A Systematic Review of the Evidence of Reliability and Validity of Assessment by Teachers Used for Summative Purposes

First paragraph: The reason for proposing this review resulted from the work of the Assessment Reform Group (ARG) over several years and the more recent reviews conducted by the Assessment and Learning Research Synthesis Group (ALRSG), whose members include all the members of ARG. The review of classroom assessment initiated by ARG, and carried out by Black and Wiliam (1998), indicated that assessment used for formative purposes benefits teaching and learning, and raises standards of student performance. However, the ALRSG review, A systematic review of the impact of summative assessment and tests on students' motivation for learning, showed that high stakes tests can have a negative impact on students' motivation for learning and on the curriculum and pedagogy. But, summative assessment is necessary and serves important purposes in providing information to summarise students' achievement and progress for their teachers, parents, the students themselves and others who need this information. To serve these purposes effectively, summative assessment should interfere as little as possible with teaching methods and the curriculum and, importantly, should reflect the full range of learning outcomes, particularly those needed for continued learning and for learning how to learn

Empirical evidence of the impact of lesson study on students’ achievement, teachers’ professional learning and on institutional and system evolution

In this article we review the evidence of the impact of lesson\u3cbr/\u3estudy on student learning, teacher development, teaching\u3cbr/\u3ematerials, curriculum, professional learning and system enhancement.\u3cbr/\u3eWe argue for lesson study to be treated holistically\u3cbr/\u3eas a vehicle for development and improvement at\u3cbr/\u3eclassroom, school and system levels rather than as a curricular\u3cbr/\u3eor pedagogical intervention. We illustrate the need for\u3cbr/\u3ethis approach to evaluating lesson study through a complex\u3cbr/\u3ecase exemplar which used Research Lesson Study (a form of\u3cbr/\u3elesson study popular in the UK and Europe) to develop\u3cbr/\u3elearning, teaching, curriculum and local improvement capacity\u3cbr/\u3eacross schools initially involved in a two‐year mathematics\u3cbr/\u3ecurriculum development project that later evolved into\u3cbr/\u3ethree self‐sustaining, voluntary lesson study school hubs in\u3cbr/\u3eLondon. We discuss resulting changes in culture, practice,\u3cbr/\u3ebelief, expectation and student learning. We argue as a result\u3cbr/\u3efor greater policy level understanding of this expanded\u3cbr/\u3econception of lesson study as a vehicle in classroom, school\u3cbr/\u3eand system transformation

Relations between teacher learning patterns, personal and contextual factors, and learning outcomes in the context of Lesson Study

This paper aims to understand how teachers’ learning relates to core personal, contextual and outcome variables in Lesson Study. Primary and secondary Mathematics teachers from 59 schools formed Lesson Study groups. 214 teachers participated in at least one of three surveys during the research year. Data were analysed with correlational, reliability, factor and regression analyses. Results showed strong linkages between teacher learning, professional identity, quality of dialogue, school support, Lesson Study, and student learning. The findings provide evidence of mechanisms through which professional development initiatives impact on teacher and student learning. Practical implications for realizing high-quality teacher learning are derived

Empirical evidence of the impact of lesson study on students’ achievement, teachers’ professional learning and on institutional and system evolution

In this article we review the evidence of the impact of lesson study on student learning, teacher development, teaching materials, curriculum, professional learning and system enhancement. We argue for lesson study to be treated holistically as a vehicle for development and improvement at classroom, school and system levels rather than as a curricular or pedagogical intervention. We illustrate the need for this approach to evaluating lesson study through a complex case exemplar which used Research Lesson Study (a form of lesson study popular in the UK and Europe) to develop learning, teaching, curriculum and local improvement capacity across schools initially involved in a two‐year mathematics curriculum development project that later evolved into three self‐sustaining, voluntary lesson study school hubs in London. We discuss resulting changes in culture, practice, belief, expectation and student learning. We argue as a result for greater policy level understanding of this expanded conception of lesson study as a vehicle in classroom, school and system transformation

Building a global learning community of practice and publication platform for educational close-to-practice research

Educational practitioners and trainee practitioners are a diverse body of people. To add complexity, the scope and scale of settings that are considered educational contexts have increased dramatically, with many practitioners devising innovative ways to support learning during the global pandemic. With increased physical and social distance as much formal learning shifted from place-based to remote models, the practitioner community risks feeling increasingly isolated. Likewise, graduating trainees are entering employment in physical learning environments with minimal experience of teaching in them, whilst increasingly needing peer support. Close-to-practice research (CTPR) is a well-established field, enacted in many forms including lesson study (Dudley, 2019) and action research (Elliott, 1991). What is often difficult to maintain however is the flow from isolated practitioners, trainees or small groups studying their practice, to feed into what a potentially global community can learn from many people trying many things in many places for many different reasons. Regarding our global ambitions, we acknowledge that education research is fundamentally context-sensitive (Bakker, 2019), and what one practitioner tries in one context will not be completely replicable elsewhere – something many large-scale randomised control trials potentially miss in evaluating effectiveness (Berliner, 2002). However, contextually-grounded, authentic practitioner understanding of what works, how and why in one context may resonate with others, allowing contextualised adaptation of approaches or resources to enrich practice elsewhere (Stenhouse, 1978). So how can we support these chains of research-informed impact, in an increasingly dispersed but globally-connected community? Camtree is a global learning community of practice and publication platform for educational practice-knowledge. Development and research work reported in this session could hold significance on different levels: For individual practitioners and small groups of colleagues: to feel part of something, connect with reasons for their pedagogic choices, and improve practice in ways that are meaningful for their contexts and learners. For educational institutions and networks: to understand local pedagogic challenges, accessing rigorous research on what others have done, to identify solutions. For trainee practitioners: to access a library of practitioner research equipping them with a broad sense of the CTPR landscape, publish their own work within this landscape, and transition into educational practitioners who are already part of a sharing community. For policy and the wider educational community: to be influenced by diverse educational challenges and innovations, evidence-based practices and approaches, in seeking to change the discourse around ‘one size fits all’ approaches to educational effectiveness. A community in development, Camtree members are reflective practitioners and trainees who believe education can be improved by knowledge gained from CTPR (Robinson et al., 2009), and should be mobilised widely so teachers and learners globally can benefit. There are two distinct areas of our work: the development of Camtree, and the research around it. Through development, we seek to build a global learning community for educational practitioners interested in improving their practice. With this community we are developing a digital library of examples of practice, written and voiced by practitioners and trainees engaged in CTPR (including in languages other than English), accessible and used by others. The research around the work involved two simultaneous strands: Semi-structured interviews with the Camtree team (N=5) to gather expectations, priorities, challenges and reflections of the work. Interviews, surveys and focus groups with Camtree practitioners and programme leads (N=50) Pre- and post-engagement interviews with programme leads. Survey of practitioners at pre-engagement, mid-point and post-submission of report; alongside semi-structured focus groups with small samples of self-selecting practitioners. Findings will be reported based on descriptive and inferential statistics for numerical survey data, and thematic analysis (drawing on Braun & Clarke, 2020) of interview, focus group and open text survey responses. This alternative format session will have three elements. First, we will present findings from research with practitioners and group leads engaged in CTPR and Camtree development work, located in different digital, physical, social, political and linguistic contexts. This will include focus on contextual specificity of needs, widening participation and access, and domain functionality. Second, we will host a panel discussion with Camtree stakeholders, including practitioners. Discussion will consider what a global network of close-to-practice researchers could look like and achieve, potential limitations, and how to reduce barriers to engagement. We will incorporate time for delegate questions. The third element will be a guided opportunity to explore the Camtree platform and digital library. Attendees will be invited to seek out aligned practitioners, reports or data. Jamboards will be used to encourage discussion (anonymously if desired) around where delegates see Camtree being useful and how it could be made more useful. References Bakker, A. (2019). Design research in education: A practical guide for early career researchers. Routledge. Berliner, D.C. (2002). Comment: Educational research: The hardest science of all. Educational Researcher 31(8), 18-20. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X031008018 Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2020) One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238 Dudley, P. (2019). Research Lesson Study: A handbook. Lesson Study UK www.lessonstudy.co.uk Fifth Edition. (First published 2003 by NCSL.) Elliott, J. (1991). Action research for educational change. Open University Press: Milton Keynes (published in Spain by Morata: Madrid). Robinson, V.M.J., Lloyd, C. & Rowe, K. (2009). The impact of leadership on student outcomes. An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(5), 635-674. DOI: 10.1177/0013161X08321509 Stenhouse, L. (1978). Case study and case records: Towards a contemporary history of education. British Educational Research Journal, 4(2), 21-39

Supporting dialogue about dialogic practice: Building a community around practitioner inquiry

Camtree (Cambridge Teacher Research Exchange) is a global learning community of practice and publication platform for educational practice-knowledge. In this presentation we report on the development of the Camtree community and its digital library: where education professionals are supported in exploring their dialogic practices and publishing their findings with the wider educator community. The intention is that messages from practice then inform policymakers as well as other practitioners and researchers in the field. Using sound research evidence on the value of a dialogic approach to teaching and learning, and scaffolding use of tools and inquiry approaches for reflective practitioners to research their own facilitation of educational dialogue (e.g. Teacher-SEDA), educators across contexts are guided to make and understand pedagogically informed changes in practice. In this frame, practitioners’ contextualised insight and embedded stance are valued, rather than controlled out as subjective bias. The negotiation of inquiry foci and publication of such studies supports ripples of dialogue within and beyond existing groups. Indeed, where communities of practice are formed, with engaged practitioners sharing ideas around a common inquiry focus, issue or context, the impact for practitioners and their learners could be substantial compared to what they might do on their own. In this session we will focus on work with Camtree practitioner members exploring how to make their practice more dialogic, through their own inquiry, and their publishing of this work to the wider Camtree community. We will draw on interview, focus group and survey data to highlight benefits of dialoguing with other practitioner-researchers located in different digital, physical, sociocultural, political and linguistic contexts. We will use our data analysis to contribute to debates around the widening ripples of practitioners’ dialogic engagement, and reciprocal benefits of this for directly impacting students’ learning and for informing policy

The role of pupil voice as a trigger for teacher learning in lesson study professional groups

This paper focuses on the role of pupil voice as a trigger for teacher learning and for improving teaching quality. This is investigated in the context of Lesson Study (LS), a professional development model that can incorporate pupil voice into teachers’ collaborative reflections on lessons. Data are from two LS groups of mathematics teachers in London (one primary and one secondary school). Video-recorded pupil interviews and teacher discussions were transcribed. Episodes of teacher discussions were coded for reference to pupil input and subsequent impact on future plans. Qualitative analysis of discussions examined whether some pupils’ input was favoured over others’. Results are significant in pointing to LS as a mechanism for attending to pupil voice. In so doing, it is suggested that pupil input provided a challenge for teachers in their interpretations of pupil learning, evaluating lessons and planning, and in contributing to teacher learning from LS

Implementing a new mathematics curriculum in England: district research lesson study as a driver for student learning, teacher learning and professional dialogue

Against a backdrop of a transformation in teacher professional development and learning and state school organisation in England this century, this chapter describes a project which harnessed six cycles of Research Lesson Study at school and district level over two years to tailor the implementation of a new statutory curriculum in England to address the professional development needs of teachers and classroom learning needs of London students. It also reports the findings of research carried out during the project into how these teachers learned and developed this new curricular expertise and practice-knowledge through lesson study dialogues that supported student learning. It concludes by proposing future directions for teacher professional learning research and practice

Het leren en onderwijzen van wiskundig redeneren verbeteren door middel van Lesson Study : handboek voor leraren

Abstract: In dit eerste deel van het handboek introduceren we \u201credeneren\u201d in de context van dit Lesson Study-project. De eerste sectie geeft een motivering voor het bestuderen van redeneren in Lesson Study; vervolgens bespreken we de acht soorten redeneren die we in de Lesson Study onderzoeken. Tot slot komen kwesties aan bod die te maken hebben met het ontwerpen, uitvoeren en evalueren van lessen die wiskundig redeneren bevorderen