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Badgers & Hoosiers: An Interstate Collaborative Learning Experience ConnectingMPA Students in Wisconsin and Indiana“The assessment was critical and harsh.”“You made our group feel like undergraduates (Penultimate for cryingout loud!).”“This got our dander up!”In the UWO class, one group asked (incredulously) if the IUN group memberswere “really graduate students.”The IUN students often would visibly respond to positive feedback bysmiling broadly, sitting or standing taller, and “high-fiving” or “fist-bumping”their teammates. Both authors agree that the collaborative project generatedmore energy in the IUN class, but both groups of students and instructors werestimulated by a connected approach. It encouraged all participants to look atthe coursework from a variety of perspectives, including as the embodiment of“framing” perceptions, and as responses to the environment. This observationled to a discussion of how the exercise might have had a different dynamic ifstudents in the two classes had the opportunity for more direct personal contact.With lessons learned in the 2007 fall semester, we were better prepared tointroduce students to collaborative work, and made changes in the logistics ofhow students would interact with each other. Both instructors observed aheightened level of interest by the students when the collaborative learningproject was introduced and, in the end, most students reported that learningabout another community and graduate program in public administration was ofinterest, and gave them a broader perspective on their own academic pursuits andprofessional lives. Far and away, the project component with the greatest impactwas participating in an interview with a student from the partnering class. OneUWO student commented on the value of honing her interviewing skills:The interview process as part of the collaborative learning projectprovided one of the best learning opportunities of the project … In thefuture, if I am asked to interview people as part of a project, I would bemore than happy to do so. The information and knowledge gainedthrough this technique is invaluable.Another UWO student’s comment reflected a broader perspective:I very much enjoyed researching Gary, IN, and in having a phoneinterview with an MPA student at Indiana University Northwest … Itwas really interesting and informative to have a great conversation withsomeone I would never have met otherwise … It was humbling inmany ways to discuss the problems that Gary faces and compare themto the less severe ones facing most of us in the Fox Valley [of OshKosh]… The personal stories were the most compelling part for me, makingthe interview process my favorite element of the project.356 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Badgers & Hoosiers: An Interstate Collaborative Learning Experience ConnectingMPA Students in Wisconsin and IndianaIUN students were equally intrigued by the interview component of the projectand, for the most part, embraced it enthusiastically. Three of the IUN studentsreported that a real rapport was established during the interview with their UWOpartner, which resulted in a wider discussion than would have been possible bymerely adhering strictly to the interview guide. Several commented that analyzingtheir own organizing behaviors helped to clarify course concepts in organizationtheory. In summarizing the general consensus of the IUN students on thiscollaborative learning project, one student commented, “I thought this projectwas extremely helpful in understanding not only the material but how otherstudents viewed how the applications could impact their work or environment.”RECOMMENDATIONSThis project began as a casual conversation, was followed by a sharing of ideasfor in-class activities, and eventually morphed into a full-blown collaborativelearning experiment that was implemented twice. Fortunately, our students werewilling and enthusiastic participants. Yet, because of our unfamiliarity with thisunique approach to collaborative learning across programs, we deliberately“under-tasked” the associated assignments, so that the students would not bepenalized because their instructors were learning as they went along.From this experience we have learned much:1. Plan to do this activity with someone whose opinion you trust and withwhom you feel comfortable. When unanticipated problems arise, ithelps to have a collaborator with whom you can laugh.2. Give each class the same assignment. Because the interactive portion ofthe assignment was incorporated differently for each class, students haddifficulty understanding what their counterparts were trying to do.3. Keep in mind that some students in the class may not be in the MPAprogram, and adjust expectations accordingly.4. Develop standardized response tools and establish e-mail protocols.With files going back and forth between instructors, students in thesame class, and students in the other class, at times it was difficult tosort them out.5. Use a telephone interview format. Although they hesitated at first,students in both classes confirmed the value of phone conversations overe-mail contact.6. Have students provide written autobiographies before initiating theirinterviews. Some students were intimidated by the notion of a cold callto someone they didn’t know anything about.7. Let students devise their own questions, if possible. While we developeda survey instrument that we thought would spur productive classdiscussions and contribute to overall learning of organizational theory, itturned out that several of the students commented on the difficulty ofJournal of Public Affairs Education 357
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