Using theory of constraints in E-Learning for overcoming internal, external, cultural, and international constraints

Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, March, 2005 by Myron Hatcher, Matthew Yen

In summary, many students do not take responsibility for their own learning and behaviors and, in order to ensure results, educators must intervene. At the same time, educators know that they can not empower students to learn and think on their own if they intervene by assuming this responsibility for them.

In the paradigm of e-learning, students are much more independent and assume more responsibility than those of in the brick and mortar classrooms. Changes in behaviors, habits and thinking are pre-requisites before engaging e-learning. Goldratt (12) further explains the need of 'thinking tools' to effect changes during a paradigm shift:

To what to change: What is an effective solution? ... What changes are needed are simple, concrete, and practical tools ... a powerful set of generic thinking and communication tools that would enable students of all ages, cultures and abilities to:

* Be able to analyze problems from all points of view

* Be able to think through consequences of their own actions so that they can make better choices on their own initiative

* Be able to understand what they learn through the logical connections embedded in the information so that they could derive, rather than, memorize answers ...

* Be able to set goals and think through a feasible plan to achieve them.

   If students were able to take responsibility for their own learning
   and behaviors, that outcome would leave more resources available to
   meet the incredible demands on educators' time? This will happen
   only if the means to the end can be accomplished within existing
   resource limitations ... teachers must have effective tools which
   not only can be taught through existing curriculum content but also
   in a way that enhances the achievement of mandated standards and
   benchmarks.

Effective learning requires disciplined thinking. Educators realize that critical thinking is so important that students are required to take courses specifically in critical thinking. However, most required courses fail to teach students to become independent thinkers. Why? The thinking process is such an abstract activity that most teachers do not know how to instruct students to think, let alone 'critical thinking' and effective learning. Goldratt developed three specific thinking and communication tools for such needs: namely: the Cloud, the Ambitious Target Tree, and the Branch. Tables 1, 2, and 3 represent tools.

[TABLE 1-3 OMITTED]

4. APPLYING TOC IN E-LEARNING

Fredenall classifies constraints into three types (13). They are:

* Physical or logistical constraints--these are resources within system which have capacity that is equal to or less than the demand placed upon it.

* Policy constraints--these are decrees or rules from management staff that sets limits on the system performance and they do not lead directly to achieving the goals and objectives of the system.

* Paradigm constraints--these are entrenched habits or assumptions of people in the system that things must be done this way because they have always been done this way. Paradigm constraints often lead to policy constraints which may lead to physical constraints.