The Impact of Collaborative and Simulation Sessions on Learning Lean Principles and Methods: A Multi-institutional Study

摘要

Industrial experts have implemented lean methods globally since the late 1970s in response to difficult economic conditions, as well as to compete in an increasingly global and difficult marketplace. The application of lean methods has been used to eliminate non-value added activities from business and manufacturing operations. By eliminating non-value added activities, organizations have been able to reduce costs, improve process flows, and increase value for customers. The popularity and benefits of lean methods have led to a demand for an engineering curriculum that includes lean principles and methods. Engineering student learners often do not have experience in manufacturing operations at the point in which they are introduced to lean principles and methods in their studies, thus selecting appropriate teaching methods is important in ensuring that students develop a working knowledge of how to apply lean tools. Previous research has demonstrated the importance of learner perceptions specifically, the role of self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes in motivation and in academic performance. Moreover, researchers have found that the use of collaborative activities and simulation can positively impact learning. However, few previous studies have reported on the impact of interactive sessions on learner perceptions, including self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes, and the possible impact of these effects on learning. This study sets out to examine the impact of self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes, resulting from the use of collaborative and simulation sessions on the learning of lean principles and methods. Participants in this study were undergraduate students, primarily engineering students, from three universities. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests. Based on the analyses, it was found that the sequencing of sessions was an important variable. The findings also suggest that the use of collaborative and simulation sessions has a positive impact on learner self-efficacy and on some learner attitudes.