Last Updated: 2/20/2009 © K. A. Shearer 2006-2009
To implement district, school, or classroom improvement, the SQS systems recommends using a defined process like the PDSA Cycle. You begin by studying the classroom or school to identify essential priorities for improvement. Once you have analyzed the data, you need to prepare a plan. Based on your plan, you determine what you need to do to reach your goals. Then you study the results and act to modify, improve, and implement your plan.
The PDSA is a continuing process. In the classroom, the faster you cycle through your PDSA, the faster you can expect results. If you are interested in how I use technology to help me with doing PDSA in my classroom, you can see some examples.
The plan section is based on establishing goals and measures. In education, our most important goals are established outside the classroom by school administrators, school boards, state education departments, and federal law. These goals are non-negotiable so that teachers and students do not have options about what to do.
Goals for the PDSA Cycle should be chosen based on the most important learning priorities. These may include state defined curriculum benchmarks and standards or federal No Child Left Behind requirements. Don't forget to include school and district goals available in the EPSS.
The teacher is the leader in the planning process, managing the strategic part of the classroom learning system. The teacher focuses the students on priorities. One method is to write a mission statement for the class. This should be written by the students to assure they have ownership of the process.
A goal cannot be obtained unless it can be clearly defined, including how you will know when you have reached the goal. The goal provides a focus for the improvement process. It also provides a timeline that lists when things will be done, with built-in progress checks along the way.
A good plan should clearly define the following:
While teachers and students are given their goals, they have a lot of choice in how they will reach the goals. The methods that are used are listed in the do section of the PDSA Cycle. This is the implementation section of the cycle and it may be changed based on results.
Before starting on the PDSA Cycle, you need to collect and study data. You will use the data to set priorities and to establish benchmarks for how your processes are before you do any work. Then you will continue to study the data throughout the PDSA Cycle to asses your progress towards the Plan goals. The study process allows you and others to see measurable progress towards the defined plan.
During the study portion, it is important to compare your classroom results with similar classrooms. This should be done not only within the Capitan Schools, but looking at how other schools are working with the same types of students, issues, and situations.
In the act section of PDSA, you look at the results from your plan. Based on this review, you will decide what to do next. For example, you may decide that you reached all goals and further action will be focused on maintaining the results. In other cases, you might decide that your original do actions were not effective and need to be changed. When this happens, you will adjust your plan dates and do actions and continue the cycle.
As you complete each cycle through the PDSA loop you should determine the following:
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