An Introduction to Lesson Study

1. An Introduction to Lesson Study 23 March 2011 Liz Henning

2. LessonStudy is . . . • More than self reflection • More than collaborative practice • An in depth scrutiny of the gap between the actual and the ideal • student • A focus on how to reduce this ‘ Learning Gap’

3. The Process • Teachers agree a focus • Teachers carry out an audit on which aspects they expect students to understand • This is compared with real data - gained from the cohort • Plan together to predict all misconceptions, questions and answers • Compare this with the actual event – the focus is on the learners • Re-plan the lesson if appropriate • Not part of performance management process

4. Starting off... • The model generally starts with teachers agreeing a focus for their lesson study: this involves thinking about the type of learner they want to cultivate. For example, teachers could describe their ideal students and choose an aspect of this to work with. This might be: ‘become an independent learner’ or ‘be a creative thinker’ or ‘focus on an aspect of the curriculum such as ‘understanding place value’’ • The second step in the process is to consider how the success of this focus will be recognised: for example, how will we know that our children have become independent learners?Subsequent steps involve planning the lesson together, teaching the lesson with others observing, reviewing the lesson, and then re-teaching (often a different teacher doing so)

5. 7 steps.... • Step 1: Decide on an overarching aim • Step 2: Decide on success criteria • Step 3 :Collaboratively plan the study lesson • Step 4: Seeing the study lesson in action. • Step 5: Discussing the study lesson • Step 6: Revising the lesson (optional) • Step 7: Research bulletins—a vehicle for sharing lesson study insights and strategies • (adapted from Robinson D https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/18729)

6. Protocol • The lesson is owned by the planning team • When teaching begins the focus is not on the teaching but on the learning • Decide in advance what the observer is looking for • Anticipate questions, misunderstandings, answers etc in advance • Compare observations with predictions-how well did you see inside the learners’ heads? • What would you do to improve the learning experience? • Feedback to planning team • Teacher who taught the lesson speaks first • Use constructive comments

7. Guidance • Professional Learning and Professional Learning Communities - Lesson Study • For teachers new to Lesson Study a good starting point would be to watch the How Many Seats? video produced by Catherine Lewis, shown at the NCETM International Research Conference in London in February 2007 • https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/18729

8. Reading • Lewis, C (2007)  Educating Hearts and Minds, Cambridge University Press • Lewis, C (2002)  Lesson Study, RBS, Philadelphia • Lesson Study: Enhancing Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Burghes, D. & Robinson, D. (2009) • Lesson Study.org.uk • Professional learning Communities DfES 2006 • Robinson D Is Lesson Study Worth The Effort? https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/10090 • Stigler and Hiebert (1999)  The Teaching Gap, The Free Press, New York

9. NCETM Project • 16 schools involved nationally • Various stages of starting points • Conference to launch in Birmingham Autumn 2009 • Access to Mentor and HEI tutor • Reports received • Example of work carried out – Julie Clawson Head of Mathematics, Queen Elizabeth Community College, Devon