how two districts have begun the sustainability process
TRANSCRIPT
How two districts have begun the sustainability process.
“As the teacher we do not always
get to see what our students are thinking and so we make a lot of predictions and assumptions regarding what they have learned. “
Project DELTA Participant
What is Lesson Study?Jugyou kenkyuu = Lesson/InstructionCreating a system in which teachers actively learn from one another, from the curriculum, and from student thinking.
“We had been looking at student work, but didn’t realize how important it was to look at students while they were doing work.”
Lesson Study Step by Step, C. Lewis and J. Hurd
Traditional Lesson Study- Begins with answer. - Begins with question.- Driven by outside “expert”. - Driven by participants.- Communication Flow: - Communication Flow:
Trainer – Teachers Teacher – Teacher- Hierarchical relations - Reciprocal relations among learners. between trainer and learners.
-Research informs practice. - Practice is research.
Lesson Study: A Handbook, by Catherine C. Lewis
Contrasting Views of PD
Steps in Lesson Study?1. Formulate long-term goals.2. Study the content and curriculum.3. Choose a topic central to the curriculum
Find a compelling problem that encourages all students to participate in problem solving.
4. Study student responses to an actual lesson.5. Learn from colleagues’ observations and
interpretations.6. Revise the approach to improve instruction.
Why Lesson Study?Lesson study provides a means for
teachers to continue to refine lessons so they can respond effectively to the students in their class.
Lesson study reminds us that, over the long term, the quality of students’ learning depends upon the quality of collaboration among a school full of teachers – not just the excellence of a few.
How we implemented Lesson Study…
Presentation by Jackie Hurd. Presentation by Catherine C.
Lewis. IHE or Content Specialist facilitated teachers from a variety of grade
levels. Five separate districts. Feeder schools to same high school district.
DELTA Lesson Study Cycle
Two 3 Day Cycles- One in the Fall, and one in the Spring.
Day 1 - Research and lesson design.
Day 2 - Finish up prep, rehearse with each other, deliver
lesson , debrief, and revise. Day 3 - Finish up prep, rehearse with each other, deliver
revised lesson, debrief, revise, write up a formal lesson plan, collect student work samples, and any necessary documents.
Teachers participate as equals – every
teacher, whatever the level of experience, has something valuable to contribute to the study of student learning and development.
Shared ownership and responsibility.• Our lesson not my lesson.• Choose member to teach lesson
after planning is completed.
Collaboration
Facilitator PD and Meetings
• Defined facilitator’s role. • Changed name to
“Knowledgeable Other”.• New roles support the move
toward sustainability.
Facilitation
Teacher-driven, not administration-driven.
The overarching learning goal is decided on by the members and is the reason for
forming the study group.
Study Cycle: collaboratively plan, research, teach, observe, collect data, reflect,
and debrief.
The primary focus is always to define and refine the strategies in lessons that will
produce best first teaching.
Provides a platform for professional learning communities to work at profoundly
deep levels because participants are personally invested.
The goal is teacher learning, not a typed lesson.
Develops skills that use knowledge for teaching in the classroom.
Emphasis on student learning not perfect delivery by the teacher.
How DELTA Define
Through Project DELTA, I am learning how to truly focus on the student success through the professional collaboration. I am only as good as my team is strong.
I look at students differently, I am now more aware of students who are quiet and "slip through the cracks." Through observing each other’s lessons - I am alert to the students who nod approval when they actually do not comprehend. Together, we have created lessons which are more interactive and cause me to "catch" these kids. Working with 7 or 8 professionals makes it easier than doing it alone. Lesson Study has been very helpful in my development as a teacher.
I think student learning is greatly impacted when there are many teachers involved in the lesson. I felt as though I could really get to know what all of my kids were doing by having time to walk around the classroom and help students.
Providing venues for students to express their
thinking is a powerful tool to help them own their learning.
Students learn a lot more when they are given autonomy on how they learn a concept. I learned that collaboration makes for a
powerful lesson. I wasn’t sure when we planned the lesson if we would achieve our objectives but the students’ understanding happened faster than I thought it would.
Reflections After the Lesson
Menifee Union School District
Romoland Elementary School District
How two districts are sustaining the Lesson Study process…
Ed Resnick, Principal
Hans Christensen Middle School
Melinda Conde, 8th Grade Mathematics Teacher
Hans Christensen Middle School
Menifee Union SD
Menifee Union- ADA 9000 Three Middle Schools Content Coaches - 1 Math DELTA Grant Participants Initiated Funded at District Level Lesson Study Groups- by Grade Level (All
schools together.) Administrators Informed and Supportive Funded at District Level – Substitutes
Menifee Union SD
DELTA Teacher Modeled Process to Each Grade Level Group Topic Selection
Research
Materials, Manipulatives, and Lesson Supplies
Communication to and Amongst Team Members
Facilitator’s Role
Days per Cycle
Our Cycle of Meetings
Our Time Together
Lesson Sharing /Access to Completed Lessons
Strengths and Struggles
Our Lesson Study Design
Funding used:
EIA/SCE- Economic Impact Aid/School Compensatory
Education
SLIBG- School and Library Improvement
Block Grant
How did Menifee fund it?
Lisa Winberg, PrincipalMesa View Elementary
Karisa Gleason, 5th Grade TeacherMesa View Elementary
Romoland SD
ADA is Approximately 3,000 3 Elementary Schools, and 1 Middle School DELTA Teachers at all School Sites PLC Planning Time Funded at District Level Through EIA Funds 3 Elective Teachers and 3 Aides, Approximately $350,000 Lesson Study Sustained at 1 Elementary So Far
Romoland SD
PLC planning sessions.
Three to four (1 hr. and 50 min.)
DELTA trained teacher gave a brief overview of lesson study, and was a part of their team through all phases of the process.
Looked at upcoming key standards to decide what the key concept was.
Formulated an open ended sentence frame (objective) that students would be able to articulate by the end of the lesson (verbally and in writing).
Plan backwards from the objective.
How did we make it work?
One teacher would facilitate the lesson, while the others observed the student interactions and conversations.
Teachers debrief the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson.
Redesign lesson to address the pitfalls. Make a commitment to teach with your own
students. Debrief again at the following PLC meeting.
What role did the PLC elective teachers play on the
day of the lesson?
Lesson Delivery
Collaboration. Thinking through each part of a lesson to
ensure that the needs of all students are being met.
What is the expected response as the lesson unfolds, and what are you going to do if you don’t get it?
The more comfortable teachers become with the lesson study process, the more capable they are of implementing these strategies in their day to day lessons.
Students are receiving electives.
Strengths
Planning with a team of teachers with
different teaching styles and beliefs. Choosing the most powerful concept. Developing teachers’ conceptual
understanding of what they teach. Resources. Buy-in from all parties. “Why are we ‘wasting’so much time on
this?”
Struggles
A Process not Perfection
Lesson study is not a quick fix but a slow, steady means for teachers to improve instruction and to build a school and district culture focused on inquiry and improvement.
Contact us :
Vicky Kukuruda, AdministratorRiverside County Office of [email protected]
Lisa Winberg, PrincipalRomoland School [email protected]
Melinda Conde, TeacherMenifee Union School [email protected]
Questions?
Project DELTA
Resources:• Lesson Study: A Handbook of Teacher-Led Instructional
Change.Catherine C. Lewis. RBS, 2002.
• A Mathematics Leader’s Guide to Lesson Study in Practice. Jane Gorman, June Mark, Johannah Nikula. Heinnemann,2010.
• Building our Understanding of Lesson Study. Edited by Patsy Wang-Iverson, Makoto Yoshida, Research for Better Schools, 2005.
• Lesson Study Step by Step: How Teacher Learning Communities Improve Instruction. Catherine Lewis and Jacqueline Hurd, Heinemann, 2011.