JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - naspaa

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Operation PSA: The Action Learning of Curiosity and Creativity spanning communication is and how it enhances personal growth, cuts down on redundancy, and cultivates a management environment. Boundary-spanning PSAs help with this by making faculty more aware about the limits of their own communication. Finally, through the insightful editing of individual statements and group dialogues, faculty and students are able to construct PSAs that reflect the viability of public administration. What further distinguishes PSAs created in this manner is the significance of action learning. Action learning expresses the balance between an individual’s imagination and an organization’s constraint of curiosity, while signaling the identification of leadership with a global convergence. Together, the boundaryspanning potential of PSAs rests upon the development of social expressiveness, sensitivity to others’ reactions, and an ability to adjust behavior through reflection towards the attainment of viable solutions. The full attainment of such skills can only be accomplished through the resolution of real problems. Through a desire to build sustainable and accountable relationships, negotiated communications, such as boundary spanning, manage the complexity and interdependency of a changing world. Where can future administrators begin to trust those viewed as “outsiders” Developing boundary spanning within the organizational context of a course provides one option in serving as the “lubricant” of this trust (McGuire, 2006, p. 38). OPERATION PSA: PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT <strong>OF</strong> ACTION-LEARNING TOOLS Overview Operation PSA sought to channel the potential of the PSA format to make administrative leadership come alive across the boundaries of the classroom and the community. Translating this goal into Revans’ equation of L (Learning) = P (Past knowledge) + Q (Questioning) results in the following: L = Educators and practitioners generate PSAs that highlight the role of technology, creativity, and branding to inspire and develop leadership abilities through boundary-spanning communications, P = The usage of pre-selected materials, tutorials, and related literatures chosen by a mentor (teacher) that fuel an understanding and expansion of boundary-spanning PSAs within the curricula of administrative leadership, and Q = An awareness of taken-for-granted assumptions about the boundaryspanning capabilities of PSAs in promoting leadership, and an exploration into its strengths and challenges when addressing real problems and dilemmas. The major processes instrumental in this action-learning project — aimed at invigorating the leadership capabilities of administration — resulted in seven procedural steps: (1) general problem identification, (2) team recruitment, (3) topic selection and clarification, (4) protocol and rubric development, (5) media 366 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Operation PSA: The Action Learning of Curiosity and Creativity selection and experimentation, (6) PSA formation, and (7) action-learning documentation. Each step is explained through the team’s shared experiences in the production of the two PSAs, including one made during the 2008 TPAC. The first PSA was purposely crafted to reflect an undergraduate perspective on the meaning and role of public administration. Completed prior to the conference, the team hoped it would resonate with audience members and build excitement about the pedagogical appeal of PSAs. The second one was filmed and edited over a 24-hour period during the conference. It relied upon the expressed trust and respect between conference participants to entice newcomers to the 2009 TPAC, and required a willingness from attendees to accept the learner role themselves. Describing the process for these PSAs is intended to engage the reader through the progression of building boundary-spanning PSAs. Step 1: General Problem Identification Determining what issue or concern is the focal point for any research effort is extremely important. An initial resource for feedback might come from the trusted opinions of peers, practitioners, or former students. If venturing into new or unknown territory, interacting with institutional Centers for Teaching and Learning might help one discern developmental trends or issues that spark a researcher’s interest or curiosity. Operation PSA, on the other hand, grew from the notion of returning to a back-to-basics style of learning, similar to Dewey’s (1916) association between communication and education. It provided a logical foundation from which to address the development of students’ and educators’ leadership talents and action-learning experiences. Step 2: Team Recruitment Research or application projects are only as good as their members. The importance of this fact becomes even more clear when documents reveal that “people join groups to pursue individual needs,” rather than to resolve group goals (Ruben & Stewart, 1998, p. 279). For the team leader, finding a commonality or foundation upon which others could agree was imperative. Drawing again upon the works of Dewey (1916) and Revans (1980), Operation PSA arose from (a) the commitment to resolve a real problem or issue (i.e., the incorporation of innovative action-learning tools within public and nonprofit administrative classrooms) and (b) a willingness to explore the bounds of innovation in order to generate change as learner agents (Worley, 2000). Keeping the number of members down to a workable unit was another factor of concern, because, with four members in the group, there could be as many as “twenty-five potential communication relationships” (Ruben & Stewart, 1998, p. 281). Therefore, the inclusion of any more than four additional members was outweighed by the costs incurred for attaining consensus, keeping members informed, counteracting pressures toward conformity, and affecting leadership (Ruben & Stewart, 1998). Journal of Public Affairs Education 367
Page 1 and 2:
Summer 2009 Volume 15, No. 3 JPAE J
Page 3 and 4:
EDITOR’S NOTE REFERENCES Henry, N
Page 5 and 6:
the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Page 7 and 8:
Public Values As a Core Element of
Page 9 and 10:
Public Values as a Core Element of
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
How Do We Know What They Know Evalu
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Enhancing Professional Socializatio
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58: Enhancing Professional Socializatio
Page 59 and 60: Enhancing Professional Socializatio
Page 61 and 62: Staying Connected: MPA Student Perc
Page 77 and 78: Teaching Public Administration As a
Page 91 and 92: Badgers & Hoosiers: An Interstate C
Page 103 and 104: Operation PSA: The Action Learning
Page 107: Operation PSA: The Action Learning
Page 125 and 126: Introduction of Government Process
show all

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - naspaa

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?