Lean education presentation

Dr. Shantha Yahanpath

Lou Coenen, MSc., MAICD

Shan Yahanpath, MBA

Australia and New Zealand Business and Social Science Research Conference, Novotel Sydney Central

17 September 2016

Yahanpath, Coenen, Yahanpath Lean Approach to Tertiary Learning 1

Motivation

Today’s environment – multiple pressures on all

• Focus is on “in-classroom” optimization of:

• Time / money / effort - Need to do more with less– Learners

– Teachers / Academics

– Administration

• Comparison of experiential findings with current research

Yahanpath, Coenen, Yahanpath 2Lean Approach to Tertiary Learning

Lean Education Objectives

– Meet Learner, Teacher, and University Needs

– Support diverse groups: national origin, culture, language, and educational backgrounds.

– Education – not just training

– Provide incentives for life-long learning

Result = Positive Feedback and Results


Lean Principles


Continuous Improvement

Respect for People

Focus On Customer Requirements

Emerging Challenges in Teaching

• Learner Pressures:– Diverse backgrounds: language, cultures, wider age range,

educational style, skills

– Increasing stakeholder expectations

• Faculty Pressures:– Time and “expense” of active class preparation in dynamically

changing environment

– Balance of teaching with research

• University Pressures:– Dual burdens of teaching AND research-heavy activities.

– Increasing complexities: competition for students, multiple stakeholder concerns, rising costs, etc.


Methodology and Research Questions

• Research Methodology – (Bryman 2006)

– Triangulation – Quantitative, Qualitative, Multi-method

• General Research Questions:

1) Can Lean Education deliver better learning experiences at a lesser cost/effort? What are customer and stakeholder benefits?

2) How would Lean Education assist the recent developments and trends in higher education classrooms?

3) Is Lean Education consistent with traditional pedagogic practice

4) How should the qualitative information be interpreted? What lessons might be learned from results using Lean?

5) What risks might diminish for traditional universities from this research? How might it assist their market positioning?


Literature Review

• Emiliani (2015)– Lean teaching methods can improve student engagement and

outcomes

– Improving value of higher education involves key stakeholder/ student satisfaction

• Shirky (2008)– Increasing class effectiveness can be achieved through group work

• Selingo (2012)

– Teacher competence improves by embracing Lean techniques because it empowers the student and teacher

• Christensen and Eyring (2011)

– Online learning can be combined with existing methods to improve student outcomes


Literature Review (cont’d)

• Dragomir and Surugiu (2012)

– Identified and examined three cases of successful Lean implementation - in different parts of the University

• Doman (2011)

– Lean Principles have been used to optimise a university’s grade change admin process

• Maguad (2007)

– Highlighted that teaching and learning are the most critical school activities

– Lean techniques improve operational efficiencies through elimination of waste

• Braverman (2007)

– Continuing education plays a critical role in improving the corporate performance thru continuous improvement practices


Step 1 – Explanation – Pre- and initial class “welcome” contact describing course, expectations,

and “process”.

– Course core content and support materials available prior to each course session

– Establish “learning groups / teams”

Step 2 – Modelling – Review material – and show when /why / how it is applicable

Step 3 – Guided Practice - Use case studies and other examples of application in class and workshops

Step 4 – Independent Practice – At home exercises and assessments

(Marzano 2007)

Lean Pedagogy - Consistent with past


Emerging / Evolving Tools

Cognitive Surplus– Use of available / re-used “spare time” to achieve outcomes

– Includes readily available videos, guest speakers, external articles, etc. (Shirkey 2008)

On Line Support – Easy and quick access to world class resources

– Facilitates student collaboration and access to teacher / academics

Wider variety – Easily accessible diversity of teaching tools and learning content


Lean Education Social Benefits

Lean Education helps behaviorism, socio-cultural learning and happiness.

• For the Student:

– Demonstrated enhanced results and topic retention fromeffective learning through active involvement in process (Yahanpath and Yahanpath 2015)

– Consistent with Gen Y and Gen Z mindset plus emergence of quality educational support material.

– Provides a more flexible learning experiences through a variety of communication media and devices

– Encourages life-long learning


Lean Education Social Benefits (Cont’d)

• For the Teacher

– Elevates role of teacher from one of “presenter” to one of “advisor”, “coach”, and “facilitator”

– Minimises time pressures to develop unique student topic material by leveraging existing resources and tools

– Assists teachers to handle more classes per week while being able allocate more time for research

• For the University

– Enhances student and stakeholder satisfaction

– Improves cost efficiency to provide quality education


Ongoing Research

Topics undergoing further research

• Further findings validation through in-class observations

• Results comparison with executive coaching programs

• Structured interviews

• Observations from international teaching (Germany, Singapore, Sri Lanka, etc.)

• Additional input from conference participants



Thank You