Result of Questionnaire Survey on JICA’s Technical Cooperation

in Lesson Study

International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME)

Atsushi MATACHI Senior Advisor (Basic Education)

Japan International Cooperation Agency

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JICA’s Projects Incorporating Lesson Study Components (1994-2014)

: Countries that have implemented Teacher Education Project: 35

: Countries that have implemented projects incorporating Lesson Study: 24

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(1) To clarify the expectations about Lesson Study when introduced and the outcomes of Lesson Study after implementation; and

(2) To understand challenges in Lesson Study and possible solutions.

Objectives of the Survey

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Region Country

Asia Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines

7

AfricaGhana, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia

7

Latin America Nicaragua 1

Total 15

Countries Surveyed

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Personnel Surveyed

• Responsible Personnel (RP): those who oversee the process of introducing/propagating Lesson Study or supports Lesson Study in each country (e.g. personnel in the Ministry of Education, local education office, teacher training institution/university).

• JICA Technical Advisors (JTA): those who work closely with the RPs.

• One RP and one JTA were selected from each country.• Response rate: RP (87%: 13 out of 15)

JTA (93%: 14 out of 15)

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• The questionnaire was responded by those who oversee the process of introducing /propagating or support Lesson Study in each country. However, the response does not necessarily represent the views of their countries, but, does reflect their individual views.

• As the number of questionnaires conducted is limited, the results are not conclusive from the statistical viewpoint.

Limitation of the Survey

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Adopts a broad definition of “Lesson Study”: •An approach to improving lessons that deals with actual lessons involving students, including the process of “Plan→Do →See”.

Definition of Lesson Study Adopted by JICA

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Characteristics of Lesson Study Implemented in the Countries Surveyed

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Main Promoter/Initiator of Lesson Study

Characteristics of LS Implemented in the Countries Surveyed (1/4)

Main Promoter /Initiator

Country Total

Teacher Training Colleges/University

Bangladesh*, Cambodia, Indonesia*, Mongolia*, Nicaragua*, Pakistan

5

MinistryGhana, Kenya, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia

9

Total 14

* After having introduced LS, the Ministries of Education in those countries have developed a policy to institutionalize Lesson Study/CPD nationwide.

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Level of Teachers Targeted

Country Total

Primary Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Mongolia, Senegal, Vietnam

5

SecondaryIndonesia, Pakistan, South Africa, Uganda

5

Primary & Secondary

Philippines, Zambia 2

TTC Cambodia, Nicaragua 2

Total 14

Characteristics of LS Implemented in the Countries Surveyed (2/4)

Level of Teachers targeted for Lesson Study

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In most cases, Lesson Study was introduced for mathematics and science teachers first.

Area of Lesson Study targeted

Characteristics of LS Implemented in the Countries Surveyed (3/4)

Targeted Area Country Total

Lecturers/Staff of TTC Cambodia, Nicaragua 2

Teachers of Pilot/Model

Schools/District

Kenya, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, Vietnam 6

All Teachers Nationwide

Bangladesh, Ghana, Indonesia, Mongolia, Senegal, Zambia

6

Total 14

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Years for which Lesson Study has been implemented so far (as of Nov. 2014)

Characteristics of LS Implemented in the Countries Surveyed (4/4)

Years Country Total

1-5 years Bangladesh, Kenya, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Senegal 5

6-10 years Cambodia, Mongolia, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia 5

More than 10 years

Ghana , Indonesia, Philippines, South Africa 4

Total 14

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Results of Questionnaire Survey

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Frequency of Lesson Study

Frequency Number of Country

Once a year 1

Twice a year 3

3-4 times a year 4

5-10 times a year 2

More than 10 times a year 1

Total 11

• 13 countries surveyed. • Two country did not

respond.

• The whole process of “Plan→Do → See” is counted as one cycle.

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Objectives of Introducing Lesson Study

RP(%)

JTA(%)

1. To improve lesson delivery skills of teachers 76.9 100

2. To enhance the practice of learner-centered lessons at classroom level.

53.8 42.9

3. To introduce “Lesson Study” as a specific training modality because there was a policy that required us to be engaged in school-based INSET/Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities.

46.2 35.7

4. To help teachers internalize/actualize knowledge and skills learned through training provided outside the schools such as cascading training.

38.5 42.9

5. To strengthen collegiality among teachers (peer teacher learning, experience sharing)

38.5 42.9

6. To develop and/or try out new (better) teaching and learning methods 15.4 7.1

7. To introduce/show new (better) teaching and learning methods 7.7 7.1

8. To conduct research 0 0

* Three multiple answer

→ Objectives of introducing Lesson Study that RPs and JTAs had in mind are more or less the same. 15

Views of RPs on Outcomes of LS ‘Before’ and ‘After’ Implementing LS

Top 7 items in terms of the score in ‘After’ Before After Change

1. LS is effective to improve subject content knowledge of teachers.

3.92 4.62 ↑0.69

2. Collegiality among teachers in a school can be strengthened through LS

3.69 4.54 ↑0.85

3. LS is effective to improve lesson delivery skills/techniques of teachers.

3.77 4.38 ↑0.62

4. New teaching and learning methods can be developed through LS.

3.77 4.38 ↑0.62

5. Teachers can acquire knowledge and skills necessary for conducting learner-centered lessons through LS.

3.85 4.38 ↑0.54

6. Teachers become more interested in pupils’/students’ learning through LS.

3.54 4.15 ↑0.62

7. LS is useful for teachers to understand pupils’ /students’ ideas/thoughts.

3.23 4.08 ↑0.85

Score: 5-Strongly think so; 4-Think so; 3-Not sure; 2-Do not think so; 1-Do not think so at all

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Views of RPs on Outcomes of LS after Implementing LS

→ In general, RPs feel that Lesson Study have shown positive effects on teachers’ understanding of students’ ideas, improving subject content knowledge, lesson delivery skills and collegiality.

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Comments from RPs about Outcomes of Lesson Study (1/2)

1. Improvement in lesson delivery•“It leads to improvement in preparation and delivery of lessons which leads to pupils understanding and reflects on performance as well.” (Mongolia) •“It improves quality of curriculum implementation.” (Indonesia)

2. More attention paid to students’/pupils’ ideas•“Teachers have become more conscious about observing pupils. They now point out positive and negative points based on changes observed on pupils.” (Mongolia) •“It improves teachers’ sensitivity to student difficulty”. (Indonesia)

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Comments from RPs about Outcomes of Lesson Study (2/2)

3. Collegiality strengthened•“We observe the sharing of problems in schools and the collegiality of teachers working together and gaining confidence in teaching.” (South Africa)•"It has brought about the culture of collaboratively planning lessons among teachers especially those of the same grade.” (Zambia)•“ It has enhanced the aspect of teachers freely discussing each other’s lesson.” (Zambia)•“Before teachers prepared lessons alone, but now teachers prepare lessons collaboratively because they have found that collaborative efforts allow them to plan lessons more effectively.” (Mongolia)

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Views of JTAs on Outcomes of LS ‘Before’ and ‘After’ Implementing LS

Top 7 items in terms of the score of ‘After’ Before After Change

1. Collegiality among teachers in a school can be strengthened through LS.

4.38 4.31 -0.08↓

2. LS allows teachers in a school to communicate each other more easily and more actively.

4.31 4.08 -0.23↓

3. Teachers become more interested in pupils’/students’ learning through LS.

4.23 4.00 -0.23↓

4. LS is effective to improve lesson delivery skills/techniques. 4.23 3.85 -0.38↓

5. LS is useful for teachers to understand pupils’/students’ ideas/thoughts.

4.15 3.85 -0.31↓

6. LS is effective to improve subject content knowledge. 3.77 3.31 -0.46↓

7. Teachers can acquire knowledge and skills necessary for conducting learner-centered lessons through LS.

3.62 3.00 -0.62↓

→ JTAs also appreciate the effectiveness of Lesson Study in general, and collegiality, in particular. However, after implementation, they became less positive about the effectiveness of LS.

Score: 5-Strongly think so; 4-Think so; 3-Not sure; 2-Do not think so; 1-Do not think so at all

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Comments from JTAs about Outcomes of Lesson Study (1/3)

1. Improvement in lesson delivery•“The ability to set a lesson objective and the degree of using teaching aids/materials have been improved.”(Zambia)•“Learner-centeredness of lessons have been improved”. (Zambia)•“Many teachers did not know how the new curriculum should be implemented, but, because of Lesson Study practice, they can see how the new curriculum can be implemented in the form of a lesson.”(Senegal)•“A teacher who transferred to a school in rural area who did not specialize in Physics, has become confident in teaching Physics after he attended Lesson Study conducted in the region, by communicating with other Physics teachers and by seeking advice from them.”(Philippines)

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Comments from JTAs about Outcomes of Lesson Study (2/3)

2. Collegiality•Knowledge and know-how accumulated within individual teachers are shared with other teachers, which leads to respecting each other as well as solidarity among teachers. (Nicaragua)•Teachers used to feel that it is shameful to ask other teachers about subject contents and teaching methods. However, after the introduction of Lesson Study, “a kind of culture” was developed where teachers can collaboratively work to develop better lessons. (Philippines)•Because of the introduction of Lesson Study, it has become common that teachers can learn teaching methods from other teachers who can conduct a good lesson. Teachers used to be indifferent to lessons conducted by other teachers, but now they are more conscious about lessons conducted by other teachers. (Bangladesh)

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Comments from JTAs about Outcomes of Lesson Study (3/3)

3. Challenges in quality of Lesson Study•When most teachers do not have sufficient subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, Lesson Study alone cannot improve the lesson delivery.•Because many teacher do not have sufficient subject content knowledge, post-lesson discussions cannot go into depth.•Whether teachers can improve subject content knowledge through Lesson Study is determined by how seriously teachers prepare a lesson, what is discussed during the post-lesson discussion and how it is facilitated.•Post-lesson discussions will not be effective unless teachers have a concrete issues/problems in mind. Hence, facilitation of post-discussions is crucially important.

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Lessons Learned from the Comments

(mainly from JTAs)

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Challenges and Possible Solutions Based on the Comments (1/4)

1. Insufficient subject content knowledge of teachers•Discussions cannot go into depth because teachers and facilitators of post-lesson discussions have insufficient subject content knowledge and misunderstanding.•Without sufficient subject content knowledge, discussion cannot focus on actual issues in teaching and learning.

Possible solutions:•Assign someone who has sufficient subject content knowledge as a facilitator or a resource person where available.•Invite resource persons from TTC/university.•Strengthen the capacity of facilitators of Lesson Study by conducting workshops/training.•Strengthen the capacity of pedagogical advisors/standard officers/inspectors.

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Challenges and Possible Solutions Based on the Comments (2/4)

2. Lack of a common vision of good lessons and lack of concrete themes/issues to be addressed by Lesson Study•As a common vision on good lessons is not shared, teachers make comments based on different views, which often diversify discussions.

•Having just an abstract themes for Lesson Study such as “to improve lesson delivery” will not allow teachers to go into deep discussion. It results in abstract comments such as “pupils should be involved more actively.”

Possible solutions:

•It is necessary to establish a concrete vision/image on a good lesson, e.g., inquiry-based approach and problem-solving approach. This could show teachers a direction for improving a lesson to some extent.

•Let teachers be more concrete during the process of lesson planning. For instance, “in order for this kind of learning to take place, I will use ‘this’ learning materials for ‘these’ pupils in ‘this’ lesson. This approach will allow teachers to discuss issues more concretely .

•Let teachers come up with concrete alternative ideas for lesson plan.

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Challenges and Possible Solutions Based on the Comments (3/4)

3. Lack of new inputs for school-based Lesson Study•Because the members of school-based Lesson Study are the same, as Lesson Study is continued, comments made during the post-lesson discussions become more or less the same.

Possible solutions:•Involve university/TTC staffs and/or inspectors.•Develop the capacity of facilitators for Lesson Study.•New inputs should be made externally, for instance, through cascading training, workshops, which need to be linked with Lesson Study.

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Challenges and Possible Solutions Based on the Comments (4/4)

4. Negative Attitudes of HTs and school administrators•Some Head Teachers feel Lesson Study is a wastage of time because they feel the teachers will not cover the syllabus early enough to be prepared for National Examinations.•In schools that are not well managed, the practice of lesson study suffers because very little or no support is given to the teachers by the school head teacher.

Possible solutions:•Organize workshops that bring together school administrators for sensitization.•Organize a study tour for school administrators to learn good practices.•Incorporate Lesson Study in school management plans/school calendar.

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Conclusion

• In general, RPs feel that LS is effective in various aspects including the following: – improving lesson delivery skills and subject content knowledge;– understanding learners’ ideas; and– strengthening collegiality.

• JTAs also feel that Lesson Study is effective in improving teaching skills and strengthening collegiality. However, they also feel there are some areas for improvements including the following:

• Necessity of having a facilitator/resource person who has sufficient subject content knowledge;

• Necessity of having a common vision on a good lesson;• Necessity of having a specific theme; and• Necessity of new inputs for teachers to learn something new through

Lesson Study.

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