journal of public affairs education - NASPAA *The Global Standard ...

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