Example of the Practice

Context

This case study involves an initiative implemented at MBA Consulting.  Kalvirs MBA Consulting is an academic organization located in Lima, Peru that assists students seeking to earn an MBA (Master of Business Administration) in English-speaking MBA programs.  Students mostly prepare for the necess ary exams to enter such programs, such as the TOEFL and IELTS  (exams that certify student proficiency in English) and the GMAT (an exam that assesses analytical writing and problem-solving abilities).  Unlike the TOEFL and IELTS, the GMAT exam consists of 2 distinct sections: quantitative (math) and verbal.  Preparation for the GMAT exams calls for academic sessions with teachers who specialize in math and with teachers who specialize in verbal.                                                                                                                                            A. Vidal

                                          Figure 1

The students of Kalvirs have already earned a bachelor degree and are working in their respective fields, so most students already have good study strategies.  Classes are usually 1 on 1 and are held in small classrooms with a laptop for the teacher and a large screen facing the student..  Most lessons last 90 minutes, but some students have elected for 180 minute sessions.  Students usually continue studying and practicing lesson material until they can take a simulation GMAT exam and score high enough to enter the MBA program they have selected.

Problem

Usually class begins by reviewing the previously assigned homework with students.  Verbal homework review is nearly as important as initial lesson delivery because it provides the opportunity to effectively conclude a particular lesson with real practice and teach details that were missed in previous lessons.  Unfortunately, about 20% of classes must begin by starting a new lesson without reviewing the homework to conclude the previous lesson because the students were overwhelmed with a massive amount of math homework, causing the students to do the missed homework after starting a new topic.  By doing homework when the lesson isn't fresh on their minds causes students to do more poorly than if they had done the homework after the appropriate lesson.

Approximately 90% of the students of Kalvirs are busy professionals working as bank executives or in management positions in finance or retail companies; therefore, these students don't have much free time to invest in GMAT study.  As taught by Miller (2014), "to build processes such as memory, critical thinking, and so on we instructors need to consider how attention interacts with the design of our learning activities (p. 65).  Because students don't have a generous amount of cognitive resources to dedicate to their careers, personal lives, GMAT classes, and homework it is important to engage students appropriately by assigning enough homework to maintain their engagement while allowing them to manage other responsibilities.

Also, it is difficult to pay attention and absorb new material when students' limited cognitive resources are exhausted.  Miller (2014) teaches, "We have a considerable amount of voluntary control over how we allocate attention, but this voluntary control is far from absolute — it can be disrupted, both by external things going on around us and by our own internal thought pro cesses (p. 67).

Causes

To remedy the issue at hand, it is necessary to first determine its causes, then collaborate with the people who are in positions that can implement any solutions.  Joiner & Josephs (2007) point out that, “You realize that the success of your leadership initiatives requires an adequate level of support from key stakeholders (p. 66).  The stakeholders involved in this case are the students, math teachers, verbal teachers, and Kalvirs administration.  The stakeholders in the optimal position are those in the center: the administration is in the position to collaborate with verbal teachers, math teachers, and students to coordinate a solution.

                                                          Figure 2

The root cause of this problem is the initial teacher training at Kalvirs.  The training focuses almost entirely on lesson material and lacks a clear pedagogy needed to deliver effective lessons.  The training for verbal teachers has proven ineffective because it does little to prepare teachers to deliver lessons, resulting in a long learning curve that causes teachers to deliver poor lessons.  This is not fair for students who begin training at Kalvirs with the expectation of receiving expert classes from well-trained instructors.  Additionally, the lack of a standard pedagogy includes the absence of suggested homework strategies and the absence of collaboration with other teachers.  To instruct the most effective homework strategy and the coordination among all teachers, it is first necessary to develop a standard training plan:

The development of a standard plan with which to train all new GMAT instructors does little to improve the instructional methods of current teachers.  To test the solutions it is necessary to team up with current teachers to implement the adjustments immediately to observe the results of the adjustments. With the collaboration of the administration of Kalvirs, it is necessary to first educate all teachers about the importance of monitoring the amount of responsibilities we give students. 

Through continuous formative assessment, teachers may be alert to the cognitive load of their students and adjust lesson delivery in accordance to student exhaustion levels.  Erickson (2007) defines formative assessment as “the continual ‘taking stock’that teachers do by paying firsthand observational attention to students during the ongoing course of instruction — careful attention focused upon specific aspects of a student’s developing understanding” (p.187.  It is important to inform teachers that  formative assessment needs to be correctly used so that teachers can assign the appropriate amount of homework.  Once instructed about formative assessment, the implementation of possible solutions and the subsequent observation of results are the next steps.

Solution 1 - The absence of suggested homework strategies

First, it is important that all teachers understand that although homework is beneficial, there is a risk of assigning too much.  Therefore, I prepared a presentation to illustrate to teachers that our students have many responsibilities in their lives and limited cognitive resources to address the responsibilities.  The math instructors were shocked to find out that the math instructors assign as much as 700% more homework than do the verbal instructors, causing students to struggle to simply finish math homework, disregarding verbal homework.  The interviews conducted with various learners also highlight the overabundance of math homework and its negative effects.

Now that everybody is aware of this problem, all instructors try to limit homework assignments to 1 or 2 assignments after each session of instruction. 

Solution 2 - The absence of collaboration among teachers

The second solution that would remedy this difficulty is to establish a routine that reserves time for teachers to collaborate and prepare ideal classes to our learners.  Life is full of changes: professional work load changes, emotions change, academic performance changes, and the ideal lesson delivery methodology consequently changes to adapt to life.  By collaborating, teachers can work together to take our students' ever-changing needs into consideration to prepare lessonsn that are as effective as possible.

According to Davis (2018), "When teachers come together to share information, resources, ideas, and expertise, learning becomes more accessible and effective for students. Collaborating means purposefully building interpersonal relationships and working towards healthy interdependence, which occurs when teachers are comfortable giving and receiving help without forfeiting accountability."