lesson study what is it? what are the challenges? what should we see if it’s working? miami,...

Lesson Study What is it? What are the challenges?What should we see if it’s working?

Miami, January 8, 2008Catherine Lewis & Rebecca Perry

Mills College, Oakland, CA

www.lessonresearch.netclewis@mills.edu

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0207259.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of

the National Science Foundation.

What are the Important Features of Lesson Study?

Please jot down a list…..

Can patterns help us find an easy way to answer the question:

How many seats fit around any number of triangles, arranged in a row as shown?

INPUTNumber ofTriangleTables

OUTPUTNumber ofSeats

1 32 43456

Research Lesson 1• All students filled out chart correctly but few

could verbalize meaning of +2 pattern

Research Lesson 2• Chart eliminated, students solved individual

problems, shared findings• Students showed their counting methods• Most students could verbalize meaning of +2

pattern

Students

QuickTime™ and aCinepak decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Lesson Study

1. STUDY

Consider long term goals forstudent learning and

development

Study curriculum andstandards 2. PLAN

Select or revise researchlesson

Do task

Anticipate student responses

Plan data collection and lesson

3. DO RESEARCHLESSON

Conduct research lesson

Collect data

4. REFLECT

Share data

What was learned aboutstudents learning, lesson

design, this content?

What are implications for thislesson and instruction more

broadly?

1. Study

• Consider long-term goals

• Study curriculum, standards, research

1. Study (Ex. from “Seats”)

• What can we do in elementary school to help students succeed in algebra?

• Looked at lessons from several curricula, studied recursive/functional patterns

2. Planning the Research Lesson

• Do task

• Anticipate student responses

• Plan data collection

• Prepare instructional plan, including unit overview, lesson rationale

2. Plan. Example: “Seats”

• Surfaced misunderstandings and different solution methods when they did the task

• Surfaced different understandings of “equation,” and different goals when they prepared instructional plan

3. Research Lesson

• One member teaches lesson

• Others observe and collect data

3. Research LessonExample “Seats”

• Discover students can fill out the worksheet correctly but not be able to verbalize the pattern

• Discover counting methods reveal student thinking

4. Reflect

• Share data collected during lesson, draw implications for the lesson and teaching-learning more broadly

• Protocols foster participation & analysis

• Comments from knowledgeable other

• Redesign & reteach (optional)

• Report, share, incorporate learning

4. Reflect. Ex: “Seats”

• “Just because it’s in the textbook doesn’t mean it’s the best way”

• “Students need to do the work, not the teacher”

• “In all this math…we’re only as good as our own level of understanding, so we have to keep pushing ourselves..”

• Teachers continued to study the impact of worksheets

? InstructionalImprovement

Visible Features of Lesson Study

•Planning•Curriculum Study•Research Lesson•Data Collection•Discussion•Revision•Etc.

How does lesson study improve instruction?

Visible Features of Lesson Study

Plan Teach Observe Discuss Etc.

Key Pathway

Lesson Plans Improve Instructional

Improvement

A Common (Mis) Conception of Lesson Study

Lesson Study:

It’s not about just doing the surface features of lesson study….

It’s about doing them in a way that builds 3 types of learning from practice

Students

Teachers Curriculum

Based on NRC, 2001 & Cohen & Ball, 2000

Learning From and In Practice

How Teachers Get Better At Learning From Students

• Observe and take notes during research lessons--lots of practice over time

• Teachers try student task themselves before lesson--get insights from colleagues’ solutions

• Multiple observers on same students--hear what your colleagues, outside specialists see

• Over LS cycles, choose more “thought-revealing” tasks

Counting

Students

Teachers Curriculum

Based on NRC, 2001 & Cohen & Ball, 2000

Learning From and In Practice

Lesson Study Develops Capacity to Learn From Colleagues

• Build collaborative norms that enable effective work, e.g. “sticking to the process”

• Make beliefs “visible” and thereby amenable to change

• Create a culture where it’s safe to ask for help

• Agree on important goals, concepts, definitions and what they actually mean in instruction, so students experience coherence over years

Learning From Colleagues, cont’d

• Build collective efficacy--see that changes in instruction can result in changes in student learning

• Increase aspirations- “I want my students to be as eager as the students in that lesson”

• Increase connection and sense of accountability to colleagues - Everyone cares about everyone’s teaching

Plus Two

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are needed to see this picture.

Rule, formula, equation

QuickTime™ and aCinepak decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Students

Teachers Curriculum

Based on NRC, 2001 & Cohen & Ball, 2000

Learning From and In Practice

Lesson Study Develops Capacity to Learn From Curriculum (Including Research and Outside Specialists)

• Seeing strengths and weaknesses in textbook

• Seeing how any mathematics unit connects to prior and subsequent learning

• Strengthening motivation and identity as learner of mathematics (or whatever subject)

• Building learning communities that include specialists and researchers

Lesson Study Come of Age in North America

Phi Delta Kappan, Dec. 2006

Highlands School (K-5)

- 2000-01 1 volunteer LS group- 2001-02 Most faculty join LS groups

- 2002-03 School-wide LS; continues through present

Kappan, Dec. 2006

Percent Statements Focused on Student Thinking

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2

Year 1 Year 3

Planning

Debrief

School-wide Lesson Study School

Percent Statements Referring to Established Sources (Standards, research, curricular, named

programs or expert)

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

year 1 year 3

Series1

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2002 2003 2004 2005

School

DistrictState

California Standards Test in Mathematics: Mean Scale Scores, Grades 2-5

3-year net math increase for students in lesson-study school more than triple that for district (F=.309, 845 df p<.001)

Net change in achievement, 2002-2005

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Mathematics

Subject Area Score

Scale

d s

core

poin

ts

School

District

Common U.S. Challenges

1. Poor curriculum that doesn’t make learning visible

2. Difficulties in collaboration

3. Poor data collection

4. Mindset: It’s just about the lesson

5. Failure to access expertise

6. Bossy experts

Asian Curriculum

Ratio of rectangle width to length using 1-, 5- or 10- cm square units,

2:3, 4:6, 20:30

(Lo, Watanabe, & Cai, 2004)

US Curriculum These methods differ from the standard

cross-multiply and divide algorithm

(McDougall Littell, 2004)

Begins with answer

Driven by expert

Communicationtrainer -> teachers

Relationships hierarchical

Research informs practice

Begins with question

Driven by participants

Communication among teachers

Relationship reciprocal

Practice is research

TRADITIONAL RESEARCH LESSONS

By Lynn Liptak, Paterson School #2, New Jersey.

Professional Development

Revisit Your List of Lesson Study Features

What Features are Missing?

What’s the Evidence of Teachers’ Increased Capacity to Learn From Students, Colleagues & Curriculum?

InstructionalImprovement

Visible Features of Lesson Study

•Planning•Curriculum Study•Research Lesson•Data Collection•Discussion•Revision•Etc.

How does lesson study improve instruction?

Increased Capacity to Learn from Colleagues, Students, Curriculum

Resources: Live Lesson Study Opportunities

Wayne, New Jersey (William Paterson University) March 5-7, 2008. www.wpunj.edu/cpe/

Chicago (DePaul University) May 8-10,2008 & August 4-8, 2008

www.lessonstudygroup.net/

Further Information Lesson Study: A Handbook...(Lewis) www.rbs.org

Building Our Understanding of Lesson Study (Wang-Iverson & Yoshida; www.rbs.org)

Mills College Lesson Study Group www.lessonresearch.net

Lesson Study Communities Project in Secondary Mathematics http://www2.edc.org/lessonstudy/

Global Education Resources www.globaledresources.com

Univ. of Wisc. www.uwlax.edu/sotl/lsp/

If we had to use one word to describe our work for the past two years, it would be COURAGE

.... to maintain this philosophy and pedagogical thinking as we struggled with our deficient MCAS scores … overcrowded classrooms…

Lesson Study Communities Team Reflection, Massachusetts

I feel the biggest mistake we can make when pitching lesson study to US teachers is to tell them it is easy and painless. It is hard and possibly painful and they should prepare for it. The rewards, however, are fantastic. Real, concrete, observable improvement occurs in teaching.

Middle School Math Teacher, Paterson School #2, New Jersey

Clewis@mills.edu

rperry@mills.edu

lessonresearch.net

Email address:

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Disclaimer

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in these presentations are not intended

as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.