Deming's philosophy in education?

[WALLACE]

Greetings,
I would interested in knowing if there are any examples of the Deming philosophy being used in school education, from grade 1 to college and or university.
Wallace.

Kevin you were right about six sigma!

[Kevin Mader]

See that Wallace? And my wife says I’m hardly ever right about much (LOL)!!

Dr. Deming addresses the need for Educational Systems to undergo the Transformation, most notably in his book, The New Economics. The most active pioneers that I know of in this field are David Langaford and Myron Tribus. If you do a search on either of these men, you will find web sites (David has his own site while Myron uses the Deming Electronic Network) and papers done by both.

I have read most (all?) of Myron’s papers. They are very good at explaining the current state of problems with our system of education and offers insights about schools around the world having opted to use the Deming method. I believe that you will not be disappointed.

Let me know if you have trouble locating them.

Regards,

Kevin

[WALLACE]

Kevin, would you please send me the links to the gent's mentioned.
Thanks
Wallace.

[Kevin Mader]

No problem!

Here is the link to Myron’s work: http://deming.eng.clemson.edu/pub/den/deming_tribus.htm

Here is the link to David’s work: http://www.langfordlearning.com/

Browse the internet as there are other items of interest to explore and perhaps links to other related information.

Regards,

Kevin

[Michael T]

Hi Wallace,

While I don't know if this is really a fair response, I know that the University of Miami (Florida) Institute for the Study of Quality is using a form of Deming's philosophies. While students still get letter grades, the classes are taught with the principle of continuous improvement at the forefront. When a student turns in an assignment, the professor will review the assignment, make suggestions/feedback, and then hand the assignment back (with the current grade) for possible rework. If the student desires a better "grade", he/she can redo the assignment, incorporating the suggestions/feedback the professor provides. This continues until the professor believes that the student has mastered the concept he/she is teaching (There can be upwards of 10 or more iterations of this process). Hence, there is the concept of both continuous improvement and personal mastery continually emphasized throughout the course of instruction. On the other hand, if the student is satisfied with the original letter grade, or any grade throughout the improvement process, he/she can opt to stop and accept that grade.

Hope this gives you a little of what you are looking for.

Cheers!

And the beat goes on.......

http://www.corpedia.com/welcome/deming.asp.