NSELA Leadership Institute

1
Translating Japanese Lesson Study to American
Classrooms

• NSELA Leadership Institute
• Wednesday, April 5, 2006

2
Which best describes your experience with Lesson
Study?

• Lesson what???!!!
• Isnt that something they do in Japan?
• From what Ive read, it sounds interesting.
• Id like to learn more and use it in my work.
• Ive just started using Lesson Study in my work.
• I ought to be facilitating this workshop.

3
Session goals

• Explore Lesson Study as a professional
  development strategy
• Explore tools to support and facilitate Lesson
  Study
• Explore implementation challenges

4
Norms of participation

• Focus and engaged on tasks
• Actively learning and supporting others in their
  learning
• Monitoring air time
• Listen and pause before responding

5
Pre-workshop Reflection

• What do I already know?
• What more do I want to know?
• Individual Reflection 3 minutes
• Share with elbow partner 3 minutes each

6
What is Lesson Study

• Lesson study is a form of collaborative
  professional learning grounded in classroom
  practice that seeks to gradually improve student
  learning through structured reflection on
  teaching.

7
Three Interconnected Strands

• Process
• Ideas
• Habits of Mind

8
Process
Planning Phase
Set Goals
PlanLesson

• Establish long term goals What qualities you
  want students develop
• Establish short term goals Content and
  process

9
Process
Planning Phase
Set Goals
PlanLesson

• Plan collaboratively
• Discuss goals for students
• Conduct research on how students learn
• Examine existing instructional materials
• Build a detailed, annotated lesson plan

10
Process
Research Lesson
Planning Phase
Teach and Observe
Set Goals
PlanLesson
DebriefLesson

• Lesson designed to bring to life a particular
  goal or vision of education
• 1 team member teaches
• Others observe and collect data
• Record lesson - observation notes, video,
  audio, student work

11
Process
Research Lesson
Planning Phase
Teach and Observe
DebriefLesson
Set Goals
PlanLesson

• Formally debrief lesson
• Share data
• Reveal implications for lesson and broader
  context of teaching and learning

12
Process
Research Lesson
Post Lesson Phase
Planning Phase
Teach and Observe
DebriefLesson
Revise and Reteach
Reflect and Share
Set Goals
PlanLesson

• Revise instruction based on data analysis
• Another team member teaches lesson (sometimes,
  but not always)

13
Process
Post Lesson Phase
Research Lesson
Planning Phase
Revise and Reteach
Reflect and Share
Teach and Observe
DebriefLesson
Set Goals
PlanLesson

• Debrief entire Lesson Study
• Identify lesson specific findings and
  overarching insights
• Create a report to share what was learned

14
Big Ideas

• Goals
• Long term and short term goals for students
• Content
• Key concepts in content and process
• Student Understanding
• Prior knowledge, anticipated responses, and
  misconceptions
• Instruction
• Methods that will reach learning goals

15
Habits of Mind

• Learning Together
• Safe, open, and respectful environment
• Research Stance
• Inquiry, reflection, and critical examination of
  their practice
• Self Efficacy
• Responsible for process
• Believe they can make a difference

16
Read and discuss

• Review two handouts
• Make note of the ideas in the reading that raise
  questions for you
• Discuss those ideas with your table
• Capture 1-2 questions most significant to pose to
  whole group

17
Japanese Lesson Study

• View video of Lesson Study in Japan
• Use three strands of Lesson Study to focus our
  observations

18
Japanese Lesson Study Planning

• Group 1 Record evidence of Big Ideas
• Group 2 Record evidence of Habits of Mind
• Use handouts to record observations

19
Japanese Lesson Study Debriefing

• Group 1 Record evidence of Big Ideas
• Group 2 Record evidence of Habits of Mind
• Use handouts to record observations

20
BREAK TIME!
Pack and Stack! Sit at a new table with new
partners when you return
See you back here at 245
21
Lesson Study in NCOSP
Teacher Role
Impact

• Teacher as Learner
• Teacher as Practitioner
• Teacher as Leader

• Increase in content knowledge relevant to
  teaching
• Increase in knowledge of how students come to
  learn content and implications for teaching
• Increase in knowledge of features of professional
  communities with focus on student learning

22
NCOSP Lesson Study Tools
Orange Book Scaffolding the three
interdependent strands Purple Book Building
leadership capacity to support Lesson Study groups
23
Video Clip 1 High School Team

• Process Planning
• Big Ideas
• How do tools support or enhance
• (1) Planning the research lesson
• (2) Deepening understanding of the practice of
  lesson study

24
Video Clip 2 High School Team

• Process Debriefing
• Big Ideas
• Evidence that debrief
• (1) Focused on goals of research lesson
• (2) Helped teachers deepen understanding of how
  students learn
• (3) Helped teachers deepen their understanding
  of instructional methods that will help students
  learn

25
Video Clip 3 Elementary Team

• Process Debriefing
• Habits of Mind
• Evidence that debrief
• (1) Was safe, open, and respectful
• (2) Allowed participants to pose questions,
  review data, analyze findings, explore new ideas

26
Implementation Challenges

• Implementation followed a somewhat predictable
  pattern some reluctance early on with a gradual
  increase in participation
• Difficult to create tools that are sufficiently
  scaffolded without being too rigid or
  inflexible
• Participants need support in all three strands of
  lesson study not just the process
• Learning the practice is not sufficient for
  learning to support others in the practice

27
Post-workshop Reflection

• What did I learn?
• What additional questions do I still have?

28
For more information

• North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership
• www.ncosp.wwu.edu
• Carolyn.Landel_at_wwu.edu
• Lesson Study
• www.nwrel.org/msec/lessonstudy/
• www.lessonresearch.net
• www.tc.edu/centers/lessonstudy

29
Acknowledgments

• Lesson Study Tools Development Team
• A. Boudreaux, M. Emmet, S. Gammon, M. Janda, A.
  Somera, P. Preisinger
• NCOSP Teacher Leader Community
• NCOSP Leadership Team and Staff
• NWREL Professional Development Staff
• Catherine Lewis, Mills College
• National Science Foundation