Delaware County Community College began pursuing Total Quality/Continuous Quality Improvement methods in 1985-86. A major initiative was a faculty in-service program introducing models reflecting TQ/CQI principles. The LEARN (Locate-Establish-Assess-Research-Nominate) Model and Cross and Angelo's classroom assessment technique generated the most interest. The LEARN model brings together instructors and student teams to identify opportunities to improve learning through systematic data gathering and the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of improvement. Faculty reported students realized their responsibility for learning and benefits of seeing classroom dynamics from students' perspectives.

1. TQL Example

2. Delaware County
Community College
(DCCC) in Media,
Pennsylvania

3. began pursuing Total
Quality/Continuous
Quality Improvement
(TQ/CQI) methods in 1985-
86.

4. A major initiative to
support TQ/CQI efforts in
the classroom was the
development of a faculty
in-service program to
introduce models
reflecting TQ/CQI
principles and practice.

5. Baugher's LEARN
(Locate-Establish-Assess-
Research-Nominate)
Model

6. and

7. Cross and Angelo's
classroom assessment
technique generated the
most interest.

8. The LEARN brings the
instructor together with a
student quality team to
identify opportunities to
improve student learning.

9. The model forces
systematic data
gathering, through the
Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
of continuous
improvement;

12. and requires that data be
collected from the entire
class,

13. not just a small segment.

14. The student team
brainstorms to identify
characteristics that may
be interfering with
student learning,

15. gathers data,

16. plans changes to improve
the classroom process,

17. and evaluates the
changes.

18. Faculty were asked to
describe how they
adapted LEARN,

19. the benefits,

20. problems,

21. and impacts on the
faculty,

22. classroom

23. and learning outcomes.

24. Faculty commented that
students realized that
they were responsible for
their own learning;

25. that it was helpful to see
classroom dynamics from
the students' perspective;

26. that changes seemed
trivial to instructors but
important to students;

27. and that the project
created greater
cohesiveness among
students.

28. The most common
difficulty cited was
finding time to implement
LEARN.

29. From: ERIC Database
Record ED373847

30. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPorta
l/search/detailmini.jsp?
_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_Searc
hValue_0=ED373847&ERICExtSearch
_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED373847

31. Work Cited
Unknown. Deming-wheel4. N.d. totalqualitymanagement.wordpress.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.
Unknown. Pdca. N.d. qualitytrends.blogspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct.
2012.

32. More Information
http://qualitytrends.blogspot.com/2008/09/plan-do-check-act-cycle.html