Deliberative learning: Connecting urban planning theory and practice using case studies and peer-learning

Deliberative learning: Connecting urban planning theory and practice using case studies and peer-learning

Grant:
Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching
Academic Year:
2013 - 2014 (June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014)
Funding Requested:
$10,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
lhoey
hfe
Overview of the Project:
One of the key challenges for urban planning courses is the difficulty connecting classroom learning to the realities of professional practice. This project combines peer-learning with a rich set of case studies created by planning professionals for use in graduate instruction. The methodology will allow students to apply abstract planning theories and concepts to real scenarios and projects, debate alternative planning approaches with their peers, enable creative and critical group thinking, expand their geographic and institutional knowledge base, and better prepare them for their capstone and professional experiences. For the instructor, the methodology will allow them to connect theory to practice and to quickly identify which concepts students are struggling to understand or put into practice. Our much larger goals are to establish Michigan's Urban and Regional Planning program as an innovator in planning education and to create a library of planning-specific cases that may serve our program and others. Professionals with detailed and long-standing knowledge of planning practice will draft cases studies in collaboration with faculty based on actual scenarios where practitioners faced a difficult planning decision. Ultimately, we hope that the integration of peer-based learning and practice-based case studies throughout urban planning education will foster more insightful professional judgment and bring forth more creative solutions to today's toughest planning challenges.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

We proposed to develop a new teaching methodology for international planning that combines peer-instruction with a rich set of international case studies created specifically by development professionals for use in graduate instruction. To do this, we planned to: a) develop a total of 10 case studies based on actual scenarios where planning practitioners faced a difficult decision related to the major topics in international planning and b) pilot and evaluate the learning impact of these cases in two graduate-level international planning classes at the University of Michigan and University of Colorado Denver with our colleague Andrew Rumbach.

Project Achievements:

Our project team developed and piloted 15 cases in total. On May 27th, 2016, we launched our website (http://www. planningcasestudies.org) which makes the cases and accompanying teaching materials available to other educators. This includes a student version of the case study, an instructor version with a post-script the explains how the case was resolved in practice, an introductory power point, learning objectives and suggested paired readings. The site has had 622 visitors since our launch and 33 educators from the US and internationally have formally registered to use the site. Our project team also published an article in one of the leading urban planning journals that discusses our pedagogical/theoretical framework and the initial student outcomes: Hoey, L., Rumbach, A., and J. Shake. Bringing practice to the classroom: Using a deliberative learning and case study approach to teach international planning. J of Planning Education & Research (Online first 5.26.16). In our own graduate planning classes on international planning, the cases have introduced more vibrant conversations that link theory to practice. Students continue to express in evaluations that the cases are the most dynamic and interesting aspects of the courses. Since the launch of the website, other faculty have expressed an interest in using some of the cases in their own classrooms as well.

Continuation:
We are not currently planning to develop additional case studies, but we are continuing to collect student learning outcomes as we use the case studies and plan to publish a second article on our findings in 2017. We have considered adding to our case study library in the future.
Dissemination:
In addition to the publicly available website and our first publication, our team organized a panel on the use of case studies in planning education at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) in 2015, where we presented our case study pedagogical approach and project. As noted, we also plan to publish a more empirical article based on learning outcomes in 2017.
Advice to your Colleagues:
Working with international development planning practitioners was a challenge. It was difficult for practitioners – even the academics who conduct action research – to find the time to devote to writing the case, particularly in a style and format consistent with the case studies we were trying to develop. Rather than send our partners our guide and expect them all to write the case from scratch, we started offering them the option of doing a phone/skype interview with us and then having them edit the draft we developed based on the interview. This was the best way to support their involvement, to speed the process, and to ensure more consistency across the cases.
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