Teaching Public Administration Conference Presentation And Paper Abstracts

Two presentations at the 2005 Teaching Public Administration Conference influenced the way I taught an MPA summer school elective Teams and Team Work at Boise State University. Keith Revell from Florida International University described a course packed full of exercises, simulations, and games in his presentation “Leadership Can’t Be Taught.” Bob Cunningham from the University of Tennessee involved participants in a simulation of his course in human resources that requires the entire class to function as an organization.
This paper describes the experiential approach I took in teaching an elective course Teams and Team Work as influenced by Revell’s presentation and details the logistical plan for the class as influenced by Cunningham’s simulation. Then, the paper explores some of the intended and unintended consequences of the course directly attributable to the experiential learning approach and the class organization.

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Portfolio Use in Gateway and Capstone Courses in a Public Administration Program

Lorrie A. Clemo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Political Science
Director, Public Administration and Policy Program
State University of New York at Oswego

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ABSTRACT

For more than a decade, campus, community and corporate leaders have challenged faculty to think more implicitly about how to help students become more involved in their education. The rapid growth of interdisciplinary programs, multiplicity of service learning and internships and expanded opportunities to create personalized majors are evidence that faculty have embraced their new role in the learning process. Faculties are now being called on to demonstrate that the innovative approaches adopted over the last decade are, in fact, serving students and society in a meaningful way.

Student learning portfolios if used properly hold the promise of meeting this dual quest for a genuinely student centered learning process, as well as a mechanism for formal accountability. This article describes lessons learned from the use of portfolios in an undergraduate public administration program. It identifies strategic questions and contradictions that arise and makes specific recommendations for incorporating portfolios into major curricula.

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Student Satisfaction with a Distance Learning MPA Program: A Preliminary Comparison of On-Campus and Distance Learning Students’ Satisfaction with MPA Courses

David C. Powell
California State University, Long Beach

Paper prepared for presentation at the Teaching Public Administration Annual Meeting, February 10-12, 2006, Olympia, Washington

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Abstract

One undeniable pattern in graduate public affairs education is the migration from traditional on-campus course offerings to distance education. This movement continues despite reservations that online MPA education may negatively affect academic quality, retention rates, and student satisfaction. This study explores preliminary data collected from on-campus and distance learning students to determine if there is a difference in the satisfaction levels of students in these two different learning modes. Data are collected from on campus and distance learning students who are enrolled in the same class with the same instructor. The equivalency of the courses focuses attention on the possible impact that online instruction may have on student satisfaction levels. Initial findings indicate that there are few important differences in the satisfaction levels of distance learning and on-campus students. Rather, the directionality of the differences appears to be more a function of the instructor rather than the method of content delivery.

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Perspectives on International Education: “Exploring the Applied Elements in International Public Affairs Education”

Margaret E. Banyan
Florida Gulf Coast University

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Abstract

Globalization has become a pervasive force with dramatic implications for public affairs and public affairs education. New challenges in the form of rapid communication, economic interdependence, and unclear boundaries of the administrative state require that students in public affairs programs build adaptive skills for effective international work. This paper focuses on how schools of public affairs are facilitating the development of adaptive international practitioners, characterized by the ability to move comfortably between theory and practice. Thirty-seven NASPAA programs with international concentrations were analyzed with the purpose of describing the nature and number of experiential and applied requirements. These included capstones, internships, and study abroad or exchange programs. This study found that four programs required student participation in experiential and applied activities, despite evidence linking these kinds of experiences to adaptive practice. This paper discusses these findings and offers some practical means for programs to address programmatic and institutional barriers to participation. These findings have significance for the practice of public affairs education and for programs in which international specializations are offered.

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Community Based Environmental Management in Vietnam The Challenge of Sharing Power in a Transitioning Society

Marcus Ingle and Shpresa Halimi
Executive Leadership Institute, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government Portland State University

The paper presents the challenges of introducing and institutionalizing community participation processes in the “politically guided” Vietnamese socialist society. Since embarking on market reform in the late 1980’s, Vietnam has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization. This growth is outpacing the extension and improvement of environmental controls leading to air, water and solid waste pollution. The Tan Hoa – Lo Gom canal, located in a high density area of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), is highly polluted and presents numerous health and environmental risks to residents and businesses. HCMC senior decision-makers, managers, businesses and citizens have a limited understanding of the impacts of environmental pollution on community health and quality of life.

Portland State University (PSU) and Vietnamese entities partnered in a pilot project aimed at “Strengthening Stakeholder Participation” in restoring the canal. A PSU-Oregon Environmental Management Alliance
worked with Vietnamese partners on adapting an Oregon-based community based environmental management (CBEM) approach. The Alliance shared concepts and tools that helped to facilitate participatory community processes, and developed mutually beneficial relationships between U.S.
and Vietnamese stakeholders. The CBEM approach helps communities solve environmental problems in shared power contexts by overcoming potential impediments early on, raising citizens’ awareness and bringing effective partners to the table. A CBEM Toolkit was developed to increase the use of CBEM best practices. The paper concludes with reflections on the meaning and practice of shared power in a transitional context.

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Reflective Practitioners Can Help Teach What is Preached

Richard J. Herzog
Stephen F. Austin State University
rherzog@sfasu.edu

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Abstract

Public Administration instructors can employ a variety of methods to help reflective practitioners or students play a bigger role in teaching. In this paper, the classroom is viewed as a forum to build and expand the practiced or witnessed knowledge bases of graduate and undergraduate Public Administration students. Under the premise that students learn from other students, teachers need to develop improved methods to allow practitioners teach what is preached. One method is to document the students’ experiences in the public sector. In graduate courses these experience can be encapsulated with the distribution of resumes. These experiences will serve as a probe to engage students to reflect and disseminate their professional knowledge in the classroom. Students will be encouraged to bring other administrators (e.g., bosses, parents) into classroom discussions. We may attempt to get job descriptions from these administrators so we can develop a common identity in the classroom. As the class progresses students will be asked to role-play and approach situations from the perspective of other students in the course. This paper will address the false dichotomy between teachers and practitioners.

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Implementing Learning Communities: The View of the Student Mentor

Abbie Tang, Student Mentor and Undergraduate Student,
Peter M. Carlson, Associate Professor, Department of Government & Public Affairs, and
Linda M. Gordon, Instructor, Department of English

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Abstract

Christopher Newport University, a 5,000 student Virginia state university, is currently completing its first semester of utilizing Student Learning Communities to enhance the transition of incoming freshmen to a traditional, residential college campus. The University has made great strides in the recruitment of high quality students in the last five years but is now having to cope with student retention rates (75-80% in 2004-05) and with developing the academic potential of these new students. This presentation provides an overview of the new program and offers the perspective of a senior-level student serving as a peer mentor in one learning community. The presentation will touch upon the results of the students, as well as, issues that have given concern during the implementation, and offer solutions that have been developed.

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Venturing into Unfamiliar Territory: Teaching African Public Administration in American Colleges

Napoleon Bamfo

Valdosta State University

Valdosta, GA

Abstract

This paper assesses the possibility of Public Administration and Political Science programs in the United States teaching African Public Administration. This course may seem off the beaten path from those typically offered American college students and about which they find interesting and relevant. However, African Public Administration, as a course, may reveal interesting insights on Africa about which students know little. However, because of the United States and African nations’ common European heritage, the administrative practices of the two regions bear a close resemblance to each other. Opportunities for careers in African Politics and Administration may open for students who express additional interest about Africa. The biggest beneficiaries of a course in Public Administration in Africa, above all, may be African countries themselves which have been unable to find answers for the myriad developmental problems they have faced since independence. Research emanating from such a course may provide useful clues to what has to be done to improve the performance of the African administrative, and serve as prelude to improving the lives of people

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