Operational definitions are clearly defined words, phrases, and concepts that everyone working together agrees to use in the same way. Making assumptions about words like “tardy” or “good” is a fast track to confusion and disengagement. In this episode, Andrew and David talk about operational definitions in education – for students, faculty, and administrators.

Dr. Deming listed 7 Deadly Diseases of Management in Out of the Crisis, and one of the more surprising is #3: Evaluation of performance, merit rating, or annual review. In this episode, David and Andrew discuss the harmful practice of awarding “teacher of the year,” “student of the month,” or other traditional recognition practices. David also offers practical suggestions for alternatives.

In this episode, David and Andrew talk about Common Cause Variation vs Special Cause Variation, and the problem of confusing the two. Using the example of transgender students, David describes how a system’s capability should be expanded rather than using that special cause situation as a weapon to destroy the entire system.

What is the Taguchi Loss Function and how does it apply to education? In this episode, Andrew and David talk about statistician Genichi Taguchi’s idea that the further you move from a measurable quality target, the more quality is lost, even if the item still “meets specifications.” David shows how you can apply this to education.

In this episode, David and Andrew discuss the dreaded standardized tests, including how they evolved, how they’re used (and not used) now, and what Deming said about them. David also offers practical tips for educators who want to move away from standardized tests in their classrooms.

In this episode, David and Andrew discuss going beyond solving problems in schools to preventing them from happening. David also shares a tool for finding the area where optimization of the system would have the greatest impact.

With nearly 2 million students not returning to schools and educational institutions after COVID, David and Andrew explore the question “how do we create quality education systems so students are excited to come to school – and stay there?

In this episode of our special Deming in Education series, David and Andrew talk about the difference between “continuous” and “continual” improvement – and how that applies in classrooms.

David and Andrew’s discussion of how using Deming in the classroom not only inspires achievement it also creates collaboration among excited students.

In this episode, David and Andrew continue to talk about the thorny problem of tracking student progress – grading – and how to remove it from the classroom.