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Operation PSA: The Action Learning of Curiosity and Creativity Critical Observations In retrospect, it’s often amazing how the most basic components of a project have the largest impact. Operation PSA was no different. The strength and merit of the team’s endeavors rested on the framing of the interview questions for the PSAs. While none of the videotaped participants was given the questions in advance for perusal, each provided responses that clearly documented the magnitude of creativity (i.e., sensitivity), branding (i.e., trust), and technology (i.e., interrelationships) associated with the boundary-spanning skills of public and nonprofit leadership. The success of the PSAs rested upon the fact that the questions possessed an inherent relevance for eager audiences of those who had grown tired of classroom politics, and had come to prefer rebuilding the intricate connection between education and communication. The length of the conference-based PSA was another consideration for the team. While no definitive rule was set regarding the length of the conference video, most memorable PSAs typically range between 90 and 120 seconds (National Centre of Languages, 2007; Weatherization Assistance Program, 2009). For example, the longer, draft PSAs generated from the conference (i.e., more than three minutes) found participants intertwining their explanations for the motivation and marketing questions (e.g., What was your motivation for coming to the conference and How would you go about marketing this conference). Therefore, the marketing question was eliminated from the final PSA, but the two most pertinent statements were still retained to add greater depth to the attendees’ passion and commitment. In contrast, the shorter draft PSAs (i.e., 30 seconds) did not showcase the breadth of respondents’ emotions or the naturalness that colleagues felt when asking one another for assistance. Keeping these factors in mind, the team finalized a 2.33-minute PSA that would hopefully inspire public and nonprofit students, practitioners, and educators to try action learning. CONCLUSION Action learning empowers “anyone who is capable and who has the willingness to assume leadership in his or her relationship with peers, team members, customers, suppliers, and other organization partners” (Raelin, 2006, p. 152). It is imperative, particularly as public administration reproduces and transforms itself, that the same learning formulation of L = P + Q be continued, for it will help educators and practitioners ask (a) what could be happening within the field, (b) what is stopping such a flow of creation and utilization, and (c) what can individuals do to demonstrate a learning-to-learn aptitude Raelin (2006) reinforces how “learning results from the independent contributions of programmed instruction (designated P) and spontaneous questioning (designated Q)” (p. 153). From these similar beginnings, the project 374 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Operation PSA: The Action Learning of Curiosity and Creativity team set out to persuade educators and practitioners to utilize the growing power of the PSA format to share the leadership capabilities of boundaryspanning communications. Since then, team members have expanded beyond the conference realm into portfolio materials used for job interviews, predoctoral addresses, working tutorials for classes, and as reflective course exercises in grant-writing, communication workshops, and career development. As Revans (1998) said, There is now plenty of evidence that the world is not only changing but doing so in a fashion hard to understand. The concept of action learning, identifying improvement in not only technological performance but also in personal self-development and sociological cooperation with working colleagues (or team-mates), is taken up in many different historical, economic, industrial, social, and other conditions. Action learning becomes a simple and direct approach in adapting to the accelerating rate of change (p. 23). Operation PSA has become an example of the action learning of curiosity and creativity in the ever-changing teaching world of public administration. REFERENCES Aldrich, H., & Herker, D. (1977). Boundary spanning roles and organization structure. The Academy of Management Review, 2, 217-230. Baker, M.T., Rudd, R.D., & Pomeroy, C. (2001). Tapping into the creative potential of higher education: A theoretical perspective. Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research, 51, 161- 172. Bok, D. (2006). Our underachieving colleges. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Boyer, E.L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professorate. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Casner-Lotto, J., & Barrington, L. (2006). Are they really ready to work Retrieved March 14, 2007, from http://www.conference-board.org/publications/describe.cfmid=1218. Cohen, E., & Tichy, N.M. (1998). Teaching: The heart of leadership. Healthcare Forum Journal, 41, 20-26. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education (1997 paperback ed.). New York: The Free Press. Dilworth, R.L. (1998). Action learning in a nutshell. Performance Improvement Quality, 11, 28-43. Gowan, J. C. (1975). Trance, art, and creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 9, 1-11. Griffin, A., & Kaleba, K. (2006). Young workers lack critical skills [Electronic version]. T + D, 60 (12), 19. From ABI/INFORM Global (1178629081). Hensley, R.B., Arp, L., & Woodward, B.S. (2004). Curiosity and creativity as attributes of information literacy. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 44, 31-36. Herman, R.D. & Associates (2005). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Journal of Public Affairs Education 375
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