Kim Buch

Learning style and training delivery mode preference

An exploratory study investigated the relationship between learning style and preference for training delivery mode. It was expected that learning style would influence learners’ preference for receiving training through classroom‐, computer‐, TV‐, print‐, or audio‐based delivery modes. A total of 165 employees from a large US financial institution completed the Kolb Learning Style Instrument and a survey measuring training delivery mode preference. Results found support for the expected relationship between the two, with convergers showing a stronger preference for computer‐based delivery and assimilators showing a stronger preference for print‐based delivery. However, results also revealed an overall preference for classroom‐based delivery for adults in the study, regardless of their learning style. Implications of these results for training design and delivery are discussed.

Employee perceptions of the rewards associated with six sigma

Purpose – This paper examined employee perceptions of the rewards associated with their participation in a six sigma program. Six sigma is an approach to organizational change that incorporates elements of total quality management, business process reengineering, and employee involvement.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was completed by 215 employees (34 percent response rate). Respondents rated the extent to which they felt their participation in six sigma was “instrumental” for a range of outcomes, as well as valence (desirability) of each outcome (based on the VIE concept of instrumentality). The outcomes were classified into four categories: extrinsic, intrinsic, social, and organizational.Findings – Valence ratings revealed that all 12 outcomes were perceived as desirable. Instrumentality ratings showed that extrinsic outcomes were rated significantly lower than intrinsic, social, and organizational outcomes. Additional analyses revealed significant differences on all four outcome categories be...

TQM: the role of leadership and culture

Examines the effects of a total quality management initiative on a department in a mid‐sized utility company in the USA. A longitudinal design was used to examine the effects of total quality management on performance measures and employee satisfaction over time, and a cross‐sectional survey was used to measure the perceived effects of leadership and culture on these outcomes. Results suggested that a culture change characterized by empowerment, employee development, and teamwork occurred immediately after the intervention, and was sustained over the next two years. However, a shift back to the pre‐intervention culture was evidenced by the end of the study, a shift accompanied by a significant decline in employee job satisfaction. Possible explanations for the organization’s failure to sustain the culture change are discussed, including the role of leadership, external threats and the threat‐rigidity hypothesis, and changes in the intervention itself.

Employee expectancies for six sigma success

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test two common assumptions underlying the success of total quality management (TQM): that change occurs as training imparts new knowledge needed by employees to effectively participate in the intervention, and that employees then receive the organizational support needed to translate this knowledge into new job behaviors and organizational practices that define the intervention.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was completed by 216 employees of a large US company 15 months after the implementation of a Fsix sigma quality improvement program. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they had the skills and resources needed for successful participation in six sigma (success expectancies).Findings – Results showed that employees as a group had low expectancies for both skills and resources, but that expectancies were significantly higher for program participants than for non‐participants.Research limitations/implications – The primary implication ...

The STARS Alliance: Viable Strategies for Broadening Participation in Computing

The Students and Technology in Academia, Research, and Service (STARS) Alliance is a nationally-connected system of regional partnerships among higher education, K-12 schools, industry and the community with a mission to broaden the participation of women, under-represented minorities and persons with disabilities in computing (BPC). Each regional partnership is led by a STARS member college or university with partners such as local chapters of the Girl Scouts, the Black Data Processors Association, public libraries, Citizen Schools, and companies that employ computing graduates. STARS goals include retaining and graduating undergraduates and recruiting and bridging undergraduates into graduate programs. The alliance works toward these goals through activities that advance the central values of Technical Excellence, Leadership, Community, and Service and Civic Engagement. In particular, all STARS college and university members implement the STARS Leadership Corps (SLC), an innovative model for enveloping a diverse set of BPC practices within a common framework for implementation within multiple organizations, common assessment, and sustainability through curricula integration. Herein, we describe the SLC model and its implementation in the STARS schools, including details of an SLC service-learning course that has been adopted by eight STARS schools. We report the results of our three-year study of the SLC in the 20 STARS schools. Our study found a positive effect of participation in the SLC on important student success variables, including self-efficacy, perceived social relevance of computing, grade point average, and commitment to remain in computing. Results indicate that the SLC model is effective for students under-represented in computing, as well as for those not from under-represented groups.

A Longitudinal Assessment of an Initial Cohort in a Psychology Learning Community.

Discipline-based learning communities have become a popular strategy for improving student performance and satisfaction. This article describes the goals and features of a university-based, first-year psychology learning community (PLC) implemented in Fall 2003. We also report the results of a longitudinal assessment of the impact of the PLC on student retention and progression, academic performance, cocurricular involvement, and satisfaction with the major. Finally, we discuss the benefits and challenges of implementing a PLC.

Applying Service Learning to Computer Science: Attracting and Engaging Under-Represented Students.

This article describes a computer science course that uses service learning as a vehicle to accomplish a range of pedagogical and BPC (broadening participation in computing) goals: (1) to attract a diverse group of students and engage them in outreach to younger students to help build a diverse computer science pipeline, (2) to develop leadership and team skills using experiential techniques, and (3) to develop student attitudes associated with success and retention in computer science. First, we describe the course and how it was designed to incorporate good practice in service learning. We then report preliminary results showing a positive impact of the course on all pedagogical goals and discuss the implications of the results for broadening participation in computing.

The effects of integrating service learning into computer science: an inter-institutional longitudinal study

This study is a follow-up to one published in computer science education in 2010 that reported preliminary results showing a positive impact of service learning on student attitudes associated with success and retention in computer science. That paper described how service learning was incorporated into a computer science course in the context of the Students & Technology in Academia, Research, and Service (STARS) Alliance, an NSF-supported broadening participation in computing initiative that aims to diversify the computer science pipeline through innovative pedagogy and inter-institutional partnerships. The current paper describes how the STARS Alliance has expanded to diverse institutions, all using service learning as a vehicle for broadening participation in computing and enhancing attitudes and behaviors associated with student success. Results supported the STARS model of service learning for enhancing computing efficacy and computing commitment and for providing diverse students with many personal and professional development benefits.

The Impact of a Psychology Learning Community on Academic Success, Retention, and Student Learning Outcomes.

Learning communities have become an integral part of the educational reform movement of the past two decades and have been heralded as a promising strategy for restructuring undergraduate education. This study used a matched control group design to examine the impact of participation in a psychology learning community (PLC) on a range of student success and involvement indicators. Results found that students across six cohorts of the PLC significantly outperformed non-PLC students on 1st-year grade point average and retention and on two measures of progression to degree, and were significantly more involved in the psychology major as measured by enrollment in undergraduate research and membership in Psi Chi. PLCs are discussed as an effective, cost-conscious, and flexible approach to curricular reform in psychology.

Faculty Perceptions of SoTL at a Research Institution: A Preliminary Study

Boyer (1990) and others have challenged the traditional boundaries of scholarship, calling for a broader view that includes the scholarship of integration, application, and teaching. The discipline of psychology has been productively involved in the debate, resulting in both contributions to the literature and changes in reward policies in some departments (e.g., Mathie et al., 2004). I examined psychology facultys perceptions of how their department evaluates the scholarship of pedagogy and what they believe are the true boundaries of scholarship in psychology. I found a significant gap in what is “counted” as scholarship and what faculty believe should be counted.