I teach an undergraduate course on comparative social policy that aims to bridge theories from the welfare state literature and real-world policy analysis, including a data analysis project, and train students to use evidence for policy design and recommendations. Much of the course is driven through in-class case studies of policy problems. I tried a hands-on approach to get the students to engage in the case studies, but found that the undergraduate students often lacked background knowledge for effective policy analysis. I considering alternative ways to use class time to practice address real world policy issues using evidence and case studies and would be interested to engage with conference participants about how to train our students to address real world issues even when they do not have background knowledge before the course.
I think that an effective format for this could be to present one of the case studies from the existing format of the course (i.e. teaching demonstration) and discuss alternative approaches. I would also be open to other formats.
