This course aims to provide students with a general introduction to the basic core competencies and practical skills required of a "generalist" development practitioner and serves as the foundation course for the curriculum. Case studies will be used to demonstrate the interconnectedness of natural sciences and engineering, social science, health sciences, and management, especially as they relate to communities.

This seminar will reinforce the multidisciplinary breadth and trans-disciplinary perspective of the master's program, providing students with the opportunity to sharpen critical policy analysis skills. The goal of the course is to help students understand the sources of public policy, that is, why we have various public policies and how to produce professional policy analysis.

This semester students will conduct an evaluation of their project and manage closure processes. At the end students will submit a final written report and present it to the faculty and peers. This final project and the final report detailing the project will serve as the capstone course of the program. Prereq: DPP 980.

Learning in formal and informal contexts and cultural aspects of learning and development with an emphasis on childhood and adolescence. Theories of learning including behaviorism, constructivism, sociocultural, and design perspectives. Topics include research and varied cultural perspectives on intelligence, motivation, identity and the self, concept learning and knowledge, noncognitive aspects of learning, social and emotional learning, deficit thinking and social justice perspectives, design-based perspectives on educational innovation, and assessment. Special fee.