Week five includes an in-person class session on Saturday (06/28/25). In $2.00 a Day, Edin and Shaefer (2016) shift toward the work of survival that can be so consuming for people living on the margins. There is a forum to start considering potential policies that could help support this population or to reflect on the systematic nature of this poverty. Linquiti’s (2022) reading is focused on the characteristics that make up an effective policy analyst. Students will engage in several forums this week—developing and sharing their own Fermi Cheat Sheets, responding to applied policy discussion questions, and critically examining what it means to “deconstruct” a policy claim. During the in-person class session, we will consider this practice with constructing and deconstructing policy claims and understanding the characteristics of an effective policy analyst.

The agenda for the in-person class session includes:

• The characteristics of an effective policy analyst
• Understanding numbers and inequality
• Developing a sound, well-reasoned, evidence-informed, policy-relevant claim
• PLAIN vs APA writing style

The learning objectives this week include:

• Identify and reflect on the six core mindsets of effective policy analysts
• Apply a framework to develop and critique policy claims using real-world topics collaboratively
• Interpret visual and quantitative data to understand wealth inequality
• Compare APA and PLAIN writing styles
• Explain how Fermi estimation techniques can be used to approach policy questions quickly and effectively.
• Identify and evaluate the components of a well-structured policy claim.
• Reflect on the structural causes of poverty and explore potential policy responses.
• Apply critical thinking to assess assumptions, power dynamics, and ideologies embedded in policy claims.
• Explore broader critical frameworks and consider how they expand the scope of policy practice.
• Practice articulating and critiquing policy arguments through structured written and verbal responses.