Presented by Kathleen Sullivan Brown, University of Missouri - St. Louis June 2013 CPED Convening

1. THE
NEW
DOCTOR
OF
EDUCATION
PROGRAM
A
CP
ED
-IN
SP
IR
ED
CU
R
R
ICULUM
The University of Missouri-St. Louis
Presented by
Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Brown
June 12-14, 2013
CPED Convening, Washington, D.C.

2. Faculty Planning Committee
• Previous effort to distinguish Ed.D. & Ph.D. failed in
2006
• Inspired by CPED, 30 of 70 COE faculty met monthly
for a year and a half
• Studied common elements of Ed.D. programs in
selected first-wave CPED institutions
• Designed a new curriculum for a practice-focused
doctorate
• Approved by the COE faculty and the campus

3. Goals of the UMSL Faculty
• Create a high quality program
• Create a program that is distinct from the Ph.D. in
Education
• Create a program that improves practice in
Education
For Individual Students
For Communities of Practice

4. Signature Pedagogy:
Learning Communities of Practice
• Thematically based communities
 Individuals with common focus, similar in background and in
experience, and similar in career goals
 Could be cross-disciplinary, viewing a problem from different
perspectives
• Time-based cohorts
• Moving through the program together to support each other’s
scholarship and learning
• Mentored by a team of faculty and practitioners, experts in the
theme
• Doctoral students are admitted to the Ed.D. program by being
admitted to a Learning Community of Practice (there will be no
individual students)

5. Learning Communities of Practice
• Members/students play a role in building the program for the
community
 Inquiry and Tool Courses
 Content of the Learning Community of Practice Seminars
 Complex Problem of Practice addressed by the Community as a
Capstone is integrated in the Community
 Members might address different pieces, much like individual
puzzle pieces come together to form a bigger picture
 Members of the community are continuously enrolled in the
learning community seminar

6. Learning Communities of Practice
• Built around faculty expertise and interest
• Built around contextual needs in education and school improvement
• Admission to any given learning community likely will occur at
intervals (e.g., every other fall)
• Not keeping pace with the community could be problematic for student
• There may not be an appropriate learning community for every
individual
• Individuals vary in how central the learning community theme is to
their interest
• Some might have to choose membership in a community over pursuing
an individual interest

7. Critical Component: Mentor Teams
• Faculty are the significant difference in doctoral programs
• Research universities set high standards for scholarship in the
tenure process
• Faculty are engaged in their field of expertise full time
• Professional development, membership and leadership in
learned societies, and their own scholarship put them on the
cutting edge
• They generate the works everyone else reads
• How does a Learning Community fit with those demands?

8. The Curriculum Framework
1. Learning Communities of Practice seminars (15-20 credits)
2. Laboratory of Practice (3-6 credits)
3. Common Courses (8 credits; 4 courses @ 2 credits each)
4. Inquiry Approach Electives (4 credits; 4 courses @ 1 credit each)
5. Tool Course Electives (4 credits; 4 courses @ 1 credit each)
6. Specialization (30-60 credits; may include Master’s degree or Ed
Specialist work)
7. Dissertation in Practice (8 credits)
TOTAL: 80 credits (Residency requirement of 42 credits)

9. Timing and Scheduling
• Five learning communities were planned for fall 2013
• Learning community members scheduled to graduate August 2016
• Three-year program
• Meet with learning community once a week through most of the 3 years
• Some group decision as to days/time
• Some group decision as to elective inquiry and tool course meetings
• Possibility of all courses meeting on one day
• Most semesters have a 6 credit commitment (about 5.5 hrs of meeting)
• Use of partial online meetings is possible
• Meeting at practice sites is possible

10. The Dissertation in Practice
• Can take many forms in addition to the traditional, 5-chapter format
• Will require an individually-authored portion
• May have learning community-authored portions
• Written product, but can be supplemented with other media
• Presentations to the community of practice
• Presentations to the campus graduate faculty
• Expectation: Community will identify a complex problem of practice
and individuals or small groups within the community will take the
leadership for addressing certain parts of that complex problem. When
the parts come together, a greater overall solution is derived than
would be possible from individuals working on their own.

11. Admission Requirements
• Master’s degree or successful graduate work
• Employment in educational practice related to the
learning community theme
• Two years of experience in practice
• Admission to all doctoral programs is competitive

12. Application Elements
• Online Application for Admission to the Graduate School
• Transcripts of higher education work
• Supplemental Application
• Verification of employment in educational practice
• Verification of two years experience
• Professional resume’
• Writing Sample
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Individuals who can address your potential for doctoral work
• Critical thinking and communication skills
• Individuals who can speak to your practice

13. Assessment
• Doctoral students will purchase and use an electronic portfolio,
SCOPE, the College of Education’s assessment system
• Work products will be organized in SCOPE and can be reviewed
for the transition point assessments
• Transition points are:
• Qualifying examination (first summer)
• Comprehensive examination (second summer)
• Defense of Dissertation in Practice (third summer)
• Some assessments will be course-embedded (writing
assessments, critical thinking assessments)
• Some assessments will also be program assessments
• Assessment and sharing part of our responsibility to CPED

14. The Learning Communities of
Practice beginning Fall 2013
• Education Policy
• Character Education & Democratic
School Governance
• Higher Education Student Services
• Language, Literacy & Culture

15. Admissions Process/Results
• Mentor teams reviewed application materials, held interviews and
made selections.
• More applications were received than possible openings, given that
each learning community wanted to remain small (12-15).
• Little marketing or outreach was done except on the COE website.
Currently engaged in enrolling students for Fall 2013 and sequencing
courses.
Greatest challenge now is organizing faculty time and contracts.