Why Lesson Study works: A cultural perspective

1. Why Lesson Study works: A cultural perspective • Marlon Ebaeguin Dr Max Stephens • Melbourne Graduate School of Education

2. Nature of Lesson Study • Cultural Underpinnings • Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture • Methodology • Results • Conclusions and Implications

3. Lesson Study • Lesson Study (LS) is a school-based collaborative professional development activity for teachers • Permanent fixture in the school systems of Japan, China and other Asian countriesfor more than a hundred years especially in primary schools • Key factor for Asia’s consistent success in international educational surveys (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999)

4. Nature of Lesson Study • LS is a cycle of Plan, Do, and See • Research goal(s) are decided. • Materials like textbooks are looked at as possible springboard for the LS theme. • Lessons are designed in detail and with a careful focus on children learning. • Lessons are trialled within the LS group and final revisions are done. • Plan • See • Do

5. Nature of Lesson Study • LS is a cycle of Plan, Do, and See • Plan • Lessons are demonstrated (usually a different teacher demonstrates in every cycle). • Lessons are observed by other teachers, university professors, and research experts. • Observers take note of student learning as well as teacher’s decisions • See • Do

6. Nature of Lesson Study • LS is a cycle of Plan, Do, and See • Plan • Post-lesson debriefing is held focusing on observations made in the lesson demonstration. • All participants discuss and reflect on what transpired in the lesson. • Lesson revisions are decided, to be incorporated in the planning phase of the next LS cycle (optional) • See • Do

7. Nature of Lesson Study • LS is a long-term professional development (PD) activity. • “It is focused on building collective capacity over many cycles—not directed at rapid change of individuals or solving problems in the short term” (Stephens, 2011, p. 119)

8. Nature of Lesson Study • LS is a collaborative activity (Stephens, 2011; Fernandez & Yoshida, 2004; Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998) • Each teacher brings a unique contribution to the research lesson. • Everyone is a mentor and a mentee.

9. Cultural Underpinnings • “[Culture] is the mental programming of the people in an environment. Culture is not a characteristic of individuals; it encompasses a number of people who were conditioned by the same education and life experiences.” (de Mooij, 2010, p. 48; Hofstede, 2010) • Culture contributes to the forms of acceptable pedagogy, social conventions governing teacher interactions, classroom practice, and teacher PD programs. • Looking at cultural orientations enable us to identify culturally-grounded practices of LS that may not necessarily transfer easily to another country.

10. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Hofstede (2001) focused on comparing work-related values, behaviours, institutions and organisations across nations. • Hofstede’s landmark research in the 1980s identified differences in national value systems based on extensive samples of employees of a multinational company across countries. • He came up with five dimensions of national culture and had scores for at least 60 countries according to these five dimensions (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010)

11. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Power Distance Index (PDI) • Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV) • Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS) • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) • Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation (LTO)

12. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Power Distance Index (PDI) “the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally” (de Mooij, 2010, p. 48) • Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV) • Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS) • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) • Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation (LTO)

13. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Power Distance Index (PDI) • Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV) “…people looking after themselves and their immediate family only, versus people belonging to in-groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty” (de Mooij, 2010, p. 77) • Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS) • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) • Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation (LTO)

14. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Power Distance Index (PDI) • Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV) • Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS) “The dominant values in a “masculine” society are achievement and success; the dominant values in a “feminine” society are caring for others and quality of life” (de Mooij, 2010, p. 79) • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) • Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation (LTO)

15. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Power Distance Index (PDI) • Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV) • Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS) • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) “…the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid these situations” (de Mooij, 2010, p. 82) • Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation (LTO)

16. Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture • Power Distance Index (PDI) • Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV) • Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS) • Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) • Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation (LTO) “…the extent to which a society exhibits pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than conventional historic or short-term point of view” (de Mooij, 2010, p 85)

17. Hofstede’s Scores for Japan, China, Vietnam, Australia and USA

18. Hofstede’s scores for Japan Scores show that Japan is: • moderately hierarchical • moderately individualistic • extremely masculine (i.e. focused on achievement and success) • extremely uncertainty-avoiding • extremely long-term oriented • High COL MAS High STO • PDI UAI

19. Key Cultural Assumptions of LessonStudy

20. Implications • Hofstede’s findings for Japan (IBM) may not be replicable in schools. Additional data from schools is necessary • Hofstede’s findings suggests certain value orientations that need to be made more explicit. • Additional instruments need to be developed.

21. Our Research Program • To investigate the cultural factors that underpin the success of Lesson Study in Japanese schools • To identify the cultural orientations and different value orientations that exist in two Philippine schools which are preparing to undertake Lesson Study • How do these differences need to be addressed in implementing LS there? • To investigate the impact on the Philippine teachers from their experience of Lesson Study

22. Our Research Methodology • Two questionnaires: • Values Survey Module for Teachers 2012 (VSMT12) • adapted from Hofstede’s VSM08 and administered to 70 junior high school teachers in Japan • Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of a Good Mathematics Lesson • designed and administered to 16 (from the 70) Japanese mathematics teachers

23. VSMT12 Results Scores show that the sample of Japanese teachers is: • moderately hierarchical • moderately collective • moderately feminine (i.e. focused on consensus and harmony) • moderately uncertainty-avoiding • moderately long-term oriented • High COL MAS High STO • PDI UAI

24. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson • Using/researching on curriculum materials (national curriculum, textbooks, course syllabus, scope and sequence, etc.) in planning out your lesson moderately uncertainty-avoiding • NI - Not Important • U - Undecided • I - Important • VI - Very Important • E - Essential

25. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson moderately collective and moderately "feminine" • Working with other teachers to plan a lesson.

26. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson • moderately collective • Having other teachers/colleagues in the classroom to observe my teaching.

27. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson • moderately uncertainty-avoiding • Identifying in advance the range of expected student responses in a problem-solving lesson.

28. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson moderately uncertainty-avoiding and moderately long-term oriented • Writing a detailed lesson plan incorporating the range of expected student responses.

29. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson moderately collective, and moderately feminine • Talking about and sharing successful mathematics lessons with colleagues.

30. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson moderately collective and moderately feminine • Relying on my own opinion whether a lesson has been successful or not.*

31. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson moderately uncertainty-avoiding and moderately long-term orientation • Evaluating a lesson through analysing collected samples of students’ solutions and attempted solutions.

32. Japanese Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson moderately hierarchical and moderately long-term orientation • Getting involved in school research.

33. Mathematics teachers’ perceptions of how to prepare a good mathematics lesson • Notes: Shading indicates combined percentage of Very Important (VI) and Essential (E)≥50% • * Lower values are important for this item

34. Findings Summary • Notes: Strong - at least 50% rated at least Important (I) • Strong - at least 50% at least Very Important (VI)

35. Findings: implications • Some key aspects of LS are culturally grounded. • Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture allow us to see that LS and its key practices are very characteristic of the Japanese culture • Looking at cultural orientations points us to practices and values that may not be present outside Japan.

36. The next phase of the study • Two Philippine high schools recruited: Schools A & B • VSMT12 was administered to all teachers in both schools • Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of a Good Mathematics Lesson Questionnaire was administered to all mathematics teachers in both schools • Results from both instruments were used to identify strategies to be used for the implementation of LS in the intervention.

37. The intervention • In School A, eight mathematics teachers (four Year 7 and four Year 8 teachers) participated. • The program commenced with a whole day intensive seminar on LS given to all mathematics teachers. • Over a period of seven months, the researcher met with the eight teachers according to their year level twice a month. • Typical agenda for each meeting included focussing on a specific LS processes/skills (e.g. writing detailed plans, designing tasks, collecting evidence, critiquing a lesson, etc.), planning and trialling the lessons within the group. • The author kept in mind the results of VSMT12 and Mathematics Teachers Perception of a Good Mathematics Lesson in facilitating the meetings.

38. Hofstede’s scores for Japan and the Philippines

39. Our VSMT12 scores for Japanese and Filipino teachers

40. Japanese and Filipino Teachers’ Perceptions of how to prepare a Good Mathematics Lesson: pre- and post-Lesson Study – School A

41. Working with other teachers to plan a lesson.

42. Having other teachers/colleagues in the classroom to observe my teaching.

43. Identifying in advance the range of expected student responses in a problem-solving lesson.

44. Evaluation of a lesson through analysing collected samples of students’ solutions and attempted solution.

45. Working with other teachers to plan a lesson.

46. Having other teachers/colleagues in the classroom to observe my teaching.

47. Identifying in advance the range of expected student responses in a problem-solving lesson.

48. Evaluation of a lesson through analysing collected samples of students’ solutions and attempted solution.

49. Conclusions and Implications • Ourresearch identified conditions for successful implementation of LS outside Japan, particularly in the Philippines • Knowing the teachers’ orientations and the lesson planning elements that they value enabled us to focus interventions that would build towards a successful implementation of LS • Datafrom the Philippines suggests different cultural and value orientations that need to be addressedin implementing LS in the Philippines • The LS intervention appeared to be successful in shifting teachers’ values in School A. Results from School B still to come.

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