stood by the group . The purpose of the cycle is to test the treatment of a problem using formative data assessments to determine if a measurable goal is attained . The PDSA is equated to the medical model of taking medication ( instructional strategy ) for two to three weeks and reflecting through formative data to determine if the medicine is the appropriate treatment for the illness .
The equity principles in the PDSA make sure the group uses disaggregated data – racial , language , gender etc . – to assist in solving the problem . I cannot underscore enough that disaggregated data is not meant to make teachers uneasy if it indicates a particular racial group is not getting better . The data is used to explore what we know about the group and how we can revise the “ do ” in plan-do-study-act .
Noteworthy to point out , the PDSA gets very loose when the group doesn ’ t study the data within a two- to three-week cycle . Poorly loose collaborative ( PLC ) groups tend to wait for district benchmarks on a six- to nine-week cycle before they test the medicine . That makes it very difficult to determine if the strategy had an effect on the problem .
The means to support districts through the improvement science will need to have an overt equity focus – not implied . The age-old challenges that plague the performance of California schools may need chefs that can make amazing meals with cultural seasonings ( Lawry ’ s and Tajin ) that infuse equity . Moreover , the facilitators of the improvement science must be courageous enough to address the worms under the rocks .
Resources
• Deming Institute PDSA : https :// deming . org / explore / p-d-s-a .
• Javius , E . L . ( 2012 ). “ Key Principles of Equity II .” A Prezi , accessible at https :// goo . gl / pttB8q .
• Reeves , D . ( 2007 ). “ Responding to Changing Demographics .” Educational Leadership Vol . 64 , No . 6 .
Edwin Lou Javius is CEO / president of EDEquity , an executive principal coach , equity team facilitator and reflective question coaching expert . Follow him on Twitter @ edequity .
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