Professional Practice in Social Systems and Change in
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
This Application effort will combine the knowledge of adult learning
theory provided in the Breadth with the current practices of instructional and
motivational strategies in the Depth to implement a visual control system
based on a kanban system into online courses to address group learning.
The presence of this system will reduce the tension that adult learners
experience concerning the logistics and expectations of group learning, thus
providing freedom to focus on the collaboration efforts necessary.
Kanban Case Study
A concept that has been repeated on multiple occasions throughout
this KAM for both theory and current practice is that effective adult learning
requires the construction of knowledge through collaboration and personal
experience. The push-pull strategy widely used in supply chain management
and marketing focuses on technology or service being released based on the
market’s demand pull. Learning also has a push-pull paradigm when viewed
from a different perspective. In the paradigm of learning, push is represented
by the concept of offering knowledge or supplying information, while pull is
represented by the students taking the initiative and focusing on learning
that has relevance based on previous experience and knowledge. The
context of online learning has very little push but a good amount of pull,
although some is necessary through both curriculum and the facilitator. The
implications of pull using kanban is that participants in a group learning team
will pull work as needed and available, providing trust, cohesiveness, and
awareness of the personal responsibility role.
Background and Context
As has been covered in great detail in the bibliography and literature
essay, collaboration is an essential aspect of adult education. Learning
collaboration is utilized through “small groups of students who work together
on ill-structured problems to both construct knowledge and share classroom
authority” according to Brufee (as cited in Smith, p. 36, 2008). Bruffee states
that this results in
o Increased learner motivation.
o Development of critical and problem-solving skills.
o Social atmosphere where learners can share, consider, and
challenge each other.
o Be co-constructors of new knowledge.
However, group learning presents many challenges and fears within the
adult learner that will be discussed in detail later in this Application. This
case study effort addresses these fears to allow a more effective learning
experience within groups without removing the critical development
resulting from emotional challenges. The goal of implementing kanban is to
reduce the tension of personal responsibility as well as reduce the friction
involved from the group planning stage.
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Online Kanban Implementation
Kanban is a common tool used by businesses and developed for
Japanese manufacturing that focuses on communicating the right
information at the right time through simple mechanisms. This system’s use
within education is discussed in detail throughout the Application. Applying
kanban in the group learning environment supports metacognitive
perspective, which in turn directly affects motivation. The visual
representation provided by online kanban is an organized strategy to
improve self-awareness and understand the role of personal responsibility in
the scope of the group’s goals. The use of online kanban is effective for short
term and long term team projects, thus supporting both teams being
developed on a course by course basis or maintaining one team throughout
the degree program. Below is an image of how kanban works in the online
environment as a visual representation for a single project.
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Figure 3. An example of kanban for a specific project. Adapted from LeanKit Kanban developed by Bandit Software. Used with permission.
The structure of online kanban supports real time synchronous status
regardless of a synchronous or asynchronous environment. The fact that it
has real time update capability allows users to update the flow alone or as a
group on a teleconference call. The effect of kanban allows a trigger effect
for managing the project. In other words, it is known in real time if the
person responsible for Task A is done, thus releasing the person responsible
for Task B to begin. The clarity of the online kanban board allows learners
within a group to be constantly aware of the project status and who is
responsible for the task. Also, it supports the planning process to be done
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quickly and efficiently, leaving the rest of the effort for the crucial
collaboration.
Navigation. Something that is often difficult for online learners is the
need to learn yet another piece of software. However, using an online
kanban board is surprisingly easy. With permission of Bandit Software, Inc. to
utilize their LeanKit Kanban software, this Application presents the a visual
kanban board and discusses the navigational components and subsequent
simplicity of using this kanban board.
The yellow notes are called cards and can be made with one click using
the plus sign on the far left menu. These cards are highly versatile and can
be moved by any user between status columns. When a card is created, it is
given a title describing the task; a person within the team is assigned
responsibility, a due date is possibly provided, and a priority identified.
Additionally, the color of the card can be changed based on the type of
instruction represented for more complex projects and the due date for a
card will change color based on the nearness of the actual due date. If the
users or group members choose, they can put an avatar or image of
themselves into their account so that their photo appears on the outside of
the card for immediate identification of who is responsible for that task.
There are several helpful features within the structure and navigation
outlined in context with online learning. On-going discussions within the card
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can be maintained and not allowed to be deleted. This aids both student
communication on the status of that particular project component and gives
the facilitator a full picture of the efforts involved from each team member.
This monitoring capability helps facilitators know which students may be
suffering from the emotional challenges of group learning and focus
assistance to those particular students. Also, it is an area where facilitators
can provide constructive feedback throughout the process, which is
otherwise very difficult to do in online learning environments. Another
component of the cards in relation to the facilitator is that a card can be
flagged as “blocked” to alert the facilitator of an issue that needs addressed
urgently.
More important features include the automatic data collection that
takes place in real time and post analysis for a team project using the
kanban board. This particular structure can allow Work In Progress (WIP)
constraints if necessary. This ensures that not too much is being worked on
at once. Essentially WIP means that a limit can be placed in any column of
the kanban board at the administration level to disallow too many cards
being utilized with that column. This may not be necessary for short term
projects, but long term projects that involve complexity can benefit by these
constraints being enabled.
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There are several positive educational implications to using kanban
within group learning. It allows students to collaborate in an asynchronous
manner yet have a real time status and communication method. Also, an
online kanban allows online learners to see individual contributions that
result in the group synthesis. Later in this Application we will discuss the
impact of fears students have losing their individuality within group learning,
and how online kanban helps to alleviate that fear. Kanban in any form
promotes self-awareness as contributions are organized and quantified with
a clear goal. Groups often struggle in defining a goal and having a concise
planning process within the online environment. However, online kanban
forces the need for goal clarity, thus putting the individual fears at ease.
Finally, but certainly not least, online kanban engages all learning styles as
the card movement is a visual control and a crucial aspect especially for
spatial and kinesthic learners. Both of these learning styles are challenging
to engage in any online learning environment, but especially in groups.
Kanban allows all the learning styles to effectively engage in the process and
diminish the fears that individuals often experience during group interaction.
Case Study Framework
A case study is being developed to observe the direct impact online
kanban has on group learning. This particular effort will be a comparison
between two identical courses with one having kanban implemented and the
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other course having the normal discussion forum without kanban. The
research goal is to determine how the presence of kanban within the group
learning effort impacted the group both as individuals and as a team.
Additionally, the course chosen is the first offering for a bachelor’s level
degree program to ensure the full effect on learners who have likely not
experienced learning at the university unless they transferred from the
associates program. If a course later in the sequence was chosen, then it is
possible that the results would not be accurate as students may have
already gone through the early stages of group formation and become
conditioned.
Duration and setting. The duration of the two courses will be five
weeks for an accelerated adult learning degree course. As it’s the first course
in the degree program, it already introduces success skills in general for
collegiate level writing and addresses Metacognition, so including kanban for
group learning will be one more solid cornerstone for their learning process.
The course is completely asynchronous and balanced between threaded
discussions, interactive exercises, reading, video clips, and collegiate level
writing. The two group learning activities in Weeks Three and Five involve
developing a paper that covers a variety of perspectives in the context of a
case study. Adult learners returning to college for their bachelors will suffer
the emotional challenges and active fear in the first course. The presence of
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the kanban board will assist them with the responsibility roles and planning
so they can focus their efforts on the collaboration.
The course will have four kanban boards as demonstrated in Figure 3;
one for each team, each including only the students representing each team
and the facilitator. The facilitator is responsible for adding the students to
the kanban board on the administrative level and assigning the students
individually to the correct board. Although there is a convenient space in
each card to discuss implications and actions for each task, the kanban
board is complemented with a private team threaded discussion forum
assigned to the team within the learning management system.
Structure. The structure of the case study is split into four different
components that include faculty training, course presentation, pre- and post
student surveys, and a student survey follow-up after the next course
involving teams. Faculty training will involve a complete review of this
Application section in order for them to have the context necessary to play
their role effectively. Additionally, a conference call complete with a
presentation and interactive kanban board will be provided to them for
questions and concerns for purpose, their facilitative role to the students,
and the logistics involved with the kanban board. Since the case study
involves only two courses, the training will only be necessary for two
facilitators, which allows the training to be conversational and informal. The
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informality yet added thoroughness for addressing any concerns reduces the
faciliator’s tension in understanding and supporting the study.
The course presentation is what students will see within the
curriculum. Since this is a case study, it needs to a presented in a way that is
somewhat easily added to the curriculum and even more importantly, easily
extracated from the curriculum upon completion. However, integration within
the content is important because while students will certainly realize that the
kanban board method is being studied, any sense that it is an unusual or
new approach to group learning may add tension and reduce confidence to
the effort, thus invalidating the results. Another possible response that would
skew the results would be the student’s giving more attention to the kanban
board out of curiousity. With that context in mind, a learning activity will be
added in Week Two of the course to prepare students for the Week Three
activity that is due at the end of that week. The activity will address the need
for a team charter in order to recognize roles and start forming the group,
with the kanban process, complete with the use of the kanban board
provided in a video tutorial. The activity submission will be the team charter
with a summary of how the team feels the kanban board will fit within their
planning process.
Three surveys will measure the three different stages. The first stage is
the mindset and fears going into the group learning process, the second
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stage is the reflection of experiences with group learning and the impact of
the kanban board (or impact of not having it), and finally the third stage is to
experience group learning in a different course, and the impact of not having
visual controls within that group learning.
The first survey measuring the first stage will include the following
questions. It is important to note that this survey will be provided to the
course with kanban after the students have reviewed its impact on their
group learning process.
o What is your mindset going into a team environment?
o Do you have any fears? Why or why not?
o Are you looking forward to the learning? Why or why not?
o Do you feel adequately prepared to begin the group exercise?
Why or why not?
The second survey measuring the second stage of experience
reflection and the impact or lack of impact of visual controls will include the
following questions. This survey will be presented to students after the
submission of both team activities.
o Is your mindset different now after experiencing a team
environment?
o Provide a quick summary reflecting your experience.
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o Have your fears changed during the group learning process? If
so, how?
o Has your excitement changed during the group learning process?
If so, how?
o If you experienced the visual controls of the kanban board, how
did it impact the group learning process?
o Provide a quick summary of the ease or difficulty in organizing as
a team.
Finally, the survey measuring the third stage of experiencing group
learning in a different course will include the following questions. This survey
will focus on the impact of not having visual controls within that group
learning and how students adapted to the planning and responsibility roles
with a visual control.
o Did you experience the visual controls of a kanban board in
previous group learning settings?
o Provide a quick summary reflecting on the difference in the
group learning experience between this course and the last one.
o Do you attribute anything as to the reason the group learning
experience was better or worse than the previous course?
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Discussion
Group Learning Impacts
As was discussed in detail within the Depth, group learning is an
essential component to effective learning for adults. The improved
motivation and ability to critically think through collaboration of others allows
new knowledge to develop from many experiences and backgrounds
presented. Kolb (1984) focuses on the need for participatory learning so that
experiences can be shared and applied to new knowledge. Mezirow’s (1990)
development of transformational learning through reflective and critical
dialogue or discussion must include participants. If a class is broken down
into small groups, those students can collaborate more efficiently, then come
back into the class to discuss further what each team has synthesized.
It is important to understand the context of the accelerated learning
approach. As the kanban board is already broadly used to manage projects
within business and software, it is a natural progression that education can
benefit as well. Kanban, however, is an especially good fit for accelerated
education for adults. One of the philosophical components of kanban is to
limit your work in progress so that appropriate focus is made to the task.
This philosophy is a perfect match for the same work in progress constraints
applied to adult learners in the accelerated process. Students are to take one
course at a time at a very fast pace, usually in a 5-8 week period.
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Additionally, the students are also to focus all their energies within that short
but focused time period on the activities they need to complete in order to
meet their learning outcomes or objectives. This level of focus is well
supported by the visual controls that the kanban board provides, giving
additional abilities to the team to also focus on their needs and be able to
better address their own fears in a more aware environment. The safety zone
that allows students to completely focus on a course, objective or group task
allows students to fear less and integrate their own creative minds and
experiences throughout the process.
Challenges. The two major challenges that adult learners face on an
emotional level are epistemic and individual identity (Smith, 2008). There
are even more challenges that teams experience, including the identification
of responsibility roles and establishing an effective planning mechanism to
assign those responsibilities. These logistical issues simply add to the tension
of the natural emotional fears. In addressing the emotionally epistemic
challenge first, adult learners have to adjust away from the old learning
paradigm that the educator transmits the knowledge. Students often grapple
in fear with the new paradigm that students learn through confrontation and
collaboration of real-world problems that utilize resources and student
experiences. While the educator uses various methodologies to voluntarily
de-authorize the teaching role, adult learners experience a panic that they
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do not have the appropriate support to learn. It takes time and awareness for
learners to recognize that the educator is giving the power of knowledge
construction to the student with the expertise and guidance of the
facilitator’s role. Another emotional challenge that adult learners experience
is the fear of losing personal individuality or voice within the group learning
environment. The complexity to address both the group needs and the
individual need results in emotions that are difficult to understand, let alone
address. Additionally, the textual communication for online learners removes
the comfort of body language and as a result, adds more tension.
Smith (2008) presents two major fears; the fear of fusion and the fear
of alienation. The fear of fusion involves losing the individual identity to
merge with the group, while the fear of alienation involves becoming isolated
from the group. These extremes take turns depending on the situation. While
the decline over time and experience, it is a much more challenging process
with accelerated learning environments where courses, projects, and
possibly teams change quickly.
Strategies. The implications of these challenges require curriculum
designers and online faculty to recognize that the same aspects that create
the emotional challenge also provide critical development. As a result,
strategies must be implemented to provide self-awareness, but not
undermine the learning experience. Providing a logistical structure, such as
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the visual controls provided by the kanban board, can be implemented to
help students focus on the real issues of collaboration and knowledge
construction while also providing strategies for learners to address their
emotional fears. There are more strategies available than just the kanban
board to improve the group learning process. The facilitator’s role is very
important in the construction of the teams to provide essential knowledge for
success. Some aspects of this essential knowledge presented by Smith &
Dirkx (2007) include
o Methods for being an effective group member.
o Emphasis on the need for dialogue.
o Identification of safe zones.
o Creation of ground rules.
These particular points are especially crucial ground to cover as a facilitator
with the implementation of the kanban board. If students are just provided
the tool without the structure and ground rules, it may cause more confusion
and frustration unless the group has already experienced the kanban
process. It is the facilitator’s responsibility, supported by curriculum material,
to help students identify the safe zones and emphasis on dialogue supported
by effective group methods and ground rules. Once students have a firm
grasp of this, the kanban has much more potential.
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Feedback provided by faculty through both the kanban cards
identifying tasks and the discussion forum within the learning management
system must include probing questions to encourage students to further
their collaboration. Providing stories of personal expertise and experience
help students develop perspective for their project, and upon completion of
final project feedback, learners should be encouraged by the facilitator to
critically reflect on personal learning and the general learning process.
Conclusion
This KAM has focused on adult learning theory and how it shapes the
current practices of engaging adults within a formal learning environment.
While the context is for online students, many of the principles relate to any
instruction to adult learners. The bibliography and literature essay strongly
focused on identifying the motivational challenges adult learners experience
especially in the online environment, and reported strategies to address
those challenges effectively. The Application proposes a case study to
specifically focus on the impact of group learning challenges and implement
a strategy to help learners within teams to maintain their ability to properly
learn within the intended method while also resolving tension that helps
students become more aware and able to meet those emotional challenges.
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References
Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning
and development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Mezirow, J. (1990). Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to
transformative and emancipatory learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.
Smith, R. (2008). Adult learning and the emotional self in virtual online
contexts. In J. Dirkx (Ed.), Adult learning and the emotional self (pp.
35-44). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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