Class-Based Projects
In addition to more formal professional projects, I also look for project-based learning opportunities I can integrate into my classes. Students can work on these projects individually or in groups, depending on the nature of the project. Because these projects are integrated into a class where we must also cover a considerable amount of content above and beyond the final project they work on, students are not expected (nor do they have time) to devote their sole attention to the project like they do in a capstone course. The type of product a student or a group can produce for a class final project, therefore, is much more limited and time-bound. Depending on the class, students may also be less experienced – it may be their first introduction to the topic or skills and the reason they are taking the course – so they may not have the same capabilities as students doing professional projects. Community partners are also not expected to engage with the students working on these projects as intensely as they are with professional projects. Nonetheless, students can still produce useful material for community partners through these opportunities. Below, I list the types of projects that would be appropriate based on the content of the courses I teach and the number and types of students that tend to take the courses.
Program Evaluation for Urban Planning |
Focus of the class: This class teaches students about the basics of evaluation – from conceiving a logic model and theory of change, to exploring the variety of evaluation designs and methods (and how to match them with the evaluation questions), data analysis and communication of findings. Rather than big-data and large-scale program or policy evaluation, I focus on strategies that can build the evaluation capacity of non-profits and local governments working on smaller-scaled projects and in situations where resources, time, data, and expertise is limited. We tend to focus on U.S. based evaluation, but also cover some of the contexts that can be unique to international evaluation contexts. Because we have a lot to cover, we focus very broadly on the overall concepts and framework of evaluation that can be applied to a variety of topic areas. When information is available and possible, we also consider how evaluation can be specific to urban planning: how to evaluate effective plans as well as outcomes of planning implementation in transportation, housing, environmental and land use planning, economic development, health impact assessments, food systems planning, etc.
Schedule: Currently, I am teaching this course every other year. Number of students: This class is typically small, attracting between 5 and 10 students. Students can work on individual projects, but the size of the class also allows for opportunities where all students would work on a larger project that has multiple components. Types of students: Students can take this class at any time – they do not have to complete prerequisites. They tend to be master’s students in urban planning, but it has and could attract students from other departments (e.g., public health) as well as some PhD students. They therefore range in skill level, having advanced qualitative and quantitative research skills, or almost none at all. Example projects: Class projects could focus on any of the following:
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Foundations of Sustainable Food Systems |
Schedule: I co-teach this class in the fall (Sept – Dec), with two other instructors. Other than a hiatus in Fall of 2020, we teach this every fall.
Focus of the class: This course teaches an interdisciplinary understanding of food systems, covering agroecological/environmental, public health/nutrition, and urban planning/policy perspectives. Approximately 60% is global in focus, and 40% on the U.S. context. Number of students: This class enrolls 40 to 50 students. Types of students: Around three quarters of students are in Masters programs, a quarter upper-level undergraduates, and a few PhD students. They are multidisciplinary, coming from Urban Planning, School of Natural Resources, School of Public Health, Social Work, Engineering, Architecture, Public Policy, Anthropology and more. They range in their knowledge of food systems, to having very little knowledge (and exploring it for the first time in this class), to having completed multiple courses and/or internships in urban agriculture, food access, farms. Example projects: We have students work in interdisciplinary groups of 4 on projects that address a food systems issue that touches on all three aspects of the course. Their goal is to analyze the causes of the problem, identify the stakeholders affecting or affected by the problem, and propose a practical solution. These projects have typically been hypothetical problems, but we could conceivably have students work with an issue a community partner suggests (and some students have essentially sought out and shared their final reports with actors who were interested in their topics, such as UM Dining and the UM Campus Farm). However, students are limited with the time they can devote to the project and are only expected to produce an 8-10 page single spaced report and public presentation. |
Global and Comparative Planning |
Schedule: Other than in the 2020-2021 school year, I tend to teach this every year in the winter semester.
Focus of the class: This course introduces students to international development/planning theory, the major issues confronting cities and their regions in low-income countries, and the various strategies for addressing those issues, including innovations that the US and other high-income countries could learn from. Number of students: This class attracts 12 to 18 students. Types of students: Students in this class are usually Masters of Urban and Regional Planning students who are doing the Global and Comparative Planning Concentration. It has also attracted the occasional advanced undergraduate student, PhD students, as well as master’s students from other fields (e.g., Natural Resources, Public Health, Social Work, Architecture, and Public Policy). They are range from having completed two years of Peace Corps to having never traveled to many international students who are from China and other countries. Example projects: This is a class where I haven’t yet incorporated a project with a community partner, given that most of our relevant partners are outside the United States. However, a project would be conceivable with a local, international NGO or for an organization that proposes work that could be done remotely. Students usually focus on a specific problem in a certain low-income country city – analyzing the causes of the problem, identifying the stakeholders affecting or affected by the problem, and proposing a practical solution. |
See these other engagement opportunities: jobs and internships, group-based projects, student-directed projects.