In considering what teaching is like, many abstract comparisons come to mind, such as how teachers need to be like sponges that need to absorb and learn from everything around them. However, there are also more literal comparisons that can be made, such as how teaching is like project management.

The concept of a project is very applicable to a class. A project is defined as having four stages: conceptualization, planning, execution, and, finally, termination. For a class, the conceptualization begins before the first day of school and is mostly completed by the principal through the selection of students for the class. Other project parameters are also laid out in this stage, such as the calendar and schedule for the year and the placement of support staff. Although the next stage, planning, is incorporated through the length of the project, an overview for the year is planned close to the beginning of the school year. The execution or actual work of the project is the teaching and, as with any other project, it is when the bulk of the labour is performed (Pinto, 2016, p. 13). Finally, the project terminates when summer break arrives at the end of June. The students go off with their new knowledge and the school resources, material and human, are reallocated for another year of learning.

This comparison remains true when considering what determines a successful project or, in this case, a successful school year. The quadruple-constraint rule, which considers the relationships between time, budget, performance, and customer satisfaction, is a way of evaluating how successful a project was. Additionally, if one of these aspects is stretched, it effects at least one of the other three aspects. For example, if a project is unable to finish on time, it will likely also go over budget, otherwise the performance or quality will be affected. This rule can easily be applied to a classroom setting, even if the budget is relatively restricted. If time is lost throughout the school year, the customer satisfaction, which in this case could be considered the students learning, may diminish. Alternatively, the positive or negative performance of the teacher effects the customer satisfaction, or learning outcomes, for the students accordingly. Depending on the project type, one aspect may be prioritized over another. For teachers, the quality of learning is the priority.

Predictably, project management involves strategies for planning, which are very applicable to teaching. One method used by project managers is a Gantt charts, “which links project activities to a project schedule baseline” (Pinto, 2016, p. 335). With rows being assigned to activities and the columns representing the time frame of the project, the order and length of activities are represented visually. With teachers planning units of each subject for the school year, Gantt charts are a suitable method. Many useful project management concepts and strategies can be applied to the classroom, even if only loosely.

For these reasons, teaching is like project management. Classes are like projects that have a life cycle involving concept, planning, executing, and termination. Measurements of success are comparable as well as the relationship between the four constraints of the project. The importance of planning is also a commonality between teaching and project management.

References

Pinto, Jeffrey K. (2016). Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage. Pearson Education Inc..