The Craft of Teaching in Public Affairs

Book excerpt: This book explores the art and science of teaching in public affairs programs by asking top instructors to discuss their tools and tips for the trade. Public affairs is a discipline that builds scholarly knowledge but also trains and educates public administrators to improve their careers, organizations, and communities. Instructors in public affairs programs at the university level therefore play a vital role in safeguarding the governing capacity of public bureaucracies and nonprofits, and it is crucial that their teaching is effective. Containing chapters written by award-winning teachers, grounded in first-hand experience and supplemented with education research, this book offers guidance to new and veteran instructors alike on what works (and doesn’t) in public affairs classrooms. Topics covered include teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, teaching nontraditional students, promoting inclusivity in the classroom, managing classrooms, teaching effectively online, and defining student success in the classroom, among other themes. This book will be of keen interest to instructors currently teaching courses on public administration, public policy, and nonprofit management, as well as PhD students looking to enhance their teaching skills.