PDSA.. Do vs. Act? LO23107

Tricia Lustig (Tricia@lasa.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 03 Nov 1999 09:44:26 +0000

Replying to LO23092 --

Dear LO'ers

> IMHO the Deming (as we know PDSA) Cycle has a lot of similarities with
> Argyris' single and double-loop learning. Would any of you agree that
> "ACT" is a type of double-loop learning, meaning that once you've "DONE"
> and reviewed ("STUDIED") the results, the feedback might raise the need
> for improvements upon the previous "PLAN", which is the heart of the
> continuous improvement theory.

I think it harks back to David Kolb's learning cycle of Experience (do),
Reflect (Study), Develop theories (Act?), Plan (Plan). It basically
states that to learn something we must visit all four of the points, but
where we enter the learning cycle could be anywhere. Honey and Mumford
also use this in their learning styles work. You do something, then you
stop to reflect upon it, then you theorise how to improve it, plan that
improvement and do whatever it is again, but this time better. Honey and
Mumford suggest that we all have preferred starting points in the cycle...
we don't all learn the same way. But then, we all know that.;-)

Best Regards,

Tricia Lustig
LASA Development UK Ltd.

-- 

Tricia Lustig <Tricia@lasa.demon.co.uk>

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