About Connector Courses
We are inspired by Data 8, a front-end course in data science that more than half of Berkeley undergraduates now take, which was developed with a kind of “master-feeder” structure, with the same Data8 course being taken by freshmen across all different majors, accompanied by a suite of “Connector” courses that go more deeply into data-science tools and applications in different fields.
The parallel with the Berkeley Changemaker is our gateway Course 12. A goal over the next few years is to have a half or more of Berkeley’s undergraduates take this gateway course, “The Berkeley Changemaker” preferably in their freshman or transfer year, followed by one or more Connector Courses in the Berkeley Changemaker suite.
About Berkeley Changemaker Connector Courses
Connector courses fall into three categories:
(1) New Courses: These are custom-built for the Berkeley Changemaker and offer deep dives within a single discipline (e.g. Becoming a Changemaker in Public Health) or that utilize BC concepts to offer a multidisciplinary (or pan-professional) perspective on changemaking (e.g. Berkeley Changemaker: Philosophy and Values). An example is: Berkeley Changemaker™: Writing the Change We Seek.
(2) Redesigns: Existing courses whose curriculum is revised to link tightly with BC content pillars (critical thinking/collaboration/communication) to also include a changemaker experience/project.
(3) Practicums: Existing courses, whose curriculum references BC concepts, to which a one-unit practicum is added that both explores BC concepts in greater detail and includes a changemaker project/experience. An example is: Berkeley Changemaker™: Topics in International Ethics.
