The document outlines a project by the team 'Opus Geeks' aimed at addressing low self-esteem in students, particularly among non-computer science degree holders. Using the PDCA cycle and various data analysis tools, the team identified 33 problems affecting students’ self-esteem and implemented collaborative learning and industry-focused solutions to enhance their confidence and skills. The project's effectiveness was measured through various metrics, confirming improvements in students' self-esteem and academic performance.

2. Team name Opus Geeks
Project Head Dr. M Palaninatharaja
Team coordinator Dr. G S R Emil Selvan
Facilitator Dr. S Vijayalakshmi
Team leader Akshara A
Members
Samuel Mameru Carr
Rachel E
Madhumithaa N
Meena T
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."
Team Profile

3. QUALITY CIRCLE FORUM OF INDIA, CHENNAI CHAPTER
TACKLING THE PROBLEM OF LOW
SELF-ESTEEM IN STUDENTS
23rd Quality Circle Convention in Education | 11th of February, 2023
CASE STUDY ON

4. PLAN
CHECK
DO
ACT
PDCA CYCLE
Identify problem
Select problem
Define problem
Check performance
of solution
Implement Solution
Review Solution
Find root causes
Root cause analysis
Data analysis
Develop Solution

5. TOOLS USED
Donut Chart
Row Chart
Questionnaire
Ishikawa diagram
Brainstorming
Gantt Progress Chart
Ranking Method
Line Chart
Pareto Chart

6. WEEK 7
WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 8
GANTT PROGRESS CHART
WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4
Planning
Collect data
Analyze
Solution
Re-analyze
Review
Test-1
Test-2
Test-3
Month - December '22 & January '23

7. CLASSIFICATION OF PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED BY
BRAINSTORMING
A-Category Problems
B-Category Problems C-Category Problems
Problems that can be
tackled by department
authorities and teaching
staffs
Problems that can be
tackled within
student’s scope
Involvement of other
parties are not
involved.
Problems that need
managerial and
government level support

8. 01
Students from non-CS degrees competing
with students who have a CS degree.
NO. LIST OF PROBLEMS
A-Category Problems
02
Students from different Cultures getting
unwelcomed
03
Difference in virtual class and classroom
experience
04 Severe lack of self-motivation in students
09
Crowded working memory – Saturated
memory
10
Inability to complete overloaded homework
and assignments
11
Least possibilities to develop and express
skills
12 Exam pressure on students
13 Lack of unity and team spirit
15 Mobile Phone Addiction
Self-harming behaviours
14
Not confident in their skills and feeling
others are better
NO. LIST OF PROBLEMS
05
Stage fright and performance issues in
students
06 Poor mental health
07
Lack of industry and practical based
knowledge and skills
08
Lack of exposure and past experiences
16

9. 01 Vast difference between institutional-level learning and knowledge needed to crack job interviews
NO. LIST OF PROBLEMS
B-Category Problems
02 Pressurizing students to become "Jack of all trades,” forcing them to turn into the “Master of None"
03 Boredom and Mundane nature of teaching
04 Lack of teaching aids and equipment
05 Lesser involvement of parents in student’s growth
06 Higher ratio of student to teacher
07 Educational system’s inability to draw student’s attention into the learning process
08 Teachers refusing to appreciate student’s achievements and growth
09 Teachers not finding realistic ideas to help slow learners

10. 01 Lack of government support
NO. LIST OF PROBLEMS
C-Category Probelms
02 Lesser number of inter-college contests being organized. Even if organized, it isn’t getting promoted
03 Lack of industrial training
04 Expensive higher education
05 Lesser chance to hear from guest lectures and industrial experts
06 Improper infrastructure like class rooms, black boards, drinking water, and sanitary facilities
07 Poor choices of food being served in hostels.
08 Pressure on educational loans and debts after graduation

11. Category Description
Problems
listed (in numbers)
Problems
listed (in %)
A
Problem that can be
tackled within student’s scope
with minimum involvement of
staffs
16 48.5%
B
Problem that can be
tackled by department
authorities and teaching staffs
9 27.3%
C
Problems that need
managerial/government level
support
8 24.2%
Total problems
33
100%
OVERVIEW
We found '33' problems from our
Brainstorming sessions!
A
48.5%
B
27.3%
C
24.2%

12. ASPECTS
Self-Esteem Aspects
Academic Aspects
FIRST - LEVEL SELECTION
Knowing that ‘A’ category problems can be tackled within the scope of an individual, without/extremely
minimal interference of any other parties, we chose the problems from the ‘A’ level.
GROUPING THE PROBLEMS FROM CATEGORY - A

13. Lack of exposure and past experiences
SELF ESTEEM
ASPECTS
Not confident in their skills and feeling
others are better
VISUAL CHART
Severe lack of self-motivation in students
Students from different culture and
environment getting unwelcomed
Lack of industry based and practical
knowledge and skills
Stage fright and performance issues in
students
Self-harming behaviours
Poor Mental Health of Students
Students from non-CS degrees competing with
students who have a CS degree.
ACADEMIC
ASPECTS
Crowded working memory – Saturated
memory
Exam pressure on students
Inability to complete overloaded homework
and assignments
Poor time and resource management
Lack of unity and team spirit
Difference in virtual classroom and
traditional classroom
Mobile Phone Addiction

14. ASPECTS A B C E F TOTAL SCORE
Self-Esteem Aspects 1 2 2 1 1 7
Academic Aspects 2 1 1 2 2 8
SECOND - LEVEL SELECTION
Ranking Method | Highest Priority - 1 | Lowest Priority - 2
A - Akshara | B - Samuel | C - Rachel | E - Madhumithaa | F - Meena

15. KEY PROBLEM - SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES
Self-esteem is how we value and perceive ourselves. It's based on our opinions and beliefs
about ourselves, which can feel challenging to change.
After analyzing 33+ problems from brainstorming sessions, we have chosen to find the solution
to problems which directly influence the SELF-ESTEEM of an MCA student.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
TOOLS USED - Brainstorming, Ranking method

16. RANK CAUSES - %
1
Not confident in their academic skills and feeling others
are better
16 17.98
7 Severe lack of self-motivation in students 7 7.87
2
Students from non-CS degrees competing with students
who have a CS degree.
14 15.73
9
Increasing problems of ego in students, resulting in
blockage of honest assessment
3 3.37
THIRD LEVEL SELECTION
Questionnaire Results from 89 respondents
Causes for low Self-Esteem

17. RANK CAUSES - %
3 Stage fright and performance issues in students 12 13.48
11 Lack of awareness 2 2.25
4
Fear of trying or failure. And, hesitant to engage in taking
appropriate academic growth risks.
10 11.24
10
Failing to embrace the progress in each level and blaming
the process (forcing themselves to see the result in less that
the desired time period)
2 2.25
8 Self-harming behaviours 6 6.74
5 Lack of exposure and past experience. 9 10.11
6 Poor mental health of students 8 8.99

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PARETO CHART

20. CHOSEN CAUSES
Students are not confident in their skills and feel others are better
Students with non-CS degrees competing with students having CS degrees
Stage fright and performance issues in students
Fear of trying or failing. And, hesitant to engage in taking appropriate academic growth
risks.
Lack of exposure and lack of past experience
Poor mental health of students.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
CAUSES

21. Lack of confidence in one's skills
Cultural/Environmental differences
Stage fright
Fear of trying/failing
Lack of
exposure
Poor mental health
LOWERED
SELF-ESTEEM
FISHBONE DIAGRAM (ISHIKAWA CAUSE AND EFFECT)
Overview -

22. Elaborative -
Lack of practice
Fear of humiliation
Lack of proficiency
Lack of
practice
Lack of proficiency
Lack of confidence in one's skills
Cultural/Environmental
differences
Stage
fright
Fear of failing
Lack of
Exposure
Poor mental
health
LOWERED
SELF-ESTEEM
Lack of resources
Lack of guidance
Lack of
preparation
Past mistakes/
Negative results
Lack of industry
awareness
Limiting beliefs
Different edu.
Backgrounds
Negative past
experience
High Stress
Cripple motivation
Cultural shock
Varied views in
classroom
Bad support system
Peer pressure
Parental expectations
Not applying
knowledge
Rote Learning
No practical
skills
Fear of embarrasment
Comparison with
BCA students

23. SOLUTIONS
Increased self-esteem
Understand concepts better
Find solutions immediately
Increased academic success
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
STUDENT COMMUNITY
Acquire new skills
Develop higher-level of thinking
Build strong characters
Develop critical thinking abilities
(includes Cooperative learning,
Collaborative projects & assignments)
GROUP PROJECTS

24. SOLUTIONS
Create close rapport among teammates
Complete task on time
Increased self-esteem
Increases good work habits
Gain a deeper understanding of one's
domain
FOCUSING ON INDUSTRY-
READY SKILLS
INCREASED INDUSTRY EXPOSURE
Gain proficiency in skills
Gain technical skills
Increases students' responsibility

25. 1 2 3 4 5
Given 20 questions to
solve from 'Data
structures & Algorithms,'
with a duration of 48
hours to complete.
Class student committee
members divided the class
of 28 members into 4
teams. (7 per team)
Asked each student to
solve 3 problems. Made
them find the solution
and teach the concept to
other members of the
team.
Witnessed 'Involvement',
'Dedication', and
'Confidence', as everyone
managed to find the
solutions and presented
it.
SUCCESS!!
(Collaborative learning)
IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTION

26. Before implementation

27. After implementation

28. (Involvement of student community)
HOW EFFECTIVE IS OUR SOLUTION?
Jan '23 (Week-1) Jan '23 (Week-2) Jan '23 (Week-3) Jan '23 (Week-4)
Anandh Ayyanar Azif Siva Sakthi Suvedhan
5
4
3
2
1
0
Frequent mock interviews
Collaborative learning
Improved self-confidence
Improved self-esteem
Team - IT Elites
Department - MCA
Skill - Communication
Technique followed -
1.
2.
End-result -
1.
2.
LINE CHART

30. (Involvement of student community)
HOW EFFECTIVE IS OUR SOLUTION?
November '22 December '22 January '23
Aarthika Varsha Hema Sakthi Charu
4
3
2
1
0
Collaborative learning
Virtual Experience
Programs
Training cum internship
Improved self-confidence
Improved self-esteem
Team - Tactic Tech
Department - MCA
Skill - Industry-specific skills &
Domain-awareness
Technique followed -
1.
2.
3.
End-result -
1.
2.
LINE CHART

32. (Involvement of Student community)
HOW EFFECTIVE IS OUR SOLUTION?
October '22 November '22 December '22 January '23 February '23
0 20 40 60
Coding skill
Collaborative learning
Competitive programming
Mock coding rounds
Virtual Experience programs
Training cum internships
Skillrack
Hackerrank
Forage
TQC
Improved mental health
Improved self-esteem
Individual analysis
Participant - Hemalatha
Skill - Coding
Technique followed -
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Platforms utilized -
1.
2.
3.
4.
End-result -
1.
2.
ROW CHART (VARIATION OF BAR CHART)

33. Platforms we used -

34. Initiated the process,
and planned how to
take it forward.
PLANNING
Involved in activities
that could get them to
solutions. Interacted
well with the team
members and took
help from them when
needed.
Created a good
rapport among the
teammates and found
enhanced interaction
between the team
members.
Overcame 'stage
fright' and presented
the solutions to
everyone & explained
the concepts to other
team members.
Performed well in the
end-exam and scored
better!
SOLUTION-CENTRIC
APPROACH
TEAM SPIRIT CONFIDENCE
ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE
RESULT
Achieved the target of
improving student's
self esteem.
IMPROVED SELF
ESTEEM

35. SUMMARY
We the team members of Opus Geeks used QC tools to identify problems, identify their root
causes and implement a viable and effective solution.
We brainstormed ideas, ranked them, and chose to solve the issue of SELF-ESTEEM.
We used tools such as Fishbone diagrams to identify the causes of the problem. We found that
most non-CS students unfairly compare themselves to CS students and that many students
are not confident in their skills.
We brainstormed possible solutions to the problem and compared each implementation using
bar charts to test their effectiveness. We found collaborative learning and Industry focused
approaches as viable solutions.