Uncertainty and unrest: A collaborative pedagogical response to pandemics, protests, and policy

ABSTRACT

This article presents the pedagogical, observational, and empirical findings from a social equity centered team-taught course that served as an effective learning approach for both students and faculty during a time of great uncertainty and unrest in 2020. The article begins by describing the context for why this course was offered, outlining the need to use a collaborative teaching approach that centers social equity and interdisciplinary expertise when issues such as a global pandemic and racial injustice arise. The authors then describe the methodology and findings associated with surveying students and faculty members who were engaged with the course and share four themes that emerged from the research. The authors conclude by sharing lessons learned, recommendations, and a call to action to scholars and practitioners to use a collaborative pedagogical approach that centers social equity and interdisciplinary expertise when addressing complex and timely issues in public administration.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• public administration
• social equity
• team-teaching

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the students, faculty members, and community leaders who were a part of building the Pandemics, Protest, and Policy learning community in fall 2020.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. One coauthor was a student in the course.

2. Because we sought to evaluate a graduate course with the plan to write this article, the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) at the University of Nebraska Omaha determined this project does not constitute human subject research as defined at 45CFR46.102.

3. Replication data and materials for both the student surveys and the faculty questionnaire can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/G4Q192.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jodi Benenson

Jodi Benenson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She received a B.S. and M.P.A. from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in social policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

Tara Kolar Bryan

Tara Kolar Bryan is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha and Chair of the Masters of Public Administration Program. She received her Ph.D. in 2011 in Public Administration and Public Affairs from Virginia Tech. She received her Master of Public Service Administration from Texas A&M University in 2004, and her B.A. in Political Science from St. Mary’s University in 2000.

Carol Ebdon

Carol Ebdon is a Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She was previously the Finance Director for the City of Omaha, Nebraska and received her Ph.D. in Public Administration from the State University of New York at Albany in 1997.

Theresa Glanz

Theresa Glanz is a student in the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She serves as the financial coordinator for the Buros Center for Testing at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and as an adjunct instructor at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She received a B.S. in Consumer Science and Education, a Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP), and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

James Harrold

James Harrold is an Instructor and Student Services Coordinator in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He received a B.S. in Geography, MPA, and Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska Omaha and a MS in in Logistics Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Thomas Jamieson

Thomas Jamieson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He received a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Southern California in 2018. Before USC, he completed a BA (Hons) and an MA at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Njoki Mwarumba

Njoki Mwarumba is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She received a B.A. in Communications from Daystar University, a M.Sc. in Hospitality Administration from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in Fire and Emergency Management from Oklahoma State University.