Lesson Study in initial teacher learning : key to the pedagogic black box

[First paragraph] Since the early 1990s, initial teacher education (ITE) in England has been largely school-based and characterised by school-university partnerships. Over the course of a one-year post-graduate programme, student-teachers typically spend 24 of 36 weeks in schools, the remainder based in the partner university. At the end of the training year, national surveys regularly report high levels of satisfaction that increase each year (Teaching Agency, 2012). Nevertheless, as in other countries, ITE is challenged because ‘what is taught in education classes is disconnected from teachers’ work in the classroom’ (Kotelawala, 2012: 67). Consequently, there is constant demand for change with successive Secretaries of State taking steps to shift responsibility for ITE to schools

A participatory approach to Lesson Study in higher education

Purpose – This Higher Education Academy funded study explored learning challenges faced by international students early in their post-graduate courses through the use of Participatory Lesson Study (PLS). The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Two approaches to PLS were explored. Students were interviewed after “research lesson seminars” about their learning experiences; before two seminars, groups of students participated in planning meetings to inform preparation of seminar content and activities. Findings – Results suggest that PLS encourages a deep consideration of pedagogy by lecturers. Observation of student learning and post-seminar interviews highlighted the complex nature of the learning that unfolds during seminars. In some cases, student explanation of learning was dissonant with observations. Research limitations/implications – This was a small-scale project which cannot offer generalised implications for practice. However, it should act as a starting point to develop PLS on a larger scale and in other pedagogic contexts. Practical implications – This project led to reassessment of lecturers’ pedagogic assumptions and to development of new approaches. Thematic analysis of pre- and post-seminar student responses highlighted several important issues: variation in approaches to participation in seminars, variable use of technologies to support learning, importance of differentiation for learning and task-types preferred by learners. Originality/value – Results suggest that PLS facilitates the study of learning in higher education and the development of pedagogy, informed by and responsive to the needs of international students. As such, it has the potential to support any tutors working in higher education, whilst having wider, general utility to other groups approaching the development of pedagogy through Lesson Study

‘When they first come in what do you do?’ Preparation for Teaching English as an Additional Language in Primary Schools.

The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), responsible for teacher training in England, requires all trainees to be prepared for the teaching of English as an additional language (EAL). This study investigated newly qualified teachers' (NQTs) continuing training needs in relation to the standards set by the TDA. One hundred and thirty nine new teachers participated in surveys over three years, and seventeen were interviewed. Findings suggest that initial teacher training programmes give variable attention to EAL. While there are strengths (placements, training sessions, speakers, awareness raising) there are also gaps in the training, for example in learning how to manage the integration of new arrivals and assessing EAL learners. With regard to further training, the most commonly identified professional development needs related to practical teaching methods and the development of appropriate resources for EAL pupils, followed by linguistic and cultural awareness, inclusion and differentiation. How to assess pupils with EAL was also a source of concern, with only limited awareness of current national expectations. There are implications from our findings for new teachers, training institutions, schools and local authorities

Adapting ‘lesson study’ to investigate classroom pedagogy in initial teacher education: what student-teachers think

This paper reports findings from a project that explored the use of a modified form of ‘lesson study’ in a one-year programme of secondary school initial teacher education (ITE). Twelve mentors and student-teachers worked in pairs to design and teach two ‘research lessons’ in the course of two eight-week teaching practice placements as part of a university–school partnership for the preparation of new teachers. Participating student-teachers reported that engagement in this form of lesson study with a mentor was an effective way to help them grow individual teaching skills, knowledge and confidence in teaching placements. In addition, in most cases, it enabled active and creative participation in a community of teacher learners. However, engagement in lesson study not only supported student-teachers to meet ‘qualifying to teach’ standards, but also offered opportunities for holistic study of teaching and learning, leading to growth in what we characterise as ‘pedagogic literacy’

Mentors and student-teachers ‘lesson studying’ in initial teacher education

Purpose An adapted version of lesson study was used with mentors and student-teachers in a one-year initial teacher education (ITE) programme for prospective teachers of geography and modern languages. In partnership with eight secondary schools, the effectiveness of the lesson study cycle was evaluated as a vehicle for exploration of approaches to aid student-teacher learning during school placements. Design/methodology/approach Twelve lesson study case studies were completed and analysed. Findings Three principal findings emerged: firstly, most collaborating mentors and student-teachers reported that they engaged in a reflexive process, exploring the complexity of teaching, each learning more about the characteristics of teaching; secondly, in cases where collaboration allowed student-teachers a degree of autonomy, lesson study provided a collaborative scaffold for understanding the complexity of teaching, contributing to professional development along a continuum which we tentatively term ‘pedagogic literacy’; thirdly and less positively, some mentors struggled to shed the shackles of traditional roles, dominating the discourse as advice-givers so that a traditional ‘parallel’ approach to mentoring continued. Originality/value The work expands the experiential base of lesson study efforts in ITE in the United Kingdom and elaborates a view of teacher learning that challenges reductive approaches to the preparation of new teachers. For the first time, it presents student-teacher and mentor perspectives on the use of lesson study in teaching practice in England

Lesson study: A collaborative approach to scholarship for teaching and learning in higher education

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning has become an important field of inquiry, focusing on the development of new and critical pedagogic approaches in higher education. It is a broad field leading to the emergence of a number of contrasting perspectives concerning the development of insights into teaching and learning. In this article, we explore the potential for Lesson Study to act as a framework for reflecting on and developing pedagogic practice in the university sector. Originating in Japan over a century ago, Lesson Study is a collaborative tool for analysing and developing understanding of student learning. This makes it an ideal tool for capturing and interrogating new and critical insights into teaching and learning. An outline framework is suggested for developing the use of Lesson Study in higher education and we discuss how it can form a positive methodology for extending the work of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Lesson Study and Pedagogic Literacy in Initial Teacher Education: Challenging Reductive Models

This paper argues that teacher learning is not reducible to lists of ‘performative’ standards. Funded by the Society for Educational Studies, we used ‘lesson study’ as a vehicle to develop new teacher expertise, following which we concluded that conceptualising ‘learning to teach’ as acquisition of standards is insufficient for understanding the process of teacher growth. We propose an alternative holistic vision

Lesson study as a vehicle for collaborative teacher learning in a secondary school

This paper reports the outcomes of a 'lesson study' project conducted in a mathematics department with four serving teachers in a secondary school in England. Using Dudley's lesson study framework and drawing on Hargreaves and Fullan's notion of professional capital, the feasibility and value of collaborative lesson study as a vehicle for the development of teacher learning were explored. Planning and evaluation meetings as well as end-of-project interviews were analysed to investigate how teachers planned research lessons together and how these were evaluated. Despite time constraints, teachers who engaged in lesson study reported that the process improved understanding of their students; that collaboration helped them to develop less-teacher-centred approaches and created a stronger sense of teacher community. The project demonstrated that lesson study has potential as an alternative or complementary model of teachers' learning, but it also throws up substantive organisational challenges if its use is to expand. © 2014 © 2014 International Professional Development Association (IPDA)

Lesson Study: towards a collaborative approach to learning in Initial Teacher Education?

Lesson Study (LS) case studies were conducted in two secondary school teaching practice placements in England. Using Dudley’s framework, Geography and Modern Languages trainees and school-based colleagues collaboratively planned a ‘research lesson’. This was taught by the mentor while the trainee and other teachers observed the learning of three ‘focus’ students. The lesson was reviewed and revised for teaching to a parallel group by the trainee and the cycle of observation and evaluation was repeated. In post-lesson study interviews, analysed from a Communities of Practice perspective, mentors claimed that LS facilitated rapid integration of the prospective teacher into departmental working practices while trainees claimed they benefited from the team approach inherent in LS. The process enabled participants to explore collaboratively the ‘pedagogic black-box’ enriching the experience and learning of both trainees and mentors. Successfully integrated, LS improves support for teacher development in teaching practice placements

Teacher perspectives about lesson study in secondary school departments: a collaborative vehicle for professional learning and practice development

Two departments in a secondary school in England participated in ‘lesson study’ projects over a five-month period to explore its usefulness as a vehicle for professional development. Through a cycle of two research lessons, conducted separately in each department, teachers identified challenges that inhibited the learning of their students and collaboratively prepared innovative approaches to address the learning challenges. The process yielded multiple sets of data: DVD-recorded lessons, lesson plans and resources, transcripts of preparation and evaluation meetings and individual interviews at the end of the project. This paper draws principally on detailed qualitative analysis of end-of-project interviews about teacher experiences of learning and practice development in the two contexts. While the teachers encountered some logistical challenges to the implementation of lesson study, a number of important gains were reported: collaboration in lesson study reduced feelings of professional isolation; teachers reported a sharper focus on pupil learning and more confidence to take risks with approaches to teaching, which led to greater opportunities for pupils to engage in interactive activities, for example, involving problem-solving and peer teaching in groups