Improvement Kata

Improvement and Coaching Kata supports lifelong learning by guiding students towards both individual and team development goals. It helps them see an academic course as one stage in a longer learning journey, rather than a self-contained educational project, and encourages them to treat mistakes and uncertainty as natural parts of learning. It also helps students stay focused on their goals when conditions change, showing that progress depends on experimentation, reflection and a willingness to adjust one’s actions.

The process begins with a mandatory list of soft and hard skills that the whole team needs to develop. Students carry out a self-assessment, identify their development areas and negotiate roles within the team. These roles should support both the team objective and each student’s individual development goals. The team becomes the context for learning, while responsibility for competency development remains individual. Work is organised in cycles of planning, action and regular progress reviews initiated by the teacher, who acts as a learning coach through questions, reflection and mediation when difficulties arise. This process develops self regulation, perseverance and a lifelong learning mind-set.

Course: Production Management
Topic: Designing and Developing Team Competencies
Students work collaboratively in teams, while development remains an individual responsibility. The framework supports learning by helping students set direction, monitor progress and make regular adjustments.

Introduction (20 min)
The teacher sets the context for the work, emphasising that the course is one stage in a longer development journey and that learning will take place through trial, error and adjustment. Two key principles are introduced: the competency list is mandatory for the team, while responsibility for particular competencies is decided by the students themselves.

Introducing the Competency List (10 min)
Students receive a list of competencies covering both hard and soft skills. The teacher explains that the team is collectively responsible for developing all competencies, although not every student needs to develop all of them.

Individual Self-Assessment (15 min)
Students assess their current level in each competency, identify areas for development and decide how they will recognise progress.

Team Competency Mapping (15 min)
Teams create a competency map, assigning responsibility for each competency to one team member. Every competency must have an owner.

Role Negotiation (20 min)
Students agree team roles that align with both their individual development goals and the needs of the team. The teacher supports the discussion through guiding questions and highlights that roles may evolve during the course.

Setting Direction (10 min)
Each student defines their development direction and identifies a first concrete step. The team also agrees on how progress will be monitored.

Regular Reviews
Every few weeks, students review progress, identify barriers and adjust their actions and roles accordingly. These review sessions become an important part of the learning process.

• At the beginning of the semester and at key points during the course, when students need to set direction, organise their work, or work through low motivation, overload or team difficulties.
• In courses based on teamwork with individual responsibility, where the team covers the full competency list and students have autonomy in choosing their roles and development paths.
• When the teacher consistently acts as a coach and mediator, maintaining the rhythm of reviews, supporting reflection and helping students stay focused, rather than providing ready-made solutions.

• In highly lecture-based or exam-focused courses.
• In very short course formats with no time for regular reviews.
• In contexts where there is little space for student reflection and autonomy.

• Lack of readiness to take responsibility → clarify the principles and purpose from the outset.
• Tensions within teams → use coaching questions and mediate conflicts.
• Loss of direction → introduce regular reviews.

Easier → Reduce the number of competencies and provide examples of possible roles.
More Challenging → Give students full responsibility for setting goals and conducting reviews.

• Treat mistakes as a natural part of learning from the very beginning.
• Use questions rather than instructions.
• Maintain a regular rhythm of reviews.
• Respond early to signs of overload.

Formative Assessment
During regular review meetings, the teacher discusses with the team their development goal, actions completed, obstacles encountered, and plans for the next step. Developmental feedback is provided through coaching-style questions, such as: What worked well? What did you learn? What needs to be adjusted? What will be your next experiment? Students use this feedback to update their actions and consciously refine their own learning process.

Summative Assessment
Assessment focuses on the final reflection on the continuous improvement process. Assessment criteria may include the alignment between goals, actions, and conclusions, the consistency of effort, the ability to learn from mistakes, and the conscious planning of further development.