homeroom

will convene for a meeting to discuss concerns, brainstorm solutions, share ideas, and vote on

agenda items. The agenda will be created by the student government class, and published

by the Associated Student Body Secretary. The meeting will be presided over by the Associated

Student Body Vice President, using Parliamentary Procedure. During the meeting, each of the

student government committees will make a report to the representatives through one of the

committee members, and will be prepared to answer questions or distribute information in written

form. There will be one presentation by an outside group - whether it be a school employee

(counselor, teacher, administrator), a district employee (superintendent, assistant superintendent),

or community member (school board member, city official, business owner) - which will cover a

topic of interest to the student representatives. This speaker will be chosen by the student

government class. Evaluation will be through hands-on demonstration of proper procedure, and

evaluation by the members of the Panther Senate of the effectiveness of the meeting.

Personal and Social Development Assignments:

1. Class reading assignments - Students will read one book per semester - two books during the

year. These books will be chosen for their themes around student leadership, personal growth,

collaboration and teamwork, and other topics relevant to the unit of personal and social

development. Students will complete journal entries based on the readings, and will share insights

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from readings within small groups. For each book, there will be a Socratic seminar (AVID concept)

in which students will present ideas that are represented within other medium and their

own experience synthesized through the theme of the book. Grading will be based on the notes

taken during the Socratic seminar on a guided learning form, with a teacher generated grading

rubric.

2. Using Don Lowry's True Colors Personality Profile, students will identify their personality type -

"blue, orange, green, or gold", and will complete a self-study questionnaire analyzing how closely

the profile fits their own personality. After completion of the self-study, students will compile their

findings into a expository essay in which they explore the ways in which their personality guides

their work within groups and individually. Students will meet in groups of like "colors", and in groups

of 4-5 in which all four personality "colors" are represented, in order to explore their collaboration

styles while completing group tasks, Grading will be based upon the essay (content and grammar),

and the peer evaluation completed after the group discussion.

Business assignments:

1. Club fundraising approval - Student government must approve all Associated Student Body

fundraisers before they are conducted. In order to do this, students must check the state law and

education code to make certain that the fundraiser is legal, and that the procedures are in line

with acceptable practice of the law, and the district guidelines. They must evaluate the fundraiser to

certify that the profit potential will be in excess of the money spent. They must regulate fundraisers

to make certain that target audiences are not overlapped within the time frame allowed. Finally,

they must approve all publicity for the fundraiser, and make certain that it is appropriate. Twice per

week, students evaluate fundraisers by examining the fundraising activity form, publicity, and

attached paperwork.

2. Student Council fundraising project - Once per semester, students will brainstorm, research,

prepare a proposal, make a presentation, and select a fundraiser for the semester. This part of the

project will be completed in groups of 4-5, Once the fundraiser is chosen, the group with the chosen

fundraiser will lead the class in conducting the fundraiser - setting the target audience, creating

incentives and publicity, providing product information to sellers and buyers, tracking sales each

day, ordering and distributing incentives, coordinating delivery with proper school officials,

communicating with community on delivery, and evaluating the effectiveness of the fundraiser.

Communications assignments:

1. Rally project – Students will work in groups of 6-7 to plan all components of a rally: theme,

logistics, crowd control, volunteers, games, sound, publicity, and script. Each member of the

group will have a specific assignment, and will be graded through a teacher rubric to measure

completion of responsibility, a peer evaluation, and a self-evaluation, each comprising 33% of

student grade. Student groups will have the opportunity to complete two rally projects per

year. This assignment will provide students with the experience of communication within a

group, a class, and the entire school community, help them to increase their leadership skills,

find their particular leadership strength, and serve their fellow students through a special

event.

2. Reflection Journal – Each student will be responsible for 2 journal entries per week. One of

these entries will be in consideration of a teacher-generated leadership question highlighted

in the student reading assignment, and one of them will be in response to a student-

generated event such as a rally or an assembly. The journal will be graded at the end of

each term, according to a rubric that includes content, grammar, and relevance.

Leadership research paper/project assignment:

1. Research paper - Students will choose a book from a teacher-generated list of books on the

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themes of leaders and leadership. Student will read the book, and will choose a research path from

a list of guiding and reflective questions. Student will research the chosen topic, and will

filter sources through the evaluation process, choosing at least 5 sources for citation in the paper.

The argumentative paper will explore the answers to the questions through the theme of the book

and the leadership experiences of the student. The paper will be at least 1500 words in

length, written in ELA documentation style, and will be graded using the accepted English

department rubric for research papers including content, citation, grammar, thesis, and strength of

argument. Students will, after completing the research and the paper, present their findings

to the student government class through a multimedia presentation. They will present facts and

findings, and will answer questions about their chosen topic.

Instructional Methods and/or Strategies: Indicate how the Instructional Methods and/or Strategies support the

delivery of the curriculum. What portions of the Course Outline are supported by the methods and strategies?

Students work in small groups during four of the five units – service learning, government, personal and social

development, business and communications. During the small group discussions, they brainstorm either within a

commission made up of 4-5 students with the same focus, or in varied groups including students from different

commissions with different positions. This teacher’s collaboration with special focus groups, and with groups with

different positions and opinions.

Buzz groups are used during the personal and social development and the communications units. Students will

evaluate specific problems within the space of 2-5 minutes, in order to promote problem solving and critical thinking

skills.

Students work on committees for the business, government, and communications assignments. These committees

represent a different aspect of student leadership responsibility: class officers, rallies, sound, entertainment, culture

and community service, clubs and organizations, and publicity. The students collaborate, brainstorm, and plan

specific events in order to gain skills in communication, collaboration, patience, and self-regulation.

Several simulations are used during all of the units. During the government unit, there is a simulation experience of

a business meeting using Parliamentary Procedure, in order to model the correct procedure and response. For the

“speaking their language” project in the service learning unit, students simulate the process of introducing them to

students, engaging in small talk, and asking the questions on the questionnaire. For the personal and social

development unit, there is a simulation of job interviews conducted by students, teachers and staff members.

Reflection and peer review is practiced throughout all of the units. Peer review is a part of the evaluation of several

assignments, and all students conduct reflection and review after each event hosted by Student Council. This is

conducted using the “+” or “++” method, and all students are encouraged to comment. The reflections are used in

planning future events.

Most of the events hosted by Student Council are performed in a laboratory setting. Students plan and implement

their ideas, including all preparation beforehand and clean up afterward. They are expected to take responsibility

for all aspects of the event, and are allowed the opportunity to make mistakes. During the beginning of the year,

they are given demonstrations of proper procedure and checklists, but are expected to make progress toward

independence within a given time.

Assessments Including Methods and/or Tools: Indicate the intent of each assessment and a brief description of

how each relates to the Course Purpose and goals related to the development of critical thinking and other habits of

mind skills.

Service learning assignment assessments – Students are graded on the “speaking their language” project through

peer review, self-reflection, and teacher evaluation. All three are based on a rubric that focuses on the student’s

participation in the project, their number of contacts, the follow-up, and the final report. The second assignment,

the community service project, is graded based on the participation of the student through their reflective journal.

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These two assessments allow students not only to review their peers’ action in regards to the assignment, but also

asks for reflection of their own leadership skills.

Government assignment assessments – Students will, within their committees, prepare a weekly report for the

business meetings. Copies of these reports will be submitted for their grade, along with an explanation of the

report. This asks students to examine the motivation of sharing information with a larger group, and with how their

style of leadership causes them to react to certain motivations in different ways. The Panther Senate assignment

uses a group evaluation for assessment, and gives student council members a lesson in accepting criticism without

taking it personally.

Personal and social development assignment assessments – Students will participate in a Socratic seminar, which

is a process for expanding critical thinking skills among students. By completing a reflection after the seminar, the

student will personalize the information and use it to assess their own leadership skills.

Business assignment assessments - The student council fundraiser assignment is assessed according to the

success of the fundraiser. The committee sets the parameters for success, and at the end, they will perform an

evaluation that uses their own parameters to grade the project. This gives them a certain amount of control over

their own rubric, and it also promotes critical thinking and planning.

Communications assignment assessments – The rally project allows for collaboration and critical thinking as the

students work together to plan the rally, and to incorporate all ideas while collaborating and compromising. Through

their reflection and evaluation, they learn more about their own leadership style as well as others. The reflective

journal gives students a chance to learn more about themselves, but also gives them practice in using correct

grammar and device when writing.

Research Paper and Project – This assignment measures the students’ written communication abilities, as well as

their processes of analysis and synthesis. Students are asked to read and apply knowledge and experience to

their own experiences, and to answer questions that compare the experiences. They are then asked to write an

essay that successfully describes their thoughts and opinions, using correct grammar, context, and “flow”. From

that paper, they are then tasked with preparing a presentation that brings together all that they have learned in a

short presentation for their peers that gives all pertinent information succinctly but with comprehensible content.