Spring 2025 ABCS Courses

Penn students can browse and register for ABCS courses on Path@Penn. To find ABCS courses, select "Academically Based Community Service Courses" in the University Attribute dropdown menu. Due to the registrar transition, there are some courses not tagged as ABCS on Path@Penn that are still ABCS courses. The accurate course list is on this webpage.

Download the Spring 2025 course list/flyer here.

Read an article published in the The Daily Pennsylvanian about ABCS here.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

ACCT 2110 / BEPP 2110: TAX POLICY AND PRACTICE IN THE PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY
Instructor: Edward Scott
Fulfills: Ben Franklin Seminars (UNBF), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG JWS: Joseph Wharton Scholars (WUJW)
Read more: https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/11/penn-wharton-abcs-accounting-volun...

The academic component of the course will focus on several areas: (1) The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap. Students will read this book throughout the semester to support their understanding of the community that they will be serving. (2) Statutory tax system. Students will learn about the tax system as it relates to individuals and sole proprietors. The VITA training covers general tax preparation, with a specific focus on tax credits available to VITA-eligible taxpayers and the use of VITA software. In addition, one session of the course will include a guest lecture/discussion. It will focus on statutory tax issues related to organizational form choice for self-employed and gig economy workers, which is an important statutory issue in low-income communities. (3) Social policy debate. Tax policy, including deductions, subsidies and credits, are one tool that lawmakers can use to get more cash in the hands of individuals and families, especially for low-income groups. Students will consider the effectiveness and usefulness of tax policies relative to other tools that the government has available. There are three guest lecturers for the sessions on tax policy. (4) Working with people. Volunteering with VITA requires students to work with people from a low-income community on the sensitive issue of personal finances. Students will learn to discuss sensitive financial issues with lower-income adults (including many seniors) through readings and in-class discussions, and by reflecting on their real-life experiences in the local community. This skill is important in a variety of roles such as healthcare (physicians and nurses), business (e.g., the HR function), and education. The community service part of the course is volunteering with VITA, which is the IRS’s “Volunteer Income Tax Assistance” program. Following training, students will perform tax services for the West Philadelphia community during the tax season. The course will meet once a week in three-hour sessions for 8-9 weeks during the Spring semester. Students are expected to be in the field performing service throughout a significant portion of the semester. As described on the IRS website, the VITA program has operated for over 50 years. Volunteers offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including: • People who generally make $58,000 or less • Persons with disabilities; and • Limited English-speaking taxpayers.

AFRC 1780/HIST 0811/URBS 1780: FACULTY-STUDENT COLLABORATIVE ACTION SEMINAR IN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Instructor: Ira Harkavy, Theresa Simmonds
Fulfills: Ben Franklin Seminars (UNBF), College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU Sector History&Traditions (NUHT), NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), University Scholar Social Issues (UNCS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This seminar helps students develop their capacity to solve strategic, real-world problems by working collaboratively in the classroom, on campus, and in the West Philadelphia community. Students develop proposals that demonstrate how a Penn undergraduate education might better empower students to produce, not simply "consume," societally-useful knowledge, as well as to function as caring, contributing citizens of a democratic society. Their proposals help contribute to the improvement of education on campus and in the community, as well as to the improvement of university-community relations. Additionally, students provide college access support at Paul Robeson High School for one hour each week.

AFRC 2162/HIST 2162: BEYOND 40 ACRES AND A MULE: HISTORY AND PRACTICE OF REPARATIONS IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Instructor: Breanna Moore

How did enslaved people and their descendants conceptualize reparations? What strategies did they employ to achieve them? How do present day movements for reparations seek to address historic harms? This ABCS course will examine the history of reparations advocacy amongst enslaved Africans and their descendants from the inception of the trans-Atlantic traffic in enslaved people to present day. This action-oriented course will explore the root of reparations - repair - and the historical and current strategies that people are employing, both nationally and globally, to advance racial and reparatory justice for descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States. By situating reparatory justice initiatives in the context of the African diaspora, the course will examine demands, goals, implementation plans, and organizing methods used by the descendants of enslaved Africans for the harms and legacies of slavery and colonization. Penn students will travel to Science Leadership Academy at Beeber once a week for ten weeks. *History Majors may write a 15-20 page research paper for the final project to fulfill the History Major research requirement.*

ANTH 0184: FOOD AND CULTURE
Instructor:
Katherine Moore, Michael Durkin

This course is designed to survey the complex ways that food and food-related activities are woven into human behavior. We will examine foodways from an anthropological perspective by examining the biological, cultural, and historic contexts of our food production, preparation, presentation, and consumption. We will consider aspects of "food and culture" at several critical junctions of human history and address contemporary issues related to food, health, identity, and society. The Spring 2025 version of ANTH 0184 will be an ABCS course with support from the Netter Center. The ABCS component of classwork will involve field observations and community meetings about food celebrations, healing with food, and access to food in West Philadelphia. The final outcome of the course will be a community art/recipe/sharing project that will start at the Juneteenth Celebration at the Penn Museum. Students will learn a variety of formal and informal ethnographic techniques and do collaborative research and planning.  As basic foundations for this work, lectures and readings will cover the anthropology of food from a variety of traditions in anthropology, including archaeology, biological anthropology and health, and cultural traditions. 8 seats have been reserved for anthropology majors. If you are not an anthropology major, we recommend you set up a Course Alert in case any unreserved seats become available.

ANTH 3376: ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACHES TO URBAN ATHLETICS AND HUMAN MOVEMENT
Instructor: Gretchen Suess
Fulfills: SEAS Humanities (EUHS), Wharton UG Core Flex GenEd (WUFG)

Rooted in the rubric of public interest social science, the course focuses on bridging theory and practice motivated by a commitment to social justice through original ethnographic research. In particular, this course will focus on kinesiology and the anthropology of sports and well-being through intense analysis of the Young Quakers Community Athletics (YQCA) program, a collaboration between the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and Penn Athletics. In guest lecturers from multiple disciplines will help to round out the course. The core learning objective is to bring a broad range of specialized expertise to foster a holistic examination of a complex institutional partnership intended to promote positive social transformation and improved human health and well-being.

ASLD 1032: DEAF CULTURE
Instructor: Jami Fisher
Fulfills: COL Advanced Language (AULA), College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), SEAS Humanities (EUHS)

This course is an advanced/conversational ASL course that explores several key topics related to Deaf Culture. Using only ASL in class, students will read and discuss books, articles, and films related to the following topics: What is Deaf Culture?; The History of the Deaf American; Deaf Identit(ies); Communication Debates and Language Deprivation; Technology and Deaf Culture; Deaf Art; Deaf-Space; and Deaf Families, Deaf-Hearing Families. Ultimately, students will work collaboratively on a final project that benefits local Deaf community members. Completion of at least the fourth semester of ASL (or the equivalent ASL experience with permission from the instructor) is required to take this course.

BIOL 1017: THE BIOLOGY OF FOOD
Instructor: Richard Poethig
Fulfills: College-Sector - Natural Science Across the Disciplines (AUNM), SEAS Natural Science (EUNS), Wharton UG Core Flex GenEd (WUFG)

This course will examine the ways in which humans manipulate - and have been manipulated by - the organisms we depend on for food, with particular emphasis on the biological factors that influence this interaction. The first part of the course will cover the biology, genetics, evolution, and breeding of cultivated plants and animals; the second part will concern the ecological, economic, and political factors that influence food production.

COLL 0135: THE ART OF SPEAKING
Instructor: Elizabeth (Sue) Weber
Fulfills: WH UG Humanities (WUHM)

This course is designed to equip students with the major tenets of rhetorical studies and peer education necessary to work as a CWiC speaking advisor. The course is a practicum that aims to develop students' abilities as speakers, as critical listeners and as advisors able to help others develop those abilities. In addition to creating and presenting individual presentations, students present workshops and practice advising. During this ABCS course, students will practice their advising skills by coaching and mentoring students at a public school in Philadelphia.

EAS 2420: ENERGY EDUCATION IN PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS
Instructor: Andrew Huemmler
Fulfills: Ben Franklin Seminars (UNBF), SEAS No Engineering Req (EUNE), SEAS Tech,Business,Society (EUTB), VIPER Energy Course (UNVE), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

Students will learn about basic residential energy efficiency measures and practices from an established community based energy organization, the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia. Identify and understand fundamental core STEM energy concepts. Develop a short "energy efficiency" curriculum appropriate for middle or high school students. Teach three (3) sessions in a science class in the School District of Philadelphia.

EDUC 2002: URBAN EDUCATION
Instructor:
Tawanna Jones

This seminar focuses on two main questions: 1) How have US schools and urban ones in particular continued to reproduce inequalities rather than ameliorating them? 2) In the informational age, how do the systems affecting education need to change to create more successful and equitable outcomes? The course is designed to bridge the divide between theory and practice. Each class session looks at issues of equity in relation to an area of practice (e.g. lesson design, curriculum planning, fostering positive student identities, classroom management, school funding, policy planning...), while bringing theoretical frames to bear from the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and psychology.

EDUC 2100: URBAN FINANCIAL LITERACY: PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE
Instructor:
Brian Peterson, Brandon Copeland

FREN 2180: FROM WEST AFRICA TO WEST PHILADELPHIA: CREATING COMMUNITY IN THE FRANCOPHONE DIASPORA
Instructor: Elizabeth Collins
Fulfills: COL Instruction: Non-English (AUOT), College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU GloblHealthMin Lang (NUGL), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), Wharton UG Core Flex GenEd (WUFG)

This course explores the immigrant experience with a focus on migration from Francophone West Africa to this country, particularly the impact it has on children and young people. Through a close partnership with young Francophone immigrants at the Lea School, we will focus on the challenges they face adapting to a new cultural and linguistic environment. We will review the Francophone context in order to understand the place of the French language in Africa; look at the immigrant and refugee experience through a variety of texts in French; examine the issues of mono-, bi- and multilingualism both on an individual and a societal basis; look at the competing meanings the French language holds for Black Americans; and study the role of foreign languages in American schools. Students will participate in the weekly Francophone Community Partnership, an after-school program with K - 8 children at the Lea School which seeks to enhance the children’s self-esteem and pride in their linguistic and cultural heritage.

LALS 2610/SOCI 2610: LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES
Instructor: Guadalupe Barrientos
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This course presents a broad overview of the Latino population in the United States that focuses on the economic and sociological aspects of Latino immigration and assimilation. Topics to be covered include: construction of Latino identity, the history of U.S. Latino immigration, Latino family patterns and household structure, Latino educational attainment. Latino incorporation into the U.S. labor force, earnings and economic well-being among Latino-origin groups, assimilation and the second generation. The course will stress the importance of understanding Latinos within the overall system of race and ethnic relations in the U.S., as well as in comparison with previous immigration flows, particularly from Europe. We will pay particular attention to the economic impact of Latino immigration on both the U.S. receiving and Latin American sending communities, and the efficacy and future possibilities of U.S. immigration policy. Within all of these diverse topics, we will stress the heterogeneity of the Latino population according to national origin groups (i.e. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latinos), as well as generational differences between immigrants and the native born.

LGST 2300: SOCIAL IMPACT AND RESPONSIBILITY: FOUNDATIONS
Instructor:
Djordjija Petkoski
Fulfills: Wharton UG Huntsman Program Elec (WUIS)

What role can business play in helping to meet global societal needs, whether it involves the environment, improving health, expanding education or eradicating poverty? Is there any responsibility on the part of business to help meet those needs? What are models of successful business engagement in this area? How should success be measured? Are there limits to what businesses can and should do, and what institutional changes will enable businesses and entrepreneurs to better succeed? This survey course provides students the opportunity to engage in the critical analysis of these and other questions that lie at the foundation of social impact and responsibility as an area of study. The course involves case studies, conceptual issues, and talks by practitioners. The course is designed to help students develop a framework to address the question: How should business enterprises and business thinking be engaged to improve society in areas not always associated with business? The course is required for the secondary concentration in Social Impact and Responsibility

MEAM 2301: PGS NETHERLANDS: BICYCLES: THE MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
Instructor:
Dustyn Roberts
Fulfills: Penn Global Seminars (UNPG), SEAS Math/Science/Engrng (EUMS)

This interdisciplinary course combines bicycle design, engineering, and service learning to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the history, evolution, and impact of bicycles on society and the environment. Through hands-on projects, community engagement, and class discussions, students will develop bicycle design and engineering skills, gain practical experience and exposure to bicycle repair and maintenance, explore the impact of bicycles and related technologies on society and the environment, and understand the role of bicycles in sustainable urban mobility and planning. Please note: This course is a Penn Global Seminar, which includes a travel component. An applicaton is required. For more information and to apply, visit: https://global.upenn.edu/pennabroad/pgs This class can only be taken for a letter grade, and not pass/fail.

MGMT 3530: WHARTON FIELD CHALLENGE: FINANCIAL LITERACY COMMUNITY PROJECT
Instructor: Keith Weigelt 

Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of a student? Do you want to set kids on a path to becoming financially literate? Do you want to learn leadership skills in the classroom? Here at the Financial Literacy Community Project (FLCP) we are able to create an experience that achieves all three. We partner with various public schools around the West Philadelphia area and teach concepts integral to financial literacy. We teach a wide range of grades from middle school to high school, and work with students to help them learn how to be financially responsible. In addition to teaching in neighboring high schools, we also have group class meetings run by Professor Keith Weigelt on Mondays from 7:00 PM-8:30 PM. We learn about the disparity of wealth and how to best address it while also learning teaching techniques, classroom strategies, and overall basic financial literacy. A basic understanding of personal financial literacy is required.

MGMT 4020: SERVICE LEARNING CLIENT PROJECT
Instructor: Anne Greenhalgh, Keith Weigelt

MGMT 4020 builds on the foundation established by the pre-requisites in the Leadership Journey. As seniors, you will draw on the self-awareness you acquired in WH1010, the speaking skills you practiced in WH2010, and the teamwork and interpersonal skills you honed in MGMT3010. Moreover, MGMT 4020 serves as a capstone course by giving you the opportunity to work with a robust nonprofit and in order to frame the problems and address the challenges your host organization faces; in the process, you will use your creative and critical thinking skills, apply what you have learned, and reflect on your growth and development through iterative feedback and constructive coaching. As a highly experiential course, MGMT 4020 is relatively unstructured, giving you ample opportunity to demonstrate leadership by providing direction and teamwork by pulling together to deliver results for your host. MGMT 4020 will enable you to draw on your Wharton undergraduate education and apply what you have learned in a way that promises to provide real impact for your host organization and a meaningful and memorable experience for you. It is only open to Wharton seniors. In short, MGMT 4020 gives Wharton seniors the opportunity to: - Engage in a service learning and experiential course - Demonstrate leadership and work as a team on a real, host engagement - Think creatively, critically, and practically for the benefit of your host - Refine your interpersonal communication and presentation skills - Heighten your self-awareness through feedback and reflection.

MUSC 0180B/URBS 0180B: MUSIC IN URBAN SPACES (must register in Fall 2024)
Instructor:
Molly Mcglone
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), College-Sector - Humanities & Social Science (AUHS), First Year Seminar (AUFS), MultiTerm Last (MTL), NU Sector Arts & Letters (NUAL), SEAS Humanities (EUHS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG Humanities (WUHM)

Music in Urban Spaces is a year-long experience that explores the ways in which individuals use music in their everyday lives and how music is used to construct larger social and economic networks that we call culture. We will read the work of musicologists, cultural theorists, urban geographers, sociologists and educators who work to define urban space and the role of music and sound in urban environments, including through music education. While the readings make up our study of the sociology of urban space and the way we use music in everyday life to inform our conversations and the questions we ask, it is within the context of our personal experiences working with music programs in public neighborhood schools serving economically disadvantaged students, that we will begin to formulate our theories of the contested musical micro-cultures of West Philadelphia. This course is over two-semesters where students register for .5 cus each term (for a total of 1 cu over the entire academic year) and is tied to the Music and Social Change Residential Program in Fisher Hassenfeld College House which will sponsor field trips around the city and a final concert for youth to perform here at Penn, if possible. Students are expected to volunteer in music and drama programs in Philadelphia neighborhood public schools throughout the course experience.

NRSC 1160: EVERYDAY NEUROSCIENCE
Instructor: Loretta Flanagan-Cato
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-netter-center-science-and-service
Fulfills: SEAS Natural Science (EUNS), WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

This course is an opportunity for undergraduates to share their interest and enthusiasm for neuroscience with students in grades 9-12 attending urban public schools in West Philadelphia. The course will allow Penn students to develop their science communication and teaching skills. Students will prepare neuroscience demonstrations, hands-on activities, and assessment tools. In parallel, the course aims to engage local high school students, increasing their interest and knowledge in science, and ultimately promoting lifelong science literacy.

PHYS 0137: COMMUNITY PHYSICS INITIATIVE
Instructor: Philip Nelson, Ryan Batkie
Fulfills: College-Sector - Natural Science Across the Disciplines (AUNM), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

This is an Academically Based Community Service Course (ABCS). The central purpose is to work in partnership with a local high school to improve physics education outcomes for their students. An immersive classroom experience will be enriched through instructional design work and grounded in a study of science education scholarship.

SOCI 1150/URBS 1155: FAIR HOUSING, SEGREGATION, AND THE LAW
Instructor: Lance Freeman
Fulfills: SEAS Social Science (EUSS)

This course introduces students to the way sociological theory intersects with and is used to enforce Fair Housing Law. At the end of the semester students will be familiar with various sociological theories that explain patterns of residential segregation in America. Students will learn about various planning and policies that have both reinforced and deepened patterns of segregation as well as various fair housing laws. Students will collaborate with the Advocacy for Racial and Civil Justice Clinic and a community based fair housing group to address a fair housing issue. Students will collect data, gather information, and perform analyses to further a fair housing advocacy effort.

URBS 1600: DECONSTRUCTING ISOLATION: EXPLORING THE USE OF GENERATIVE THIRD SPACE TO RECONNECT
Instructor: Kent Bream

This course explores the profound impact of the University of Pennsylvania on the West Philadelphia community, highlighting sustainable and respectful methods of engaging with vulnerable populations. Students will examine how creating inclusive and peer-led spaces can significantly enhance community safety and health. The curriculum emphasizes the importance of mindfulness in community engagement, encouraging students to be aware of their actions and their effects on the surrounding area. By examining the social disparities that manifest within Philadelphia, students will gain a deeper understanding of the systemic challenges faced by its residents. Students will also have the opportunity to engage in their community through volunteering weekly at the West Philadelphia Sanctuary. The course culminates in a final project where students will design their own community space blueprint, integrating the principles of inclusivity, sustainability, and social equity learned throughout the course.

URBS 2020: URBAN EDUCATION
Instructor: Michael Clapper
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD), DMD Elective (EUDM), NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), University Scholar Social Issues (UNCS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This seminar focuses on two main questions: 1) How have US schools and urban ones in particular continued to reproduce inequalities rather than ameliorating them? 2) In the informational age, how do the systems affecting education need to change to create more successful and equitable outcomes? The course is designed to bridge the divide between theory and practice. Each class session looks at issues of equity in relation to an area of practice (e.g. lesson design, curriculum planning, fostering positive student identities, classroom management, school funding, policy planning...), while bringing theoretical frames to bear from the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and psychology.

 

UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE COURSES

EDUC 5437: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN ACTION
Instructor: Stephen Kocher
Read more: https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/11/ibelieve-upenn-philadelphia-interf...
Fulfills: NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS), SEAS Social Science (EUSS), WH UG CCP US (WUCU), WH UG SS: Social Science (WUSS)

This ABCS course explores religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue and action on college campuses. It brings together students with diverse faith commitments (including atheism) to engage with and learn from one another in academic study, dialogue, and service.

EDUC 5580: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & APPLICATIONS WITH CHILDREN
Instructor:
Laronnda Thompson

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to consider mandates, models, and methods related to enhancing the learning and development of preschool and early elementary school children. This course emphasizes the application of developmental psychology and multicultural perspectives to the design of effective classroom-based strategies. Students will consider a "whole-child" approach to understanding children's classroom behavior in context. Major assignments will involve gathering and synthesizing information about children in routine classroom situations. This information will be used to better understand children's needs and strengths and how they are manifested in transaction with classroom contexts. Students will focus on one or more students to conduct a comprehensive child study of the child in context. This contact must include opportunities to observe children in a natural setting and interact with them on a regular basis through out the semester. The placement needs to be approved by the professor. If students do not have a regular classroom contact, one will be arranged.

EDUC 5912: SUPPORTING EARLY MATH LEARNING
Instructor: Caroline Ebby
Read more: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/penn-gse%E2%80%99s-pilot-abcs-elective-bu...

This course is an academically based community service (ABCS) course open to undergraduates and masters students.  The course will introduce current approaches to equitable and inclusive mathematics education, research on how children develop
foundational mathematical concepts, and basic concepts of cognitive and social/emotional development. Students will have opportunities to continually apply theory to practice through bi-weekly one-on-one sessions with an elementary student, using instructional modules that are designed to increase math confidence, engagement, and number sense, as well as regular assessment and reflection on the child’s progress. We will also unpack conceptions of teaching and learning, interrogate the "achievement gap" and racialized experiences with mathematics, and consider critical issues and policies that impact education in urban environments. The course meets twice a week and the tutoring sessions are conducted during the scheduled class time. No previous teaching or specialized knowledge of mathematics content is required.

EDUC 5931: COMMUNITY-ENGAGED TEACHING AND LEARNING IN PHILADELPHIA’S CHINATOWN
Instructor: Claire Wan, Tamika Easley 

This course will be an inquiry into community engaged teaching and learning (in K - 12 schools, out of school learning contexts, community spaces, youth centered spaces) and integrating critical pedagogies and participatory forms of research. The essential questions that will guide the course will include: With an increased mobilization of community organizing and activism throughout Philadelphia and beyond, how might we co-cultivate learning experiences and invitations that honor what students and families bring into their learning? As we are positioned in varying institutional and neighborhood contexts, how might we engage with these socio-political issues that directly impact their communities and schools? Throughout the course, we will explore various educational theories and theoretical frameworks on how to engage communities, and consider their pedagogical possibilities and implications. We will investigate how power and privilege shape our experiences, and the communities in which we live, and how intersecting issues of race, gender, class, language, and other identities play a pivotal role in our education.

EDUC 7772: EXPANDING CIVIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH
Instructor: Rand Quinn

This Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course is designed for Penn graduate and undergraduate students invested in youth civic empowerment. Students design multi-session, project-based lessons on collective problem solving on a contemporary issue (for example, climate justice, political redistricting, or school gentrification). Students will then facilitate their workshops in Philadelphia public school classrooms. As part of the course, students will develop and implement an internal assessment plan that may include observation protocols, post-lesson debriefings, participant focus groups, and teacher interviews. The data from these assessment tools will contribute to a final report.

IMUN 5900: COMMUNITY ENGAGED APPROACHES TO ASTHMA RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Instructor: Sarah Henrickson, Ceire Hay

Pediatric asthma is a chronic lung disease and a significant health burden to the Philadelphia community, affecting 1 in 5 school-aged children. In this Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, graduate students will not only receive an introduction to the immunological and environmental causes of asthma but will also be provided with the opportunity to engage with the local community by working in small groups as co-teachers of asthma lessons in a Philadelphia middle school classroom. Graduate students will receive instruction on 1) the underlying pathogenesis of asthma, 2) the efforts of local community organizers to improve asthma outcomes in vulnerable Philadelphia families, and 3) pedagogical principles. As co-teachers, graduate students will utilize problem-based learning approaches to promote education and awareness of asthma causes, symptoms and prevention in our community.

NURS 3130/5130: OBESITY AND SOCIETY
Instructor: Colleen Tewksbury, Charlene Compher
Fulfills: NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS); NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); SEAS Social Science (EUSS); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)

This course will examine obesity from scientific, cultural, psychological, and economic perspectives. The complex matrix of factors that contribute to obesity and established treatment options will be explored.

NURS 3570/NURS 5730: CASE STUDY: INNOVATION IN HEALTH: FOUNDATIONS OF DESIGN THINKING AND EQUITY-CENTERED DESIGN
Instructor: Marion Leary
Fulfills: ENG Engineering Entrepreneurship (EUNP), SEAS Tech,Business,Society (EUTB)

Innovation, defined as a hypothesis-driven, testable, and disciplined strategy, is important to improve health & healthcare. Employing new ways of thinking, such as with design thinking, will help open up possibilities of ways to improve health & the process of healthcare. Additionally, equity-centered design integrates features of design thinking with a focus on how the design process impacts the end-users and requires the inclusion of under-resourced communities throughout the design process to ensure that the power differences that lead to oppression, marginalization, and health inequity are removed (Equity Design Thinking, 2022). Incorporating current & emerging social & digital technologies such as mobile apps, wearables, remote sensing, and 3D printing, affords new opportunities for innovation. This course provides foundational content & a disciplined approach to innovation as it applies to health, healthcare, public health and health equity. A flipped classroom approach has the in-class component focusing on group learning through design thinking activities. The course is open to undergraduate nursing students as a case study & upper-level undergraduates and graduate students from across the Penn campus. The course provides a theoretical foundation in design thinking and equity-centered design along with a focus on using a Design Justice lens and the importance of storytelling. To enhance the didactic component, students will actively participate in a design case study. Students will be matched by interest and skill level with teams & will work with community-based organizations, healthcare providers and/or innovation partners. Student teams will meet their partners to identify & refine a health, healthcare, public health or health equity problem to tackle. Students will work throughout the semester to create an innovative solution that will be pitched to their community-based organization, healthcare provider, and/or innovation partner at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: Completion of freshman & sophomore level courses

 

GRADUATE COURSES

AFRC 7230/EDUC 7323: MULTICULTURAL ISSUES IN EDUCATION 
Instructor: Vivian Gadsden, Tamika Easley 

This course examines critical issues, problems, and perspectives in multicultural education. Intended to focus on access to literacy and educational opportunity, the course will engage class members in discussions around a variety of topics in educational practice, research, and policy. Specifically, the course will (1) review theoretical frameworks in multicultural education, (2) analyze the issues of race, racism, and culture in historical and contemporary perspective, and (3) identify obstacles to participation in the educational process by diverse cultural and ethnic groups. Students will be required to complete field experiences and classroom activities that enable them to reflect on their own belief systems, practices, and educational experiences.

COMM 6200: CLIMATE COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY: YOUTH-CENTERED PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH
Instructors: Emily Falk, Dani Cosme, Andy Tan

This doctoral-level, academically based community service (ABCS) research seminar focuses on co-developing research questions with local youth in West Philadelphia to explore their experiences with climate change and identify potential solutions for how to mitigate, adapt to, and build resilience in the face of climate change. This course will apply frameworks and theories from climate communication, behavior change, and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). Students will engage in a hands-on, youth-engaged research project and apply YPAR principles to empower youth voices in climate discourse and action. Graduate students will learn core theories about behavior change, communication intervention design, and YPAR. They will gain experience designing and implementing a mixed-methods study, combining qualitative with quantitative research techniques to conduct formative research, message design, and testing in partnership with youth. Through this project, students will develop proficiency in data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of findings. The course will also cover ethical and practical considerations in youth-centered research, relationship building, community engagement strategies, and effective facilitation skills. This course provides a unique opportunity for doctoral students to gain practical experience in participatory research while addressing pressing social and environmental issues in the West Philadelphia community.

CPLN 7200: HOUSING, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRACTICUM
Instructor: Domenic Vitiello
Read more: https://www.design.upenn.edu/post/towards-greener-healthier-more-prosper...

The Housing, Community & Economic Development Practicum course is the capstone for the CED concentration. Using the skills and knowledge they have acquired in CPLN 5200 and the theory/method requirement, students work in small groups on projects for local clients. These clients may include community-based organizations, public agencies, or other nonprofits.

DENT 7102: HEALTH PROMOTION II
Instructor: Joan Gluch

This course provides students with both seminars and clinical experiences in order to gain additional knowledge, skills and values to develop competency in health promotion activities. Seminars are scheduled throughout the third year and include the following topics: risk assessment for caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer; customized oral health promotion plans to address risks and promote health; health promotion care with dentures and implants; modifying health promotion for patients with physical, developmental and emotional disabilities. Discussions also focus on communication to meet the different social and cultural needs of patients. Clinical experiences in the Primary Care Units and Community Clinics provide students with opportunities to develop skills and competencies related to health promotion. Oral health promotional activities are an integral part of the care students provide with their patients. Students complete a Caries and Periodontal Risk Assessment with each patient and provide customized oral health promotional services periodically throughout treatment. Students provide fluoride treatments, tobacco counseling and nutritional counseling as appropriate for their patients. In addition, edentulous patients receive special advice regarding mouth care, denture care and oral cancer self-examination procedures. Students must record the completion of health promotion procedures in Axium using appropriate codes to document completion of required clinical activities. In addition, students must record the completion of appropriate health promotion activities on the clinical charts.

DENT 6101: LOCAL, PUBLIC HLTH, ETHIC
Instructor: Joan Gluch

Lectures, seminars and community experiences provide students with foundation knowledge in general principles of public health and community health, with specific application to the following dental public health concepts: access to care, cost, quality of care and international health. Students complete community experiences that provide foundation experiences in developing and implementing community oral health promotion activities.

DENT 6102: LOCAL & PUBLIC HEALTH II
Instructor: Joan Gluch

Lectures, seminars and community experiences provide students with foundation knowledge in general principles of public health and community health, with specific application to the following dental public health concepts: access to care, cost, quality of care and international health. Students complete community experiences that provide foundation experiences in developing and implementing community oral health promotion activities.

DENT 7122: COMMUNITY ORAL HEALTH
Instructor: Joan Gluch
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/dental-schools-joan-gluch-promotes-acad...

Community Oral Health Experiences in alternate oral health care delivery settings provide students with the opportunity to develop and expand their skills in providing comprehensive oral health care in community based settings under the direct supervision of faculty members. Students are scheduled in the mobile dental vehicle, PennSmiles, and are also scheduled at Community Volunteers in medicine, a community based medical and dental treatment facility in West Chester, PA. Students attend small group seminars to discuss their experiences and theoretical underpinnings of community oral health activities.

EDUC 5841: ACCESS & CHOICE IN AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION
Instructor: 
Marcus Wright

College enrollment is a complex process that is shaped by the economic, social and policy context, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, families, and students. The course will examine the theoretical perspectives that are used to understand college access and choice processes. The implications of various policies and practices for college access and choice will also be explored, with particular attention to the effects of these policies for underrepresented groups. As an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, this course is also designed to generate tangible recommendations that program administrators and institutional leaders may be used to improve college access and choice.

EDUC 7220: SEMINAR IN MICROETHNOGRAPHY
Instructor: Betsy Rymes, Hannah Brenneman, Suzanne Oh, Erica Poinsett

This course provides an introduction to theory and method in the unified analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior as it is culturally patterned, socially organized, and socially organizing in face-to-face interaction, in an approach that integrates participant observation with the detailed analysis of audiovisual records. Students read relevant literature in linguistic anthropology, interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and embodiment in social interaction. Class requirements include in-class reading presentations, a small microethnographic research project, and several short data analysis reports drawing on differing levels of analysis and differing theoretical orientations. Students review and apply methods of audiovisual data collection, transcription, processing, archiving, and presentation.

FRO 5350: FRONTIERS IN CULINARY MEDICINE
Instructor: Horace Delisser

Culinary medicine is a 4-week elective that is taught by a team of culinary experts, physicians, and registered dietitians, that integrates the science of medicine and the culinary arts into an interdisciplinary experience that prepares students to promote healthy eating in their future patients. Through didactics, case-based discussions, and virtual in-the-kitchen training by professional chefs, students will learn behavior change strategies regarding diet and nutrition, as well as explore healthier diets and the use of accessible and inexpensive substitute ingredients to prepare healthy, yet tasty meals. It is anticipated this course will stimulate students to incorporate healthy behaviors into their own personal lives, and in so doing, gain more comfort and confidence in sharing these behaviors with their future patients.

IDT 2530: FOUNDATIONS OF CULINARY MEDICINE
Instructor:
Horace Delisser

Foundations of Culinary Medicine is a one-year elective course for first-year medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine. Taught by a team of culinary experts, physicians, and registered dietitians, Foundations integrates advanced nutrition science and the culinary arts into a hands-on, interdisciplinary experience. Each session will run during a Module 2 organ system and disease block in order to integrate nutrition education with the basic science and clinical medicine concepts of a particular organ system. This training will provide students with the knowledge to understand the impact of healthy eating on normal human physiology and disease. Through evidence-based research, case-based discussions and in-the-kitchen, hands-on training, students will learn about the role of nutrition in integrated biological systems, with a focus on dietary recommendations for real-life patient care. Students will also learn by teaching, and partnering with Philadelphia schools and families to facilitate food educational programs and community dinners. It is anticipated that this course will provide a foundation for students to both understand and communicate the impact of good nutrition on their own health, as well as the health of their future patients.

NGG 5900: RESEARCH & COMMUNITY: BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE IN THE URBAN CURRICULUM
Instructor:  Loretta Flanagan-Cato

NGG 5900 is an activity-based course with three major goals. First, the course is an opportunity for biomedical graduate students to develop their science communication skills and share their enthusiasm for neuroscience with high school students at a nearby public high school in West Philadelphia. In this regard, Penn students will prepare demonstrations and hands-on activities to engage local high school students, increase their knowledge in science, and ultimately promote their interest in science-related careers. Second, the course will consider the broader educational context, such as the conditions of the local high school and its overall progress in science education. Students will discuss the problems they encounter and learn how to develop effective proposals, taking into account the participants and the origins of current policies. Third, students will reflect and discuss the important connection between their biomedical research at Penn and the local Philadelphia community.

NURS 7350: PEDIATRIC ACUTE CARE NP: PROFESSIONAL ROLE AND INTERMEDIATE CLINICAL PRACTICE
Instructor: Jessica Strohm Farber, Cynthia Schmua
Fulfills: WH UG NSME: Natural Science, Math, Engineering (WUNM)

This course focuses on the implementation of the professional role of the Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (PNP-AC). Particular emphasis is placed on the role components of the nurse practitioner in pediatric acute care. Applications of nursing, biological and behavioral science are emphasized in the advanced clinical assessment, clinical decision making and management skills needed to care for complex, unstable acutely and chronically ill children and their families. The role of the advanced practice nurse in promoting optimal child/family outcomes is emphasized.