Toyota Kata at school - University of Buckingham · Toyota Kata at school: the challenge of developing "scientific" teachers Anna Possio Lean Trainer & Toyota Kata Coach ELEC 2016

Toyota Kata at school:the challenge of developing"scientific" teachers

Anna Possio

Lean Trainer & Toyota Kata Coach

ELEC 2016 - European Lean Educator Conference

The University of Buckingham

What did I learn?

What is my nextstep / experiment?

Kata and myself

with

Agenda

• Purpose of this presentation

• What is Toyota Kata?

• Why Toyota Kata at school?

• A story Vision

Challenge 1 - 2014

Challenge 2 - 2015

Challenge 3 - 2016

• Reflections

Purpose of this presentation

• Reflecting and learning

• Sharing

• Reflecting and learning more Challenges, experiments,

results and learningswhile supporting the practiceof Toyota Kataby High School Teachers

The content

What is Toyota Kata?

• Toyota’s management system, but also…

• A model for developing scientific thinking andcreative thinking

GREY ZONE

Source of diagram: Mike Rother



Coach

(mentor)

Learner

(mentee)

• It’s not just a method for problem solvingand continuousimprovement…

• It’s a system for managing and developing people, it’s aboutteaching/learninga new way of thinking and acting

• Therefore, what’scrucial is the coaching!


• 2 practice routines (kata)


(IK)

(CK)

Learner

Coach

2nd Coach

Why Toyota Kata at school?

• Students are future citizens

• What can schoolteach them for their future?

A meta skill:

not the what but the how

for anyone, anywhere


• Learning as primary goal

• Teacher as natural Coach


• An evolution in the Lean initiative for schools

Lean Tools and Principles

Source of diagram: © Mike Rother

Behavioursand Thinking

A story


VisionCurrent

Condition

Challenge

1

Challenge

2

Challenge

3

A story - Vision

• All students develop scientific thinking skillsthat will make them successfull in their future challenges as citizens

Where should the Vision come from?Government? (Ministry of Education)Each school? (School Head)…

A story - Challenge 1

• Purpose:experimenting the Toyota Kata approachat school so thatstudents coulddevelop an awareness

• Practice on a realchallenge

• Roles: 5 students asrotating Learners, teacher as Coach. Frequent guidance of external 2nd Coach.

Students asdirect target

Process: wastemanagement and

recycling


• Understand the Direction / Challenge

Vision: The school is clean and doesn’t pollute

Challenge by May 30th, 2014 (3 monthsahead):1) 5 (max) non recoverable waste trash cans

per week2) Bins are easy to use3) Zero waste on the floor4) Everybody in the school is aware and

uses the bins correctly


• Grasp the Current Condition

OUTCOME METRICS: max # trash cans per week• 11 non recoverable waste• 7 paper• 1 glass & metal• ? plastic

Other details aboutthe current pattern of work


• Establish the Next Target Condition

May 30, 2014

Alex Siviero Marialessandra Sabarino Anna Possio

March 23, 2014 March 10, 2014

• In the 3 selected areas (playground, soda machines, classroom 206)

o There are the needed bins

o Bins are where needed (position thatmakes people use them)

o It’s clear for everyone what type of waste goes into each bin

• 11 non recoverable waste bins• In the 3 selected areas:

o Recycle waste are sortedo Zero defects (wrong item in a bin)o Zero wastes on the floor

• 11 non recoverable waste bins

• No recycling• Defects (wrong items in bins)• Wastes on the floor

Waste recycling

• See block diagram (we don’t know the trasportation bin -> can)

• Lack of bins or excessive bins

• Bins are hidden or far away, and this makespeople less likely to use them

• It’s not clear what type of waste goes intoeach bin

• People habits are not to recycle

Restrictedscope


• PDCA toward the Next T.C.

• Coaching Cycles

Where is the learner’s thresholdof knowledge?

Small rapid stepsto discover / create new knowledge


• Results: Challenge was partially achieved

Feedbacks from students showed that they got a goodinitial understanding of the method and they enjoyed it

«Moving one small step ata time is very effective, beyond this project.It seems limiting, but itmakes you reflect on whatyou are doing»

«If you are not engagedby the content, strivingis more difficult»

«Checking the resultsbefore moving on wasvery useful»

This studentapplied PDCA cycles for hisproject work for graduation!!


• Some reflections from the teacher: «Students showed

incredible hiddenresources»

«As Coach, I experienced a new process to develop the students’ skills» (experiments vs 1-correct-answer)

«My relationship with the students improved»

No «formal» reflectionwith the teacher, because the focus wason the students.



The teacherstruggled as a Coach, since she had notpreviously developedIK skills (as Learner)

Having a structuredroutine made the student feel safer

If practice isnot frequent, learning and improvementslow down

Students not fullymotivated and effective on a processthat is not their own

Students appreciatedthe step-by-stepapproach with immediate feedback

• Reflections and learnings


We first needto define ourgoal!

We cannot knowthe path in advance

• The teacher didn’t have IK skills/mindset: an example

Powerpoint prepared by the teacher for the kick off


BUT…


• What is the next step/challenge?We plan to have the teacher practice the IK under

coaching guidanceWe expect the teacher will develop the IK skills and

will later be able to coach the students…we first need to target their teacher

If we want to reach the students…


• Purpose: the teacher learns the Improvement Kata pattern


New teacher, that alreadyreached the IK awarenesslevel and was very motivated


• Roles: Carlo (the teacher) as Learner, Anna asCoach

• The Learner applies the IK on his own work process: teaching

• Practice:oduration: 5 months (Jan-May)

o frequency: 1-3 PDCA/coaching cycles per week (total25 cycles)

o location: office and remote

o tools: Dropbox shared folder

Skype / phone

The results of the teaching are in the learning by students: but many other factors impact

No paper KATA storyboard


Starting Condition(Jan 29th)• Class average

mark: 7,5• 5 students have

marks <6

Focus: 1 subject, 1 class

«Easy» case

Both results and conditions


• The main experiments/results/learningson the teaching process: Measurement: importance of measuring

the results of actions, and of having not onlyoutcome metrics but also process metrics

Immediate feedback: shortening the teaching/learning cycle (lecture-exercise-test-catch up) toward the «one-topic-flow»

Students involved in the teaching: peereducation and tutoring


• Results

A student spontaneously said: «I like studying this way!»

Starting Condition(Jan 29th)• Class average

mark: 7,5• 5 students have

marks <6


• Some reflections from the teacher (Learner):

«KATA trains people to be scientific at work»

«The IK structure channels and reinforces creativity»

«It is a process of discovery and learning»

«Step-by-step change is less scary»

«KATA works even in «unusual» situations»

«The coaching support was critical»

Developing a «scientific teacher»


• Reflections and learnings: oStudents were exposed to a new way of doing and

thinking through the teacher’s experiments: even ifthey don’t become IK «Learners», they mightbenefit from «scientific teachers»

o The experimentation was successful (we met ourChallenge), however this model (direct coaching by external consultant) is not sustainable for developing other teachers extensively

How can we develop more teachers and yet reduce the «costs»?


• Purpose:1. the teacher (Carlo) learns

the Coaching Katapattern, while…

2. another teacher (Paola) learns the ImprovementKata pattern

The coaching is addressed to anotherteacher rather than a student, so to develop another «scientific teacher» and potential coach


• Roles: new teacher (Paola) as Learner, trainedteacher (Carlo) as Coach, Anna as Second Coach

• The Learner’s challenge concerns again the teachingprocess

• Practice:oduration: 4 months (Feb-May)

o frequency: 1-2 PDCA/coaching cycles per week (total 21 PDCA cycles)

o 2nd coaching support: 8 coaching moments (18 hours)

o location: at school, and sometimes remote (Skype, tel, Whatsapp, e-mail)

o tools: Dropbox shared folder



The Learner’s goal is to improve herprocess, following the ImprovementKata pattern

The Coach’s goal is to develop hisLearner’s IK skills, following the Coaching Kata pattern

The 2nd Coach’sgoal is to developthe Coach’s CK skills, followingthe Coaching Kata pattern


• 2nd coaching support: observation of coaching cycles +

«technical» feedbacks to the Coach

observation of the Coach

reflections with the Coach

reflections after achievement of Target Conditions

STRENGTHS:• Scientific mindset• Kind and calm• True interest in the

learner’s learning• Focus on the method

WEAKNESSES:• Failure to

correct/interrupt• Doesn’t see the «whole

picture» of the learner’slearning

Critical moments for:- re-directing the IK- re-directing the CK


• Experiments by the 2nd Coach:

Obstacle Experiment

Excess of perfectionism (by both Learnerand Coach) makes the process harder and

less desirable«Toyota Kata Light»

Difficulty in identifying specific tangibleobstacles and planning small rapid PDCAs

«Focus of a Target Condition»

The Learner is overwhelmed and worriedabout not completing the program

«Bring it in the KATA»

The Coach gives technical support, but the obstacle for the learner’s learning is now

motivational«A kata/challenge for the Coach»


Challenge by June 9, 2016:

The learner learns the basic skillsof the Improvement Kata, having apositive experience, and discoversthe opportunity of going beyondthe «comfort zone».

• A kata/challenge for the Coach








«I enjoyed learning the Improvement Kata and developing new skills»

«This approach helped me reach my goals»

«I enjoyed innovating and experimentingnew methods in my teaching (expanding my greyzone)»

«I enjoyed the collaboration and coaching(usually the teacher’s job is quite autonomous)»

• Reflections from the Learner (Paola):


«I enjoyed experiencing and learning the coaching»

«In the coaching too, details make the difference(i.e. words used for the questions to the learner)»

«As a Coach, I had to grasp the IK even more deeply, I had to focus on the method rather than the process, so I could guide my learner»

«Having my own kata/challenge was usefulbecause it gave me a direction and meaning, but I struggled practicing in a structured way»

• Reflections from the Coach (Carlo):


• Some mistakes/learnings on our TK practice: If the Target Condition is too broad, it is

difficult to identify obstacles and removethem with a limited series of PDCAs(sometimes obstacles could have been a theme for a T.C. itself, or even a Challenge!)

Choosing a graduation class put on the teacher a pressure that was notbeneficial for practicing TK

Starting in January let us too few monthsof practice

Reflections

• Evolution of purpose and focus

Challenge Purpose Focus

# 1Experimenting Toyota

Kata at schoolImprovement Kata

# 2Developing the

teacher’s IK skillsImprovement Kata;

Coaching Kata

# 3Developing the

teacher’s CK skills;Expanding Toyota Kata

Coaching Kata

This story followed MY personal evolution in the practice and learning of TK

Reflections

• Some changes to experiment in a Challenge a teacher could define next…• Working with a class at first or second year• Working on the method rather than the results

(foundational skills like comprehension of the text and mathematical skills) - still having metrics

• Connecting the challenge of the teacher with the challenge of the school (national evaluation system), and seeking for the commitment of the School Head

• Starting in October (beginning of academic year) to have a more «relaxed» and effective practice

• Involving new teachers (literature, maths) or the «enrichment staff»

• Further «lightening» the form, without missing the essence

Reflections

• Current Challenge: having a sustainable approach to develop several «scientific teachers»

DESIRED CONDITIONS

Teachers continuously devote a slice of their day to the IK practice, at list 1 time per week

Teachers can receive frequent one-to-oneguidance from an experienced coach

Teachers have a strong motivation (to learn the IK and to strive towards theirchallenges)

CURRENT «OBSTACLES»

• Lack of time• Lack of resources• Lack of motivation

• No economic reward from the school• Few teachers have the adequate attitude• Organizational culture in the schools is

conflicting

• Lack of coaching capacity in the schools• Developing a Coach requires a long

time and implicates costs• Lack of funds in the schools

Assumption: if we want to create successfulcitizens with a scientific mindset (Vision), weneed to have «scientific teachers» in the schools

Thank you!

[email protected]

And thanks to all of them!

Documents

Toyota Kata at school - University of Buckingham · Toyota Kata at school: the challenge of developing "scientific" teachers Anna Possio Lean Trainer & Toyota Kata Coach ELEC 2016