Marsha Bunnell, Brushy Creek Elementary: 2nd Grade Students Improve Cafeteria Behavior with PDSA!

My second grade class has been having a few behavior issues at lunch. We initiated the PDSA cycle to improve cafeteria behavior. Recently, after an eventful lunch last week, I told my class we needed to have a class meeting to discuss our lunch issues.

We identified the opportunity for improvement using the Quality tools and class discussions to provide a great base of understanding where they were with the cafeteria issues (Plan). I decided to try a Plus/Delta chart with the students to see if we could discuss this issue and hopefully work on a possible solution together. The students were very familiar with our class Parking Lot so explaining how to use just the top portion was not difficult. The children shared some ideas of what was going well at lunch (Plus) such as we always use hand sanitizer, we are doing better remembering to pick up any condiments we need, etc. The Delta portion (needs improvement) was a long list.

The class generated what they thought needed to be improved. I added suggestions to our list such as we are too talkative, play with our food, do not use good manners, and are not quiet for the first 10 minutes (silent lunch time). I asked what did they think we could do help our situation. One student immediately said that if they made better choices deciding who to sit by it would help! I jumped at the chance and suggested a seating chart! They thought that was a great idea so I proceeded to create one with their input on who they should sit by at lunch.

The class then created a plan/action steps (the seating chart) to implement (Do) that would improve the situation. The next day, we tried our new seating arrangement out and our lunch was so much happier! We may need to tweak as the days go by but having the children take ownership in solving their problem has been so positive!

The class is now in the Study phase where they will be looking at the results of the seating chart and lunchroom behavior. The Act phase continues the process as the class standardizes these processes and/or adjusts the plan as needed.


This is the first time I have taken my class through the PDSA cycle. I see the benefit of allowing children to have input and ownership when working on different classroom situations. Before implementing this strategy, I would have solved the problem by telling my students what they were going to do! This surely would have resulted in negative attitudes and probably an unsolved issue. Instead, the class owned the problem and took positive steps to solve it themselves. They had a very good attitude about their plan because they understood the issue and worked together to create a positive solution.

For more information on how her class is progressing through the PDSA process, please contact Marsha Bunnell at Brushy Creek Elementary School.