ERIC EJ1093099: Implementing Japanese Lesson Study: An Example of Teacher-Researcher Collaboration

2013·0.81 MB·English

by  ERIC

Implementing
Japanese lesson study:
An example of teacher–researcher collaboration
Susie Groves
Deakin University
<[email protected]>
Brian Doig
Deakin University
<[email protected]> study in Japan is neither funded nor manda-
Wanty Widjaja
tory. Essentially school-based and organised by
Deakin University teachers themselves, it pervades primary school
<[email protected]> education—and to a lesser extent secondary
David Garner
school education—across the country, with
Creekside K–9 College teachers researching their own practice in
<[email protected]> school-based communities of inquiry.
Kathryn Palmer
Lesson study first came to worldwide atten-
Melton Network tion as a vehicle for professional learning
<[email protected]> through Yoshida’s (1999) doctoral dissertation
and Stigler and Hiebert’s (1999) accounts of
Japanese structured problem-solving lessons
There is growing worldwide interest in based on the Third International Mathematics
Japanese lesson study as a model for and Science Study (TIMSS) video study. Since
professional learning, with large-scale adap- then, there has been phenomenal growth of
tations of lesson study taking place in many lesson study as a vehicle for professional learn-
countries. This paper describes how teachers ing in countries such as the USA, UK, Malaysia,
and researchers collaborated in a lesson study Indonesia and Australia.
project carried out in three Victorian schools. It Japanese lesson study has four components:
describes Japanese lesson study and the typical • formulation of over-arching school goals
structured problem-solving research lesson that related to students’ learning and long-term
forms the basis for lesson study; and discusses development;
how the collaborative planning process and the • group planning of a research lesson address-
resulting research lessons, together with the ing these goals;
post-lesson discussions, provided teachers and • one team member teaching the research
researchers with the opportunity to collaborate lesson while the planning group, and others,
in the research process. observe in order to gather evidence of student
learning; and
• the post-lesson discussion where the plan-
Japanese lesson study
ning group and other observers (usually
including an ‘outside expert’) discuss and
Japanese lesson study is a professional learn- reflect on the evidence gathered during the
ing activity with origins that can be traced back lesson, using it to improve the lesson, the
for almost a century. Unlike many Western unit, and instruction more generally (Perry &
initiatives, richly funded and mandated, lesson Lewis, 2008, p. 366).
10 amt 69(3) 2013
Our lesson study project
In Japan, the research lesson in mathemat-
ics is based on ‘structured problem solving’, a
major instructional approach designed to create The Implementing Structured Problem-solving
interest in mathematics and stimulate crea- Mathematics Lessons through Lesson Study
tive mathematical activity (Takahashi, 2006). project worked with two Year 3 or 4 teachers
Typically such lessons have four stages: posing from each of three schools from a Melbourne
the problem; students solving problems indi- school network to explore ways in which key
vidually, in pairs or small groups; whole-class elements of Japanese lesson study could be
discussion; and summing up (Shimizu, 1999). embedded into Australian mathematics teach-
These lessons have a single focus and address ing and professional learning. Teachers were
a single problem designed to “achieve a single supported not only by members of the Deakin
objective in a topic” (Takahashi, 2006, p. 4). research team, but also by a key leading teacher
Critical in the process of planning a research at each school (e.g., a curriculum specialist or
lesson is the selection of the problem or task numeracy coach) as well as the network numer-
for the problem-solving activity through kyozai- acy coach—a total of ten participants.
kenkyu, which is an intensive and complex Participants took part in an initial whole-day
investigation of a large range of instructional professional learning session on lesson study
materials, including textbooks, curriculum in June, and completed one lesson study cycle
materials, lesson plans and reports from other during each of Terms 3 and 4 of 2012. Each
lesson studies, coupled with a study of students’ lesson study cycle involved two cross-school
prior understandings (Watanabe, Takahashi & teams of three teachers and two leading teach-
Yoshida, 2008). While teachers cannot engage ers or coaches planning a research lesson on
every day in such deep kyozaikenkyu, conduct- the same topic during four two-hour planning
ing it for the purpose of a research lesson leads sessions. Each team was supported by two of
to a deeper understanding of the curriculum the university researchers. One member of
and the mathematical content and goals under- each team taught the research lesson in front
pinning it, as well as the importance of match- of observers, with both teams participating in
ing problems to both the mathematical goals of the post-lesson discussions. Key staff at each
the lesson and students’ knowledge (see also school, together with all interested teachers who
Doig, Groves & Fujii, 2011). could be released from their classes at the time
Public observation and debriefing of research of the research lessons, as well as other profes-
lessons is a key feature of Japanese lesson sionals such as numeracy coaches and leader-
study. Typically a research lesson will be ship teams from other network schools, and
observed by all members of the lesson planning mathematics educators, were invited to observe
team, the school principal, the other teachers the lessons and take part in the post-lesson
at the school (or the other teachers in the same discussions. Approximately 30 people observed
subject area at secondary schools), and an the fourth research lesson in December 2012.
‘outside expert’ who acts as the final commen- Due to the perceived success of the project, the
tator at the post-lesson discussion. Depending project has continued into the first half of 2013,
on the scale of the research lesson, there may with two days of teacher release for each partici-
be many additional outside observers—50 to pating teacher being funded by the Melton
100 observers would not be unusual. Observers Network. Two research lessons are now being
focus on student learning and are expected to planned for the second week of Term 2.
base their comments in the post-lesson discus- In this paper, members of the Deakin
sion on evidence they have collected during the University research team discuss how the
lesson. The purpose is to promote thoughtful, collaborative planning process and the resulting
data-focussed discussion of the lesson. research lessons, together with the post-lesson
Teachers act as researchers in all phases of discussions, provided teachers and Deakin
the Japanese lesson study process, research- researchers with the opportunity to collaborate
ing the curriculum, teaching resources, known in the research process, while one of the school
student misconceptions, and formulating their numeracy coaches and the network numeracy
own research questions to be addressed through coach provide their perspectives on the project.
the research lesson and subsequent post-lesson
discussion.
amt 69(3) 2013 11
The collaborative planning
Anticipating students’ mathematical solu-
process
tions was a new element in the planning process
for all teachers and coaches. Similarly, orches-
Detailed and careful planning is central to the trating an extended whole-class discussion was
Japanese lesson study process. Planning for not a common practice in their mathematics
lesson study in a Japanese school involves lessons. Initially teachers expressed concern
setting overarching goals, as well as goals for about allocating 20 minutes for a whole-class
the unit of work in which the research lesson discussion and predicted that this would be
is embedded, and goals for the research lesson challenging for their students. In order to allow
itself. Teachers need to identify key mathe- teachers to become more familiar with such a
matical ideas to be explored in the lesson and lesson structure and to build their confidence in
anticipate students’ mathematical solutions. implementing such lessons, the research team
In keeping with the spirit of Japanese lesson encouraged teachers to work closely with their
study, which sets out to engage teachers as school numeracy coach in trialling a similar prob-
“investigators of their own classroom practices” lem-solving task in their classrooms. Teachers
and “researchers of teaching and learning in in both planning teams agreed to trial another
the classroom” (Takahashi & Yoshida, 2004, p. problem with their class and record students’
438), teachers and coaches took full responsibil- responses. As a result, teachers became more
ity for the planning of the research lessons. The comfortable with conducting extended whole-
Deakin research team facilitated the planning class discussions, with one teacher commenting
process by sourcing potential mathematical that she had been “quite wrong” when she had
tasks to be explored, modelling a problem-solv- previously predicted that her class would not
ing lesson using a problem similar to the one to be able to come up with many different solu-
be used in the first research lesson, and provid- tions or be able to spend extended time shar-
ing resources such as articles on lesson study ing these. This was a major breakthrough for
and sample lesson plans. this teacher. Other teachers came to similar
During the first planning meeting in each conclusions after trialling the research lessons
cycle, teachers and numeracy coaches in the in different classes prior to the research lesson
project engaged in solving the mathemati- day. Sharing the insights gained from trialling
cal problem proposed for the research lesson these problem-solving lessons in the planning
and participated in a discussion of their solu- meetings was instrumental in advancing the
tions. Having first-hand experience in solving planning process. Through this trialling process,
the mathematical problem and discussing the teachers were encouraged to examine in detail
attributes of various solutions was instrumen- various elements of the research lessons, such
tal in helping teachers anticipate the learning as the exact phrasing of the task, ways to elicit
potential for students and possible misconcep- students’ mathematical thinking through ques-
tions students might have when working on the tioning, and planning the sequence of students’
problem. Furthermore, engaging in solving the solutions to enable a progression of ideas.
mathematical problems provided teachers with At the beginning, there might have been an
opportunities to deepen their mathematical expectation that the researchers would lead the
content knowledge. way in planning the research lesson. However,
Anticipating students’ solutions is a key members of the planning teams shared respon-
element of the lesson planning process in sibilities to identify links between lesson goals
Japanese lesson study (Shimizu, 2009). It gives and curriculum documents. Collective effort by
teachers a clear idea of what to look for when every member was evident through the sharing
they observe students’ work, thus enabling of resources. The numeracy coaches played a
them to orchestrate a productive whole-class salient role in supporting teachers to conduct
discussion that carefully sequences students’ the trial lessons by arranging a release time for
solutions. The main teaching and learning takes teachers to observe each other’s trial lessons,
place during this whole-class discussion, which analysing students’ work and helping teach-
is designed to help students learn something ers to plan questions to elicit students’ think-
‘new’ and advance their mathematical thinking. ing. The fact that members of the research team
(Shimizu, 2009; Takahashi, 2006; Watanabe, stepped back and let the teachers and coaches
Takahashi & Yoshida, 2008). take control of the planning process was initially
12 amt 69(3) 2013
challenging for some teachers. However this dots individually. One of the two planning teams
thinking had shifted by the end, after teachers listed the following as their two goals for their
had observed the benefits of developing their research lesson: “to encourage students to use
own clear ideas about different elements of the more effective multiplicative thinking strategies
lesson through the process of articulating their (including the use of arrays and partitioning);
thoughts and ideas, guided by questions from and to ensure students’ mathematical explana-
members of the research team. There was a tions match their use of the diagram”.
strong sense of mutual trust among members of These goals reflect the planning group’s own
the planning teams, driven by the intention to goals or research questions, one of which was
work on common goals to generate knowledge “to build the content knowledge of teachers as
by examining classroom practice with question- well as their capacity to ask more precise ques-
ing attitudes, an indication that the planning tions about the student responses”. In their
teams were working as communities of inquiry lesson plan, this group included a section on
(Groves, Doig & Splitter, 2000; Jaworski, 2008). how these lesson goals related to their own
In-depth planning of a research lesson lesson study goals, stating that:
requires a large time commitment. While teach-
ers and coaches saw the real benefits of in-depth In this lesson we are looking at how the teacher
planning in deepening teachers’ knowledge of poses the problem in order to elicit student
mathematics and in the changes to their lessons, thinking about multiplicative strategies. The
ways to address the common concern about the teacher questioning and discussion should
amount of time and continued support from progress student thinking at their point of need
the school community required remain to be and the collaborative planning for this lesson
explored. should result in improved teacher practice and
student learning.
Teachers as researchers
Although the teachers’ research questions are
phrased as goals, it is clear what the teachers
On the surface, Japanese lesson study would planning the research lesson wish to investigate.
not appear to be related to teachers acting as Once the planning group has agreed on the
researchers. However, examining one’s prac- goals, the lesson plan starts to take shape. A
tice is a core aim of the research lesson. The critical feature of the planning is to anticipate
purpose of the research lesson in Japanese likely student solutions. Without a tradition of
lesson study is not to provide “a demonstration such lessons to fall back on, teachers in the
that showcases a particular teacher or approach” planning groups trialled the task in their own
(Watanabe, 2002, p. 37), but rather to provide classrooms, in order to identify likely solution
a proving ground or test-bed for an experiment strategies. Researching likely solutions to a
in teaching and learning. While this may seem problem is a feature of planning for a research
a grandiose claim for a single lesson, albeit lesson, revealing to the inquiring teacher not only
well-designed and taught, Lewis and Tsuchida many aspects of how children interpret tasks,
(1998) report that “Japanese teachers repeat- but also the range of strategies that students
edly pointed to the impact of ‘research lessons’ employ in solving the problem. In the problem
… as central to individual, schoolwide and even involving finding the total number of dots in the
national improvement of teaching” (p. 12). 23 by 3 array, teachers’ research in their own
How does this work? In a Japanese lesson classrooms found the following strategies used
study cycle, teachers in the planning group by the Year 3 and Year 4 students: counting all
choose goals and design a lesson to achieve these the dots; using repeated addition; skip count-
goals. The goals may be to improve student atti- ing by threes; writing the number sentence 23
tudes to mathematics, to develop new skills, or × 3 = 69; and using the vertical multiplication
to try an alternative approach to a curriculum algorithm. While some teachers were surprised
topic. In most cases, the goals include one that with the range of strategies found, others were
is directed towards developing student under- surprised at the achievement of some of their
standing. For example, in our project, the task thought-to-be less capable students. As teach-
in one research lesson was to find the number ers gained more interesting insights into their
of dots in a 23 x 3 array, without counting the students’ thinking, this also honed the questions
amt 69(3) 2013 13
to be used within the lesson itself, as teachers for planning mathematics units and lessons.
discovered the effect of using different wordings Teams of teachers need to work as professional
of the task on student responses. This empha- learning communities, where their mathemati-
sis on deciding on an exact wording to a task cal knowledge for teaching is developed collabo-
in order to stimulate desired responses from ratively and in an ongoing way, enabling them
students took on a life of its own and became a to teach within a problem-solving paradigm of
major influence in creating later lessons. mathematics teaching and learning. If building
Finally, the observers invited to the research teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching
lesson (a hundred extra eyes) were asked by the is the priority, then Japanese lesson study offers
planning team to look for evidence that would a model within which this can take place. Lewis,
support the achievement of their goals for the Perry and Murata (2006) outline the conjecture
research lesson, thus helping the teachers that more than simply planning a lesson, lesson
gauge the effectiveness of their endeavour. For study strengthens three pathways to instruc-
example, the planning team referred to earlier, tional improvement (see Table 1).
stated:
Table 1. Lesson study strengthens teachers’ mathematical
We would like the observers to focus on one or knowledge for teaching (Lewis et al., 2006, p. 5).
two students to collect data on the strategies
Teachers’ Teachers’ Learning
used in the lesson. Specifically we would like knowledge commitment resources
to know if the strategy used by the students and community
matches their recorded method using the Knowledge of Motivation to Lesson plans
subject matter improve that reveal
diagram and if the student is chosen to share,
and promote
Knowledge of Connection to
how well does the student articulate the strat-
student
instruction colleagues who
egy used and recorded method? thinking
can provide
help
Over the complete lesson study cycle, teach- Capacity Sense of Tools that
ers were continually investigating “What would to observe accountability support colle-
students to valued prac- gial learning
happen if we…?” and worked on answering
tice community during lesson
Connection of
their own questions. In a presentation at the
study
daily practice
2012 Mathematics Association of Victoria
to long-term
annual conference, two points were highlighted goals
that under-scored the heightened interest in
researching practice by the lesson study project
teachers, namely the benefits to teachers and Although the success of Japanese lesson
students coming from: planning in teams with study as a model for improving instruction and
clear lesson goals; and trialling lessons before teacher content knowledge in Japan has been
conducting them. well-researched and documented, the ability of
In this project, it was apparent to both the non-Japanese schools and systems to adopt it
teachers and the university academics, that the as successfully must be considered. Lewis, Perry,
teachers were researchers in the project just as Hurd and O’Connell (2006) conducted research
much as were the academics. into the effectiveness of North American schools
and districts in utilising and adapting a lesson
study approach to improve teacher instruction
Creekside College:
and student achievement. They found a distinct
A need for lesson study
improvement in student achievement data in
mathematics with the inception of their lesson
As a numeracy coach in a school of over 1400 study approach. Teachers also commented on
students, leading the development and evolu- the enhanced collaboration and development of
tion of a problem-solving culture in mathemat- collective efficacy in the culture of the school.
ics looms as a challenging task. For teachers to While the whole process is built strongly around
teach through problem solving, rather than the the established lesson study processes of Japan,
more commonplace ‘teach a problem-solving the schools in the United States were continu-
strategy a week’ approach, it is vital to build ously mindful of making it work in the USA, not
a collaborative, learning community model simply replicating the exact program as observed.
14 amt 69(3) 2013
This not only allowed the schools to develop a • multiple cycles allowing all involved to hone
model that worked for them, but also allowed skills and reflect on learning through the
the schools, teachers and professionals involved new implementation.
to take ownership of the lesson study process. Future implications for mathematics teach-
It is these two key pieces of research that have ing and learning at Creekside College as a result
lead me to believe that incorporating aspects of of the lesson study project included, but were
lesson study, if not entire lesson study cycles, not limited to:
into the established planning and teaching prac- • extending share time to around fifteen to
tices of Creekside College teachers would be a twenty minutes in most numeracy lessons;
key strategy in the improvement of mathematics • student solutions being deliberately selected
teaching and learning at our school. The project and ordered across a continuum of learning
with Deakin University therefore provided the rather than just having a student read our
perfect catalyst for change. their own work;
• use of moderation of problem-solving tasks
A school-based coach’s experiences of as a pre-assessment for units;
the lesson study project • running lesson study teams throughout the
year;
The opportunity to take part in the lesson study • eventually having each team of teachers
project provided a rich experience with myriad running a lesson study cycle;
benefits, challenges and future implications for • importance of teachers planning in a way
both my coaching practice and the teaching and that builds their knowledge of misconcep-
learning practice of the teachers involved in tions and how they teach through these; and
lesson study. Successes of the project included, • in my role as coach, leading the development
but were not limited to: of teachers’ task design and questioning
• collaborative planning within a team; skills.
• exploration of developmental continua It is important to conclude with a reflection
throughout the planning meetings; on why this project was so important and what it
• increased mathematical knowledge for teach- means for the future. I feel vindicated in my belief
ing, reported by all teachers at the conclu- that if we can develop a planning model where
sion of each lesson study cycle; teachers can build their knowledge for teaching,
• the opportunity to work with ‘more expe- then we can improve teachers’ practice and, most
rienced others’ throughout the planning importantly, improve student learning. The abil-
process; ity of this project to bring together mathematics
• planning, teaching and reflecting on a prob- researchers, numeracy leaders and classroom
lem-solving approach to mathematics; teachers was a vital component in ‘launching’
• modifications to the established lesson struc- lesson study. Merely reading about it and then
ture to incorporate more teaching taking trying to implement it within schools would not
place through reflection and sharing; do the process justice. Having researchers who
• consideration and planning for anticipated have been involved in lesson study—on multiple
student responses to the problem through- occasions, in multiple schools, across a number
out the planning process; of years and countries—allowed us to run an
• building the confidence of the classroom authentic lesson study, the benefits of which
teachers involved in the project; are countless. A project, which allowed teachers
• careful, more deliberate task selection, design to engage in their own research hand in hand
and modification to meet the learning goals with more experienced others, provided ongoing
of the lesson and unit; opportunities for self-reflection and the ability
• the rigorous nature of the planning to engage in a genuine professional learning
documentation; community. I see my role as one where I ‘teach a
• the honest and open nature and culture of man to fish’ rather than give him a fish. Without
the post-lesson discussion, enabled by the this view, I believe teachers will never gain the
thorough discussion of the lesson, lesson knowledge and confidence to teach high qual-
plan, teaching and learning; and ity mathematics programs and engage learners
as problem solvers. Leading and empowering
others in collaborative learning communities
amt 69(3) 2013 15
is essential if long-term, sustainable change is final lesson study for Term 1 in 2013 so that all
going to occur. Lesson study provides one such six classroom teachers in the project could have
paradigm, and this project has been the cata- the opportunity to conduct a research lesson.
lyst for establishing lesson study cultures in our As a result of the professional discussions
Australian schools. and participation in the lesson study project,
Perhaps the most significant ‘product’ of schools involved in the project have:
the lesson study project for Creekside College • created greater levels of collegiality between
is the implementation of our first lesson study teachers and schools involved in the project;
cycles within the school in 2013. A group of six • helped to build a common professional
teachers from across different year levels will be language and common understanding of
engaging in a full lesson study cycle each term high quality pedagogy;
throughout the year. It is hoped that this will • provided opportunities for teachers to share
become part of the culture of not only mathe- high quality teaching practice, thereby
matics teaching and learning practice, but also providing a forum to share ideas, success
an in-built component to quality teaching and and challenges;
learning practice across all curriculum areas • had a reason to learn together as a result of
into the future. participating in a practical project that will
help improve student learning;
• had to carefully prioritise the most important
Lesson study in the
themes to tackle in the research lesson;
Melton Network
• shared collective responsibility for producing
more effective learning for all students;
As a numeracy coach to over 20 schools across • used and built on what they know;
the Melton Network in the Western suburbs of • created and implemented plans for achieving
Melbourne, I have been trying for many years to their project aims—they think big, but start
implement the concepts underpinning Japanese small and manageable;
lesson study. Last year I got the opportunity • identified the professional learning strategies
to act as a project facilitator in an authen- that most help them learn; and
tic lesson study project. This involved inviting • combined outside-provided support (research
three schools in my network to become involved findings, Network Numeracy Coach, external
in Deakin University’s project. Considerations consultants—Deakin University) and work-
included finding three schools in close proxim- embedded support (lesson observations,
ity to each other to overcome travelling issues; team-teaching, coaching).
teachers were able to move between schools While there have been numerous benefits from
during their lunch break. The first step was to involvement in this project for both the network
convince the school-based numeracy coach and and the schools involved, the next challenge
the leadership team at each school that this is to sustain this work. As my role as network
was a worthwhile project. As the facilitator of coach is funded through National Partnerships
the school-based numeracy coaches’ profes- funding, it is unlikely it will continue after this
sional learning in my network, I had previously year. Many schools are placing their full time
discussed the merits of a lesson study approach school based numeracy coaches back into a full
to develop teacher content knowledge. So with time classroom role and therefore won’t have
Deakin University support of funding and the time to support the intensive planning need-
personnel this was an easy task and all schools ed to develop research lessons. External fund-
approached were extremely eager to be involved. ing from both Deakin University and, this year,
All school numeracy coaches and leadership from Melton Network has definitely been a huge
teams within the network were invited to attend reason for the success of this project. However,
each research lesson. While not all attended, I am confident that all schools involved in the
those who did were excellent advocates for the project will try to modify and implement many
process and soon there was a need to give all of the aspects of lesson study they have experi-
principals within the network some professional enced through their involvement in this project.
learning around the lesson study process. As
a result the Melton Network of schools agreed
to support the original schools in continuing a
16 amt 69(3) 2013
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