Teaching planning methods through modules

Most academic planning programs offer planning methods through traditional three-credit courses in their core planning curricula, a format that our st udents, faculty, and alumni have questioned. The methods courses tend to ge r overloaded through incremental additions of material over time. Semester- long courses do not offer flexibility to students who need more in-depth co verage of some techniques. In addition, che march between faculty expertise in methods and the required methods offering is nor ideal. The search for an alternative format of offering planning methods has led to the use of fi ve-week, one-credit modules as a parr of the core requirements. With the mo dules, the methods curriculum is now more diverse, more rigorous, and more practical than ir was before. A survey of U.S. graduate planning programs s uggests that the module approach to teaching planning methods is appropriat e and effective for many particular methods. This discussion is intended to provide background and experience with methods modules.