Please answer the following questions related to the course(s) you are teaching that incorporate the PolicyOptions Issue Brief. You do not have to fill this out in one setting; you could add to it throughout the semester as your course unfolds. Bonner Foundation staff will incorporate your specific examples into the Faculty Guide we are developing to aid faculty in the future who work on this initiative.
Contact
Faculty Member Name: Nicole Witherbee, PhD
Institution: Bates
Contact Information:
cell number: 207-446-3581
Course (titles and descriptions)
What is the name of the specific courses (or programs) that are incorporating this assignment?
Internships in Public Policy and Research, POL 423
Sample Syllabi
If you are willing to share your syllabi, please upload the file and link to it here.
Course structure/project structure
How have you incorporated the issue brief research and product assignment into your course(s)? How much of the course does this assignment comprise?
The final product for this course is the policy brief developed both for the wiki and in a separate form for the partner.
Requirements (units/credit)
What are the details regarding units for these courses? If the issue brief was an added-credit option, how many units/credits are being awarded?
The policy brief is part of the course. There are no additional credits offered.
Incorporating Teams
Are you organizing your students into teams or small groupings within the project or course structure? How are these organized?
Students are participating in projects individually.
Preparing Students and Teaching Skills to Support their Success
What skills (such as interviewing or data analysis) do you think students most need to be successful in this process? Are these skills taught in your course or are they a pre-requisite?
The skills necessary for this course are critical thinking, communication skills, policy analysis, writing, and public speaking. Students should come to the class with writing skills and presentation skills. The others will be developed through out the course if not before.
Advisors & Instructors
Who are the instructors and advisors for this particular policy research project, course, or assignment? Please describe them, their roles, and their time commitment. (For example, if you are using graduate students as advisors to the teams, how is this structured?)
Nicole Witherbee from the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) is instructing the course with support from David Scobey and John Baughman. Peggy Rotundo (originator of the course) assists with the placements for students in her role as a state legislature.
Integrating Community Partners
How are community partners involved in determining the topics or goal statements? How are they involved during the research process?
Students apply to take the course and are asked to identify their area of interest. Based on these interests we find the relevant partners and set up an internships. This works because the class is capped at 10 students.
Points of Feedback
What are the points of major feedback for students and/or teams during this project or assignment? Who is involved in feedback (i.e., faculty, advisors, community partners, experts)?
Feedback comes from both the instructor of the class and the internship partner.
For students outside of the POL 423 course the feedback would come from Nicole Witherbee and the professor that has worked with the student on their original paper.
Stipends & Rewards
What stipends or other rewards are you providing to faculty, advisors or teaching assistants, community partners, or others? What is the source of these? What is most critical about how these rewards are provided?
For students outside of the course, there will be a fifty dollar honorarium offered to those who contribute. For briefs that match the issues that the Maine Center for Economic Policy work on their may be an opportunity to publish through their monthly briefs. These briefs are disseminated to the full state legislature, media, and 2500 members. We are working on a way to compile the contributions into one hard copy that will be made available on campus each each.
Managing Student Research Process
What other resources (e.g., readings, teaching) or steps are critical to managing the student research process? For example, is there a clear timeline and set of steps? Are there specific readings or books you'd recommend?
As the instructor of the course, I manage the students work with assistance from the community partner. The text for the course is Deborah Stone's Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making.
Policy Recommendations
Most faculty and practitioners expect students to produce a neutral policy brief, covering multiple solutions. Some have noted that students most struggle with holding back from presenting their personal recommendation. If this is an issue for your students, how are you handling this within your course or project?
This is not an issue for us.
Tips for the Paper and Final Product
Are there any additional guidelines you would note for the paper and/or final product for partners (i.e., writing style, elements, characteristics)?
We use a combination of the wiki template and the model from MECEP. The wiki template is a nice teaching tool but less useful to the partner who wants something to disseminate in policy brief form.
Sharing Research Products
What will your final product(s) include other than the wiki pages (e.g., paper, powerpoint, public presentation)? Will students or researchers be expected to share their research products with partners or a broader campus/community audience? How will this be structured?
The students complete the brief as their final product and must give a presentation of that product at the end of the course. Community partners are invited to come to the presentation and each partner receives a copy from the student at the end of the semester.
Evaluation & Assessment
How will the issue briefs and other products be evaluated? Are there specific criterion? What is the broader structure for the assessment of student learning (and/or community impact) for this project?
During the internship, students are working on a particular topic with their community partner and the real substantive evaluation come from that partner. As part of the course, they submit drafts of the product for review and revision based on writing style and information flow.
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