Quality in Education

Another component of the continuous improvement classroom is the utilization of the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle (also called Action Research). 

-Define The System:  What system do I want to improve?  Why? What is the current way this process is done or handled?
-Assess The Situation:  How big of a problem is it?  What data do I have that show current levels of performance (baseline data) of the area I’m trying to improve?
-Analyze Cause:  In reviewing the baseline data, what are the root causes that are producing the results I’m getting?  What does research say about how this system could be improved?
-Try Out Improvement Theory:  Based on the root causes, what can I do differently to get more positive results?  What’s my improvement theory based on best-practices?
-Study Results:  Did my improvement theory work?  What data do I have that show the new level of performance?  How does this new data compare to the baseline data?
-Standardize Improvements:  How can I incorporate the new way of doing things (that produced positive results) to make it part of my regular practice?
-Plan For Continuous Improvement: How will I sustain the positive changes?  What area will I work on next?

The PDSA cycle can be used to improve processes at the District, school, classroom and individual student level.  Quality tools are used at each step of the process.  PDSA teams can use a PDSA Team Assistance Guide to walk through the process.  Ideally, educators can involve students in the PDSA process to take ownership and responsibility for their own learning.

What have been your experiences with PDSA in the classroom?  How have you involved students in the process?  What results have you found?