As you may know, I have been a passionate practitioner and advocate of the application of Lean principles and practices to teaching for more than 20 years. On 19 October 2020 I gave a presentation titled "Eliminating Waste in Teaching: The Brilliant Life and Work of Dr. Lillian Gilbreth." Click on … [Read more...] about Lean HE2020 Global Conference Presentation
Get Real: Most Students Hate Classroom Teaching
I find university students' recent lamentations about missing classroom teaching, caused by the shift to online teaching due to COVID-19, quite interesting. Most students dislike classroom teaching (more on that below), but suddenly they see great value in classroom teaching. Why the shift in … [Read more...] about Get Real: Most Students Hate Classroom Teaching
The Back Story – Eliminating Waste in Teaching
This is the back story to the book Eliminating Waste in Teaching. For more than 15 years I have been a dedicated student of the history of management. The particular years of interest are 1890 to the early 1930s, a time known as the Progressive Era. It was during this era that a new system of … [Read more...] about The Back Story – Eliminating Waste in Teaching
Why University Teaching Rarely Improves
In higher education, the job of a professor is well-defined. It consists of three things: teaching, research, and service to the university and one's profession. Teaching involves three tasks: preparation (of the course), execution (delivering the course), and follow-up (guiding students' work, … [Read more...] about Why University Teaching Rarely Improves
The Rewards of Teaching
I have been a professor for close to 20 years now, after having spent the previous 15 years in industry where I worked in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain management. There are many positives associated with teaching that I would like to share with you, as well as a few … [Read more...] about The Rewards of Teaching
Maintain Academic Excellence?
A new president of a public university has these four goals*: Increase student enrollment Maintain academic excellence Expand community engagement Develop additional sources of funding Notice anything odd among the four goals? It should be Goal 2, "Maintain academic excellence." Goals 1, … [Read more...] about Maintain Academic Excellence?
Professor Emiliani’s “Nos” for Teaching
Kaizen is practical method for improving any processes, and thus it can also be applied to the design and delivery of courses. In order for kaizen to be effective, kaizen participants must be given strict conditions under which improvements are made. These conditions take the form of "Nos" or … [Read more...] about Professor Emiliani’s “Nos” for Teaching
Handmade Visual Controls
In a previous blog post, "Final Exams, Final Mistake," I described how students in my courses make two types of visual controls to help them remember and apply what they learned. One visual control is in the form of an 8.5x11 inch sign that reflects the 10-20 most important things they learned in … [Read more...] about Handmade Visual Controls