JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - naspaa
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - naspaa
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION - naspaa
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Badgers & Hoosiers:<br />
An Interstate Collaborative<br />
Learning Experience Connecting<br />
MPA Students in Wisconsin and Indiana<br />
Karen N. King<br />
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh<br />
Cara M. Spicer<br />
Legacy Foundation<br />
ABSTRACT<br />
Collaborative learning projects are a widely used instructional strategy in Master’s<br />
of Public Administration (MPA) classes, because participating in them leads to<br />
increased student learning and helps students develop the ability to work in selfdirected<br />
teams. In this article, researchers report on three collaborative learning<br />
projects involving students of graduate-level, public administration programs in<br />
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and in Gary, Indiana. They describe the projects, assess<br />
students’ responses to them, and offer recommendations for instructors who<br />
might be interested in implementing similar activities across programs, state lines,<br />
or national borders. The authors found that the projects served as a critical bridge<br />
to course concepts by broadening their students’ perspectives on the study and<br />
practice of public administration, and by challenging them to reflect on their own<br />
activities and behaviors in a theoretical context.<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
Collaborative learning projects are a widely used instructional strategy in<br />
Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) classes. They increase learning across the<br />
MPA curriculum, and enhance students’ abilities to work in self-directed teams<br />
because, as Schumaker (2005) observes, “the ability to work successfully with<br />
others is one of the most important interpersonal skills that one can develop” (p.<br />
22).<br />
Collaborative learning projects typically involve a group of students within a<br />
given class working jointly on projects that had been defined by the instructor.<br />
JPAE 15(3): 349–360 Journal of Public Affairs Education 349