Learning PDCA through Minecraft: The “PDCATimer” Plugin Driven by Lecterns and Books
In the world of Minecraft, players set their own goals and take action—whether it’s building a house or crafting tools. By mapping this process to the “Plan → Do → Check → Act" (PDCA) cycle, it naturally becomes an exercise in “thinking and acting" while having fun.
Prompted by this idea, I’ve been working on the initiative of “running the PDCA cycle in Minecraft," previously developing tools like a whiteboard-style plugin.
Now, to further support that workflow, I have released “PDCATimer," a Paper plugin specialized in time management.
A Book Placed on a Lectern Becomes a Timer
The defining feature of this plugin is its use of vanilla Minecraft elements: “books and lecterns."
Simply write the timer configuration into a book and place it on a lectern to automatically start the timer.
There’s no need to type complex commands; it’s completed entirely using in-game items.
For example, you can start a PDCA session just by writing the following:
[PDCA] [1]30m: ぜんはん [2]2m: ぜんはんのふりかえり [3]30m: こうはん [4]5m: きょうのまとめとじかいのもくひょうせってい
Once you place the book, a gauge appears at the top of your screen, allowing you to watch the time tick down.
It is designed so that the color changes when time is running low, helping you stay focused on your work without losing concentration.
Why Incorporate Time Management?
In the PDCA cycle, rather than dragging out planning and reflection indefinitely, it is crucial to segment them into fixed periods of time.
Especially when learning alongside children, visualizing concepts like “5 minutes left" inside the game
naturally builds a sense of time and concentration.
Additionally, using a lectern makes the “trigger to start acting" explicit.
In the real world, it’s akin to punching a time clock.
Once you place it down, all you have to do is focus on your actions while keeping an eye on the time.
Background and Objectives of Development
The previously created “Whiteboard" plugin aimed to visualize PDCA planning and reflection.
However, it lacked a mechanism to support the “actual time spent taking action."
PDCATimer serves as a complement to that, focusing specifically on the “Do" phase of PDCA.
The goal is to realize a time-boxed PDCA cycle inside Minecraft where:
- Each session is kept under 30 minutes
- Plan → Do → Check/Act is cycled through within an hour
I kept it in mind so it can be deployed in educational settings and collaborative learning activities.
Technical Mechanism
PDCATimer is a plugin built for PaperMC (Spigot-compatible).
It uses event listeners to detect the “placement on a lectern" event.
It parses the contents of the placed book, reads the time information, advances the count using the Bukkit scheduler, and renders the gauge in the ActionBar (title display).
In a Paper environment, you can easily set it up as follows:
- Download the latest version from the PDCATimer Hangar page
- Place the .jar file into the server’s plugins folder
- Restart the server
- Write your settings in a book, place it on a lectern, and you’re ready to go!
The source code is available on GitHub.
Future Outlook
I am also planning features such as a multiplayer-shared timer and a synchronized display of remaining time in the chat.
Minecraft is a valuable platform that naturally bridges “play" and “learning."
I hope PDCATimer acts as a stepping stone toward that goal.
Conclusion: Being Mindful of Time Changes Learning
PDCATimer is a system that lets you experientially learn the fundamental cycle of
“acting and reflecting within a self-determined timeframe" inside Minecraft.
Being conscious of time also means being conscious of results.
Both children and adults can enjoyably hone their “ability to think and act."
Through Minecraft, I will continue to explore such forms of learning.