Lesson Study and Service Learning in Teacher Preparation

The aim of this paper is to share an teacher preparation experience that combines Lesson Study (LS) with a Service Learning methodology. This experience is interdisciplinary and includes three subjects from first-grade Childhood Education, carried out at University of Malaga since academic year 2014-2015. Within this framework, our students carry out Service Learning projects for schools in our area that are designed and developed following the LS methodology. Service Learning projects go through the following phases (Puig, J., Martín, & Batlle, 2008): 1) Preparation by the teachers involved in the project; 2) Implementation, i.e. developing the project with the students; 3) Evaluation. The implementation phase also has three sub-phases: preparation, implementation, and round-up. It is here that the LS is developed through the following phases (Soto & Pérez, 2015): 1. Define the problem; 2. Co-operatively design an experimental lesson and its observation process; 3. First experimental lesson; 4. Analyse and review the lesson; 5. Second experimental lesson; 6. Analysis and drafting of conclusions; 7. Presentation in extended context. We were able to gather evidence on how students teachers resolved different cognitive conflicts during the process. We saw how the LS process, with its phases and cooperative work, allows them to combine creativity and unique talents in a common project that acquires meaning and relevance thanks to Service Learning. This provides a framework that facilitates the construction of solid structures related to the meaning of the educational process, and which can be used to recalibrate what it means to be a Childhood School teacher: a creative, relevant, complex experience that requires recreating the knowledge and experience that students bring with them to the University about what it means to be a Childhood School teacher.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Cooperative Research As a Strategy for University Teacher Training. A Case Study of Lesson and Learning Study

This paper presents the possibilities offered by Lesson and Learning Studies for training and for improving and generating knowledge by reconstructing the practical knowledge of teachers. Firstly, we provide a summary of the concept of practical knowledge and the tradition of teachers researching their own practice. This is followed by some principles of Lesson and Learning Studies, with examples of their possibilities for university teacher training taken from a case study of our own practice during a university master's degree

Crafting lesson studies in initial teacher training: challenges for academic tutoring

This paper presents the results of research on Lesson Study's potential to reconstruct student teachers' practical knowledge. It specifically focuses on a Lesson Study implemented as part of the subjects Practicum III and Degree Essay which are imparted in year four of the Degree in Infant Education at Málaga University. The work involves qualitative research that is developed through two case studies. The Lesson Study comprises practice over the course of four months, carried out in schools as part of the Practicum III. Here the first six phases are developed: (1) Define the problem; (2) Design the Experimental Lesson; (3) Develop the first Experimental Lesson; (4) Analyse; (5) Redesign; (6) Develop the second Experimental Lesson. The experience will finish with drafting and defending the Final Dissertation, which makes up phase seven (analysis and presentation in an expanded context). The information collection strategies we used to investigate the chosen case were observation, interview, documentary review and the researchers' diary. All the information collected was analysed and categorised. The results of the research have shown that academic tutoring by university teachers must overcome several key challenges. Specifically, the biggest challenges identified were students' difficulties in cooperative work, and the contrast between their enthusiasm for developing the proposal and their difficulty in bringing it together in a group document. We have identified good practice in academic tutoring: e.g. following up with the group, supporting individual reflection through feedback on the portfolio, creating an atmosphere of trust in which the group can express itself emotionally, offering up questions that guide reflection rather than answers, etc.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Plan Nacional de I+D EDU2017-86082-

Lesson study as a tool for rebuilding teachers' practical thinking: a bridge between espoused theories and theories-in-use

This Lesson Study forms part of the research work carried out by the Spanish team, in order to analyse the potential of this professional teacher development methodology for the reconstruction of teachers' practical thinking. It is a qualitative research process which involves the monitoring of seven infant school teachers during two school cycles. The teachers developed a Lesson Study over this period, with a practical thinking case study being carried out both before and after. This paper focuses on the Lesson Study case study. The Lesson Study was developed independently by the group of teachers, who were advised throughout by the undersigned researchers. At the same time, the researchers carried out a case study focusing on the Lesson Study being developed by the teachers. Findings/Conclusions: - From the start of the Lesson Study, we can find evidence of changes in the practical thinking of the teachers involved, which led to immediate changes in their classroom practice. - The development of the Lesson Study brought about significant reflection with regards to the Infant Education curriculum, in some cases resulting in substantial modification to the way it is implemented in their different classrooms. - The teachers pointed out the value of cooperative work on several different occasions. - They also emphasised the high level of learning they achieved by observing how their colleagues developed the lesson designed by the group using different strategies and data collection instruments, such as documentation inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, when reflecting on their own practice. On the whole, we can state that the cooperative design work of this lesson showed the contrast between the espoused theories of the participants and their theories-in-use, conditioned fundamentally by their work contexts and previous experience. Lesson Study is a way to bring these two poles closer together, enriching teachers with strategies to help detect contradictions in their practice and to resolve them and feel more comfortable with what they do.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Lesson Study and the development of teaching competences: from practical knowledge to practical thinking

Este artículo pretende mostrar la prometedora relación entre los procesos generados por las Lesson Studies y el desarrollo del pensamiento práctico en la formación docente, tanto inicial como permanente, a través de dos investigaciones . Para ello proponemos ampliar el foco de interés de las Lesson Study no sólo a la mejora de la “lección” o de la “enseñanza” (Lesson), en definitiva de la práctica, sino también a la reconstrucción y mejora del conocimiento práctico de los docentes. Creemos que esta propuesta metodológica reúne una serie de estrategias básicas que con algunos matices o variaciones desarrollados en el contexto español , permite también reconstruir el pensamiento práctico de los docentes tanto en el marco de la formación inicial como permanente, precisamente cuando trabajan cooperativamente sobre una lección en un proyecto de enseñanza que pretende provocar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Reconstructing the Image of Teacher in Lesson Study

This paper presents the results of research on Lesson Study's potential to reconstruct student teachers' practical knowledge. It focuses specifically on a Lesson Study implemented as part of the subjects Practicum III and Final Dissertation, which are imparted in year four of the Degree in Infant Education at Málaga University. The work is based on qualitative research that is developed through a case study. The case selected was a group of six students, one of which was chosen for further follow-up. The Lesson Study comprises practice over the course of four months, carried out in schools as part of the Practicum III. Here the first six phases are developed: 1) Define the problem; 2) Design the experimental lesson; 3) Develop the first experimental lesson; 4) Analyse; 5) Redesign; 6) Develop the second experimental lesson and the Final Dissertation, which makes up phase seven (analysis and presentation in an expanded context). The information collection strategies we used to investigate the chosen case were observation, interview, documentary review and the researchers' diary. This research has shown Lesson Study's potential to reconstruct students' image of teaching throughout the different phases thanks to two key processes: theorisation of practice and experimentation of theory. First phase, determining the focus for the proposal: based on teachers' learning needs, allowing us to identify the image of teaching we are starting off from. Second phase, designing the proposal: we believe cooperative reflection on teachers' responses to hypothetical situations is particularly relevant, since it allows students to start to cooperatively question their own practical knowledge. The first signs of the reconstruction of the image of teaching can be seen in the proposal redesign phase between the two experimental lessons. This is the point at which the group perceives that their beliefs, fears or outlooks contrast with their experience.Plan Nacional de I+D+i EDU2017-86082-P Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Creating learning environments through lesson study: an experience in initial training for early years teachers

This paper will present the Lesson Study developed during the first year of the Infant Education Degree Course at Malaga University, as part of a coordinated project based on the subjects Didactics, Organisation, and Inclusive Education. Students designed and implemented actual learning environments for an Early Years (ages 3 to 6 years) using Lesson Study. Our aims were to use practical training as a way to generate reflection-from-action and to ensure our students developed the teaching skills necessary for schools in the 21st century. The task revolved around 4 core areas: • A selection of contents based on relevance, depth and interdisciplinarity. • A methodology based on activity, experimentation and research. • A teaching role based on designing and accompanying students through tutoring. • Assessment for learning through an electronic portfolio. The students were divided into eight small groups (of 4 or 5). We prepared a series of written guides which were used throughout the process, along with our presence in both the classroom and online during each of the phases. Our goal was for this group work to be the context –in the form of discussions and debates at the start, and design, experimentation and analysis at the end– for the different theory contents worked on at the same time in the subjects. It was a way to involve students holistically in the process and for them to experience and feel it through their emotions and their bodies, aspects which are traditionally overlooked in university training contexts. Living and building an educational experience requires an ongoing and cyclical transition from knowledge to practical thinking. The phases dedicated to searching for a focal point and a design gave students the opportunity to theorise on practice by reading, documenting themselves and researching ideas they could use to create within a living experience context. This process of reflection-on-action involves encouraging and stimulating the prospective teachers to identify, analyse and reformulate not only the proclaimed theories which adorn practice but also the theories-in-use which govern it. Furthermore, by developing and implementing the learning environments they had designed, the prospective teachers could experiment with the theory, leading to the construction of those teaching skills which are automatically activated when we face new actions and new contexts. One aspect we found striking when collecting evidence was how students overcame different cognitive conflicts during the process, and how they were able to directly experience the autonomy a teacher has to design learning contexts connected to childhood interests. Moreover, and more importantly, they saw first-hand how the Lesson Study process, with all its phases and cooperative work, allowed them to combine their creativity and singular talents in a common project. In this case, the Lesson Study process facilitated the construction of solid structures related to meaning, the educational process, and, above all, the need to recalibrate what it means to be an infant school teacher: a creative, relevant, complex experience that requires them to recreate the knowledge and experience which prospective infant school teachers bring to the university training process.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Lesson study as a tool for rebuilding teachers' practical thinking: a bridge between espoused theories and theories-in-use

This Lesson Study forms part of the research work carried out by the Spanish team, in order to analyse the potential of this professional teacher development methodology for the reconstruction of teachers' practical thinking. It is a qualitative research process which involves the monitoring of seven infant school teachers during two school cycles. The teachers developed a Lesson Study over this period, with a practical thinking case study being carried out both before and after. This paper focuses on the Lesson Study case study. The Lesson Study was developed independently by the group of teachers, who were advised throughout by the undersigned researchers. At the same time, the researchers carried out a case study focusing on the Lesson Study being developed by the teachers. Findings/Conclusions: - From the start of the Lesson Study, we can find evidence of changes in the practical thinking of the teachers involved, which led to immediate changes in their classroom practice. - The development of the Lesson Study brought about significant reflection with regards to the Infant Education curriculum, in some cases resulting in substantial modification to the way it is implemented in their different classrooms. - The teachers pointed out the value of cooperative work on several different occasions. - They also emphasised the high level of learning they achieved by observing how their colleagues developed the lesson designed by the group using different strategies and data collection instruments, such as documentation inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, when reflecting on their own practice. On the whole, we can state that the cooperative design work of this lesson showed the contrast between the espoused theories of the participants and their theories-in-use, conditioned fundamentally by their work contexts and previous experience. Lesson Study is a way to bring these two poles closer together, enriching teachers with strategies to help detect contradictions in their practice and to resolve them and feel more comfortable with what they do.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec