Other topics
This simple strategy but powerful is used to learn from the participants in a completed task, activity, event or process in order for everyone to do better next time
Examples
- Swimming carnival
- Midyear reporting
- End of term, year review
- End-of-day, end of unit, class checkout meetings
- A first step in Annual Planning
Requirements
Capacity to bring people together briefly (15 to 20 minutes)
Well managed systems for documenting tasks, activities, events and process
Participants
Staff , parents, students (year 2 or above)
Theory
Participants in the recent task, activity... will have useful gained knowledge
based on their first-hand observations and experiences. This knowledge can be
elicited and applied quickly and easily
The Process
1. Establish the focus
Select the significant recent (or ongoing) task, activity, event or process...
2. Intended outcomes
Identify and apply improvements to be incorporated into the task, activity... so
that it is easier and better next time
3. Gathering data
Sources: selected or invited participants
Insightful questions
Use variations on these three simple questions
What worked?
What didn't?
What else might be worth considering
4. Execution
Gather participants - 15 to 20 minutes may well be sufficient in most instances
Work through the three questions and capture the responses
Distil the learning and decided what is desirable, possible and feasible for
next time
ASAP...Update documentation ready for the next time the task, activity... is
undertaken
Make this part of the school culture - 'How we do things around here'
Check that updates have been completed within one week
Use the updates as the starting point for planning the next iteration of the
task, activity, event or process
Repeat the process after next time and monitor the outcomes
5. Results
Ongoing improvement of significant activities, tasks and events
6. Case study
Consider capturing your experiences and sharing them with others