Improving Classroom Instruction Through "Best-of-Class" Techniques.

This article provides a philosophical and a data-based perspective on instruction from a Total Quality position. The concept of "best of class" was employed initially to design instruction to meet and/or exceed student expectations. In addition, the concept of "ongoing customer feedback as the foundation of continuous improvement: was employed to validate the impact of instruction and indicate target areas for possible improvement. Improvement in student satisfaction was equated with suggested changes in the delivery of instruction. Summary and recommendations are provided.

The effects of W. Edwards Deming (1986), Joseph M. Juran (1964), Phillip B. Crosby (1989), and other TQM advocates are being realized around the globe in business, industry, government, health care, and recently education (Payne, Blackbourn, Cox, Kritsonis, Baum, & O'Neill, 1992; Petrini, 1991; Stanfel, 1997; Vinson, 1996). One of the interesting components of TQM deals with Best-of-Class.

Best-of-Class simply refers to applying ideas, advice and expertise from an established expert outside one's present domain or discipline. Examples of this concept might include an elevator manufacturer getting ideas for improving their invoicing procedures from an established banking firm, or a travel agency seeking advice on customer satisfaction from a well-known department store. What is being discovered is many times knowledge and skills transcend domains or disciplines and are applicable across traditional product and service lines. There is considerable overlap of specific procedures regardless of the business or service. Invoicing, billing, communicating, evaluating, inspecting, monitoring, strategic planning, etc., are functions that contain significant portions of autonomy, and to some degree, are applicable regardless of the specific business or service. These functions can even find application in esoteric fields such as Higher Education.

Every college and university is interested in improving instruction. Indeed, Deming (1992) has stated that quality in public education is critical to the proliferation of quality in business. Quality in public education is dependent on quality in higher education, especially in teacher preparation programs. However, Gunn (1993) states that educational leaders have failed to recognize that education is a system and the output (product) will not change until the system is changed.

The question of "what is quality instruction?" has multiple answers, depending on who is asked and the philosophy of the instructor. Most academic accrediting agencies require some type of course evaluation completed by students and subsequently the information from the students be used to improve the teaching. The idea of student feedback which ultimately leads to student satisfaction from improved instruction is akin to the focus on customer feedback found in business and industry leading to customer satisfaction or the exceeding of customer expectations (Blackbourn, Payne, & Hamson, 1997).

The purpose of this article is to suggest student evaluations of a course could be increased without changing the content by using Best-of-Class practices from theatre and stage. The counterpart from the entertainment field would be, how to stimulate positive audience reaction without the audience determining the music played, songs sung, or jokes told.

An orchestra conductor, a theatre director, and a professional comedian were consulted on how to increase the chances of getting a positive audience reaction (i.e., standing ovation or encore). Obviously, talented people, good material and excellent execution are critical components of such an activity. However, in addition to people, material, and performance, professional entertainers give quite a lot of thought to timing, pacing, and sequencing. Conceptually, it is important to gain audience attention, set the stage, create an expectation of excitement, and lead the audience through a series of activities (songs, jokes, lines, acts, numbers) that culminate into a climax or crescendo. According to these experts it is possible to have talented performers, with good material, that execute well, but, without proper timing, pacing, or sequencing, the performance can end flat.

To apply timing, pacing and sequencing, the services of an experienced instructional designer were secured. The components of the instruction were (a) set a climate for learning, (b) constant and continuous recording of student reaction, and (c) present the material in such a way that it builds to a climax. In essence, the idea was to take a series of isolated pre-designed classes and present them in such a way as to lead to an event or happening for the course as a whole.

Set a Climate for Learning

Setting the climate for learning dealt with the instructor showing enthusiasm for the class, explaining what was to take place over the semester, how students would be evaluated, the requirements, the establishment of parameters within which the class would be conducted (time, schedule, acceptable student conduct) and the instructors' expectations of the students. The first session was designed to set the stage of readiness for learning and to give the students a sample of what was in store for the semester. A further (and possibly most important) purpose for setting a positive climate for learning is to remove a major impediment to learning--fear. Romero-Simpson (1992) has identified "absence from fear" as a critical aspect of quality instruction and enhanced student learning.

Constant and Continuous Recording of Student Reaction

Performances on stage and in the theatre gauge how well things are going from the audience's appropriate laughter and applause. In a course where reaction to the teaching/learning process is to be assessed, applause and excessive laughter, for the most part, are inappropriate. However, a straightforward, short, concise feedback form handed in at the end of the class session is appropriate and helpful in determining student reaction. A form containing a simple scale of 0-100 (zero representing poor, bad, worst, while one hundred represents outstanding, best, exemplary) and an opportunity to give suggestions or make specific comments seemed to suffice. Figure 1 illustrates the form used.

[Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The students were instructed to fill out the form at the end of the class and place it in a box that was located by the door as they exited. The same form was used throughout the course.

In addition, constant and continuous recording of student reaction can now be accomplished in interactive computer classrooms possessed by most colleges and universities. Selecting individual students at random intervals through their computer terminal, a 0-100 point rating of the instruction at any point in time could be obtained. This information could then be transferred automatically and confidentially to the teacher's computer terminal, giving a current picture of student reaction. Such a process could provide a valuable supplement to the feedback form (Blackbourn & Payne, 1993).

Present the Material in Such a Way That It Builds to a Climax

Developing the class sessions in such a way as to lead to a high course evaluation takes time, experimentation, and the continuous utilization of student feedback. The basic premise is to start the semester with good ratings that would build to higher ratings by midterm. After midterm, the ratings theoretically should drop a little and then begin to build again to the close of the course, with the objective of getting a standing ovation for the entire course (i.e., the highest evaluations possible from students for the course as a whole). The course evaluation should not be a composite of the individual class session evaluations. Just as applause after each musical number doesn't add up to a standing ovation, it builds so the response is greater than any single reaction or rating. The process should lead to a gestalt concept of the class in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The position presented is rooted in Deming's Theory of Quality Management (TQM) and applied to the management of instruction to achieve quality. The project supporting this position is presented in three stages: (a) Development of the Instrument, (b) Perfect Instruction, and (c) Utilize Best of Class.

Development of the Instrument

The feedback sheet used, as depicted in Figure 1, although simple, took two years to develop. Various forms were tried in 12 different courses over a two-year period with a total enrollment exceeding 1000 students. The smallest course enrollment was 18 and the largest was 211. The form provides a gross index of student reaction in addition to an opportunity for specific suggestions and comments.

Perfect Instruction

Once the feedback sheet was selected, an individual course was identified for study. This course was an introductory lecture course at a major university. Over a ten-year period the course was revised, altered and improved, utilizing the information received from the students on the feedback sheet. Over 6000 students completed the course. The last three years resulted in consistent course evaluations ranging from 85 to 90. The results are representative of the feedback obtained after 10 years of perfecting the Course Evaluation form using student feedback. These results are shown in Figure 2.

[Figure 2 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Utilize Best-of-Class

After altering, field testing, and refining the course, the TQM Best-of-Class concepts found in theatre and stage were incorporated into the instruction. Specifically, the three components were: (a) attend to the learning climate, (b) use constant feedback, and (c) present the material in such a way that it builds to a climax. An Instructional Designer was secured to assist with implementing the Best-of-Class concepts, specifically focusing on timing, pacing, and sequencing. It took three years to get some semblance of building to a climax or crescendo and an additional three years to continuously replicate it. Figure 3 illustrates the last course in which the form was tested and validated and is representative of the last three years the Best-of-Class techniques have been applied.

[Figure 3 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It is important to note that the course utilizing the TQM Best-of-Class techniques from theatre and stage resulted in a higher course evaluation and that the course evaluation was higher than any single class evaluation. This seems to indicate that by attending to timing, pacing and sequencing it is possible to "work the audience," so to speak. Further, attention to these factors may result in more positive student perceptions of the course than in traditionally taught courses that do not attend to timing, pacing, and sequencing.

Summary

The TQM concept of Best-of-Class procedures found in theatre and stage can be successfully applied to classroom instruction. These ideas for instruction generated by an orchestra conductor, a theatre director, and a professional comedian encompassing the three components of (a) climate, (b) feedback, and (c) sequence can have a significant positive impact on individual classes and overall course evaluations.

Once a course has been refined, the content, subject matter, and method of delivery can remain constant, while the focus is directed to timing, pacing, and sequencing. The ultimate goal is to make courses more user friendly. It is not implied nor presumed the course was better or more was learned, but it does appear it is possible to dramatically influence students' evaluations of a course by attending to timing, pacing, and sequencing. It seems one can apply TQM's never-ending continuous improvement to instruction as well as to a product or service found in business or industry. Furthermore, the concept of Best-of-Class may add to enhanced student/customer satisfaction.

References

Blackbourn, J. M., & Payne, J. S. (1993). Enhancing quality in alternative teacher certification programs through the technology of instruction. Paper presented at the Third Annual National Conference on Alternative Certification, College Station, TX.

Blackbourn, J. M., Payne, J. S., & Hamson, N. (1997). When the student is the customer. The Record in Educational Leadership, 17(1), 37-39.

Crosby, P. B. (1989). Let's talk quality. Winter Park, FL: Phillip Crosby Associates, Inc.

Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the crisis. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute for Technology Center for Advanced Engineering Study.

Gunn, B. (1993). Replacing political systems with management systems. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision, 10(1), 55-69.

Juran, J. M. (1964). Managerial break through: A new concept of the manager's job. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Payne, J. S., Blackbourn, J. M., Cox, D. W., Kritsonis, W. A., Baum, D. D., & O'Neill, W. J. (1992). What business has to offer education. National Forum of Applied Educational Research, 4(2), 89-95.

Petrini, C. M. (1991, July). Upside-down performance appraisals. Training and Development, 15-22.

Petty Consulting/Productions. (1993). The Deming of America. Cincinnati, OH: Author.

Romero-Simpson, J. E. (1992). A Total Quality Management organizational behavior course. In J. W. Harris & J. M. Baggett (Eds.), Quality quest in the academic process. Birmingham, AL: Samford University.

Stanfel, L. (1997). University evaluations: Expanding their scope to improve our institutions. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 24(1), 50-55.

Vinson, M. N. (1996, April). The pros & cons of 360-degree feedback: Making it work. Training and Development, 11-12.

J. M. Blackbourn, James S. Payne, Sonja Burnham, The University of Mississippi.. Frank Elrod, Mississippi State University. Conn Thomas, West Texas A&M University.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. J.M. Blackbourne, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677.