WVU Institute of Technology (Beckley) 

Community Leader: Aida Jiménez Esquilín, Senior Engaged Teaching Scholar
Eligibility: Instructors at WVU Institute of Technology.
Ready to join this community? Please apply by Monday, September 7, 2026 

Plan-Do-Study-Act

The PDSA cohort is a community of instructors at WVU Tech who are making small, incremental changes to their teaching and documenting their students’ outcomes using an improvement science technique called Plan-Do-Study-Act. A kick-off meeting, a community check-in meeting, and a wrap-up meeting will be scheduled during fall semester based on the group’s availability. Customized one-on-one meetings will be scheduled throughout the semester based on your availability.
 

This program is designed to help you explore, experiment, and reflect on your teaching practice in a practical, evidence-informed, and time-manageable way. Instructors will work through short Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, which last approximately 4–5 weeks. The PDSA cycle is designed to target an aspect of your teaching (e.g., an activity, an approach, an assessment) as you explore the impact of your teaching on student learning.

Why Join?

• PDSA is practical and manageable. Short cycles allow meaningful experimentation without overburdening your schedule!
• PDSA is collaborative and cross-disciplinary. Share your ideas, successes, and challenges in a supportive community!
• PDSA leads to evidence-based teaching artifacts. Upload your PDSA worksheet to Digital Measures and describe your project in the accompanying narrative!

The PDSA Cycle

Plan

• What change will you make to your teaching?
• What is your prediction for your students?
• Plan your lesson, activity, etc.

Do

• Execute this change to your teaching.
• Collect your data (e.g., exam scores, performance, feedback)

Study

• Compare your results to your prediction.
• Reflect on what you learned.

Act

• Decide if you should adopt this change to your teaching, further adapt this change to your teaching, or abandon the change and try something else.

At the end of your PDSA cycle, consider using these artifacts of your teaching as evidence of continuous improvement and reflective practice by uploading your files to Digital Measures. Pair the artifacts with a narrative to help others understand how these changes to your practice impacted student learning.

Ready to Join this Community?

This opportunity is led by Engaged Teaching Scholar Aida Jiménez Esquilín.

Meetings are held on the campus of WVU Institute of Technology. 

• Please Apply by 9/7/26

References

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (n.d.). Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle. Improvement Science Collection.

 
First2Network. (n.d.). PDSA Rapid Cycles of Testing of Change Ideas. Improvement Sciences Resources.