1. Alisa Belzer, Rutgers University
Bradley Carpenter, University of Louisville
Tiffanie Lewis, University of Louisville
Kate Reedy, Lynn University

2. Formats
 Traditional
 Semi Traditional
◦ Traditional chapters 1-4
◦ Product instead of Chapter 5
 Portfolio
◦ Introduction explaining the contents of the portfolio and
design description (if appropriate
◦ 3 distinctly different products
◦ Conclusion that describes what actions have or will be
taken as a result of the study and what the overall
learnings have been from completing the project.

3. Products
 Presentation (and supporting materials) for
faculty, school board, conference attendees,
community, etc).
 Evaluation Plan
 Curriculum Design/Curriculum Materials
 Professional Development Design
 Policy Brief
 Journal article (practitioner or academic)
 Funding Proposal
 Video documentary
 Pecha Kucha

4. Regardless of the format, the EdD dissertation
should:
 focus on a problem of practice that is relevant to
the student and his/her professional context (when
possible)
 have direct implications for policy and practice
 uphold common standards of high quality (well
written, rigorous and coherent approach to
methodology, thorough grounding and bounding,
etc.)
Alternative format dissertations must be approved by
the curriculum committee and make clear:
 Intended audience(s) and the specific
contribution of each product.
 How the 3 products are distinct from each
other.
 The connection of the products to the goals of
the Ed.D. program.

5. Formats/Options
 Traditional five chapter dissertation
◦ Must include
 Policy Brief
 Executive Summary for District Leadership
 Capstone/Group Manuscript Model
◦ Must include
 Common introduction/Common Implications
 Each student must complete unique, publishable manuscript
that aligns or incorporates with the other manuscripts in the
group
 Policy Brief
 Executive Summary

6. Products
 Formal Presentation to UofL Faculty,
Committee, Cohort(s), & District-Level
Constituents
 Policy Brief for District Stakeholders
 Executive Summary for District Stakeholders
 Publishable Manuscript (peer-review journal
article)

7. Standards/Rigor
 Majority of Dissertations/Capstones should be a
culminating product of participatory action research
endeavors.
 Products should have researched-based implications
for most pressing educational problems of
community in which practitioners are located.
 Products should be of the highest quality, as
expectations are they will be published in a top-tier
research journal.
 Products must be distilled for local practitioners in a
way that they can be made useful for local policy
decisions.

8.  Traditional 5 chapter dissertation
 Non traditional dissertation in practice
 In order to appeal to the 21st Educational
Leader and the problems that they will face,
Lynn encourages doctoral candidates to
propose topics. “The sky is the limit.”

9.  With a new dean of the College of Education
named, Dr. Weigel, the emphasis will move
from the traditional five chapter dissertation
to encourage students to create “their own
box”.
 Projects need approval, but the emphasis on
more non-traditional formats.

10.  11 member dissertation in practice
 3 products
◦ iBook
◦ Lit Review plus 2-3 publishable articles
◦ Executive Summary
 Defense will be done individually
 “How does a group work collectively with
such diverse backgrounds to write something
valuable.”