Frances A. Kennedy

Perspective: Guidelines for Reporting Team-Based Learning Activities in the Medical and Health Sciences Education Literature

Medical and health sciences educators are increasingly employing team-based learning (TBL) in their teaching activities. TBL is a comprehensive strategy for developing and using self-managed learning teams that has created a fertile area for medical education scholarship. However, because this method can be implemented in a variety of ways, published reports about TBL may be difficult to understand, critique, replicate, or compare unless authors fully describe their interventions. The authors of this article offer a conceptual model and propose a set of guidelines for standardizing the way that the results of TBL implementations are reported and critiqued. They identify and articulate the seven core design elements that underlie the TBL method and relate them to educational principles that maximize student engagement and learning within teams. The guidelines underscore important principles relevant to many forms of small-group learning. The authors suggest that following these guidelines when writing articles about TBL implementations should help standardize descriptive information in the medical and health sciences education literature about the essential aspects of TBL activities and allow authors and reviewers to successfully replicate TBL implementations and draw meaningful conclusions about observed outcomes.

Evaluating the quality of learning-team processes in medical education: Development and validation of a new measure

Background Measurement of the quality of team processes in medical education, particularly in classroom-based teaching settings, has been limited by a lack of measurement instruments. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument to measure the quality of team interactions. Method The authors created 30 items and reduced these to 18 items using factor analysis. They distributed the scale to 309 second-year medical students (RR = 95%) in a course that used teams and measured internal consistency, validity, and differences in scores between teams. Results Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.97. Team ratings were variable, with a mean score of 95.7 (SD 8.5) out of 108. Team Performance Scale (TPS) scores correlated inversely with the spread of peer evaluation scores (r = −0.38, P = .003). Differences between teams were statistically significant (P < .001, &eegr;2 = 0.33). Conclusions The TPS was short, had evidence of reliability and validity, and exhibited the capacity to distinguish between teams. This instrument can provide a measure of the quality of team interactions. More work is needed to provide further evidence of validity and generalizability.

Accounting in the lean enterprise : providing simple, practical, and decision-relevant information

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LEAN AS A COMPETITIVE STRATEGY Principles of Strategic Lean Thinking Brief History of Lean Production Lean Thinking Lean Implementation and Management Lean Results Discussion Questions References Value Stream Management Introduction to Value Stream Management Defining Your Value Streams Problem Solving in Value Streams Value Stream Performance Measures Summary Discussion Questions References THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF LEAN ACCOUNTING Principles of Lean Accounting Accounting as Part of a Total Lean Business Strategy Lean Accounting vs. Accounting for Lean Traditional Cost Accounting in Lean Environments Lean Accounting Principles Value Streams Flow and Pull Customer Value Employee Empowerment Continuous Improvement Changing the Internal Accounting Reporting System Challenges to Implementing a Lean Accounting System Discussion Questions References Value Stream Costing The Motivation The Costing Plan Step 1: Identify Value Stream Resources Step 2: Design the Value Stream Statement Format Value Stream Statement Overview Value Stream Revenue Value Stream Costs Material Cost Conversion Costs Facilities Cost Step 3: Standardize Collection of Weekly Data Step 4: Compile the Value Stream Statements Step 5: Select the Reporting Mechanism Step 6: Test It! Step 7: Roll Up to Facility Statement Step 8: Obtain Feedback from All Statement Users Summary Discussion Questions Inventory Management Inventory Valuation under a Traditional Standard Costing System Inventory Valuation Using Lean Accounting Methods Transitioning to an Accounting for Lean System Monitoring of Inventory Levels Summary Appendix 5B: A Primer on Backflush Costing Discussion Questions References Capacity Management Capacity Management-An Overview Reporting Capacity Measures Determining the Box Score Capacity Measures Step 1: Collect Monthly Data by Cell for the Capacity Spreadsheet Step 2: Calculate Productive, Nonproductive, and Available Capacity Step 3: Determine the Bottleneck Cell Step 4: Transfer Capacity Measures of the Bottleneck Cell to the Box Score Step 5: Review with Management and Target Kaizen Possibilities Step 6: Tie Lean Improvements to Changes in Capacity and Improved operational Measures Step 7: Use Freed-Up Capacity to Improve Financial Performance Space Management Summary Discussion Questions Product Costs and Lean Decisions Throughput and Conversion Costs Standard Costing Method Throughput Method Product Pricing Decisions Product Mix Decisions Special Order Decisions Make vs. Buy Decisions Box Score Format Summary Challenge Discussion Questions Lean Planning An Overview of Lean Planning and the PDCA Cycle How Lean Planning Is Different from Traditional Planning Traditional Planning-The Annual Budget Lean Planning-A Different Focus and Process The Four Levels of Lean Planning Strategic Planning Hoshin Planning (Strategy Deployment)-Medium Term Sales, Operations, and Financial Planning (SOFP)-Short Term Steps in the SOFP Process The SOFP Schedule Weekly Planning Meetings Summary of Lean Planning Discussion Questions References Measurement Selection and Alignment Reasons for Change Identifying Measures Measures and Alignment The Process Level 1: Company Strategies and Goals Level 2: Value Stream Goals and Measures Level 3: Work Cell Critical Success Factors, Goals, and Measures Measurement Challenges in Projects and Knowledge Work Action Tracking Logs Summary Discussion Questions Measurement and Lean Behavior Impact of Traditional Measures Attributes of a Good Measure Technical Attributes Behavioral Attributes Cultural Attributes The Assessment Summary Discussion Questions CONTROLS AND TRANSITION Leaning Accounting Processes Eliminate or Improve? Step 1: List All Accounting Processes and Activities Step 2: Quantify Time and Resources Step 3: Perform a Customer Value Analysis Step 4: Consider the Cost and Impact of Change Step 5: Select the Activity or Activities for Change Step 6: Prepare an Action Plan Summary Transitioning to a Lean Accounting Reporting System Preparing to Transition Your Accounting System Steps for Making the Accounting Transition Step 1: Identify Value Streams and Associated Costs Step 2: Determine Appropriate Method for Valuing Inventory Step 3: Identify the Types of Accounting Reports That Are Necessary Step 4: Decide on Changeover Date Step 5: Other Issues to Consider Step 6: Review the Process Potential Obstacles in Transitioning Your Management Accounting System Benefits of a Lean Accounting System Summary Discussion Questions Appendix A: Glossary of Lean and Lean Accounting Terminology Reference Appendix B: Lean Measurement Assessment Instrument Performance Measure Assessment for the Lean Enterprise Background Purpose Directions Index