Development, Planning, and Implementation: The Dialectic of Theory and Practice

Assignments

Essay on Professional “Surprises”

Studens will complete a two-page paper sharing a surprising outcome of an effort to implement either a development project or policy that the student is personally familiar with. 

Mid-Term Paper

Students are requested to complete an extended outline (5-pages), drawing on the implementation surprise selected in the beginning of the semester. This outline will expand the description of the surprise and should include three plausible alternative explanations on why this might have happened. This assignment should be an intermediary step towards the formulating a full-fledged paper by the end of the semester.

Final Paper

Each student is to complete the Final Paper individually. The length of the paper is to remain between 10 to 15 pages. All assignments are to be handed in Word format, font Times New Roman, size 12pt, double-spaced, paragraph justified. The paper should be built on the Mid-Term paper, and take into consideration the feedback given on the first two assignments. In writing their final paper, students will be expected to draw from the required and some of the optional readings; or even better introduce new readings that could make the class better in the future.

Final Paper Presentation

You will be asked to make a short PowerPoint presentation (15 minutes per student) sharing your interpretation of the puzzle with your classmates. The basic structure of the presentation should be the following:

1. Select a policy/program/project that either i) you have experienced first hand in your professional career, OR ii) you have not experienced personally but is interested in studying it anyway.
2. Spend the first part of the presentation explaining the context (where is this situation is happening? who is involved? what is this policy/program/policy about?). [approx. 4 minutes]
3. Contrast the expectations about how this project was supposed to work in theory (during the design/planning stages), with what actually happened in practice (during/after its implementation). [approx.3 minutes]
4. Use the Puzzle assigned for that day, and especially the required readings, as a framework to explain why theory and practice were different/similar. You should also take a stance in terms of identifying the most convincing argument and explain to the class the reasons for your choice [approx.8 minutes]
5. A Q&A of 15 minutes (for each student) will follow.