While the break between Spring and Summer isn’t very much, I’m excited to started for this last semester.

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

Welcome to the start of SOWK 588, Advanced Policy Practice. Week one has a synchronous class session, taking place on Saturday, 05/31/25. This week, we are starting our exploration of policy analysis by reflecting on previous work analyzing policies you have done. In the forums, you can write a definition of a problem, discuss current events and the impact of poverty, and further consider policy analysis. In class, we will continue to explore prospective policy analysis. The agenda is to be determined.

Learning Objectives this week include:

• Reflect on policy analysis previously done and relate it to prospective policy analysis
• Construct a succinct, evidence-informed problem definition for social policy
• Synthesize insights from contemporary data and events to reflect on evolving issues in poverty policy
• Engage in collaborative online discussions demonstrating critical thinking, respectful dialogue, and integration of scholarly perspectives.

Unit Assignments

Read

• Linquiti (2022) Chapter 1 Thinking about the Future: Prospective Policy Analysis
• Edin and Shafer (2016) Introduction

A-01 Weekly Online Discussion Forum

For the summer semester, I expect that you will have read the content prior and be engaging in the forums during the week, but your final reply and the forum don’t close until Monday at 8 AM. The forums are worth a total of 100 points, so over eight weeks, they are each worth 12.5 points. The expectation is that each of your replies will be substantive and provide meaningful perspectives, conversation, and scholarship to the forums. They can be related to the prompts or building on conversations shared by peers. There are four forums for this week, and you are expected to make at least three replies across any of the forums. These forums include the following:

• A forum Comparing Policy Brief and Prospective Policy Analysis asks you to consider the paper you wrote last semester and relate it to the content for discussed in the textbook
• You can practice Writing a Problem Definition for a Social Policy and demonstrate you ability to describe a problem using the shared strategies succinctly.
• The author provides questions Chapter 1 Discussion Questions, where you can consider many different aspects of policy analysis.
• The forum Current Consideration for Welfare asks you to explore extreme poverty or current legislation.

Unit Resources

I am still working on my presentation for class and will upload it here when it is ready.

To-Do List

• Attend class on Saturday
• Read Chapter 1 of the textbook and the introduction of the $2 per day book
• Complete at least three replies across any of the four forums