Dear Educator,

 

My name is Mike Rother. I’m a researcher in organizational

behavior who focuses on how groups of people can work

together effectively. Since 2005, I’ve concentrated on studying

Toyota’s management system, to understand factors behind

their sustained success.

 

A key element of Toyota’s approach is how it teaches and practices a practical form of scientific thinking in daily work for all associates. This helps teams become stronger problem solvers, able to pursue ambitious goals even when the path forward is uncertain. 

 

Based on our findings, we developed a set of small, structured practice routines—called 'Starter Kata'—to help organizations outside of Toyota cultivate everyday scientific thinking skills in their teams. Today, the Toyota Kata approach is the subject of several books and is used by organizations around the world.

 

Along the way, we realized that some of these practice routines could also be valuable in education, where helping non-scientists build some scientific thinking skills has also become important. Toward that end, this website offers a set of the key scientific thinking 'Starter Kata' routines. They're available to download at no cost and can be easily integrated into existing lessons. The best part is that there's no need to redesign what you already teach. Simply add a routine to your lesson.

 

Scientific thinking is a valuable life skill, but it’s not our default mode—it takes some practice. The Starter Kata practice routines have been so successful in business teams that we want to share some of them with educators, to use in their classrooms. I respect and applaud every educator who helps students develop scientific thinking through hands-on learning—a skill that can benefit them for life.

 

Please utilize any of the routines and resources on this site as you like. We’d love to see how you’re applying or adapting them in your classroom, so consider sharing your experiences on LinkedIn with the hashtag #KiC.

 

With appreciation,

Mike