Status and experiences of Lesson Study in China Jiansheng BAO East China Normal University(China)

Characteristics of teacher professional development in China I. Different Stages: New teacher Experience teacher Expert teacher II. Different Levels: National Level: Provincial Level: City Level: County Level: School Level: University-based teacher professional development program TRO( 教研室 ) guided lesson study TRG( 教研组 ) organized lesson study

I. Different ways on different professional stages New teacher Expert teacher Practice + Reflection Experience teacher Practice + Reflection Research + Communication Real problems Multi-perspectives Teaching Wisdom Theoretic thinking Observation + Communication Teaching skill Instructional principles Work experiences

Professional development activities for new teacher 1.School based 1-1 mentoring (lesson plan, classroom observation); 2.Attend professional development activities organized by TRO or school (textbook analysis, classroom management, teaching skills, etc); 3.Teaching competition.

Professional development activities for experience teacher 1.National or provincial level back-bone teacher ( 骨 干教师 )training program (in China mainland, Educational Ministry spend half billion RMB each year for national back-bone teacher training); 2.Attend professional development activities organized by TRO or school (textbook analysis, teaching reform, etc); 3.Teacher rank promotion (Second, First, Senior, Professor); 4.Take charge of Lesson Plan Group(LPG, 备课组 )

Task of Lesson Plan Group Lesson planning Groups usually spend 40 minutes in each week to –arrange lesson plan of following week, –determine and evaluate important points, difficult points and key points of teaching contents, –explore solutions of mathematics problems and exercises –recommend specific ways of teaching –Discuss best examples Talk about lesson plan ( 说课 ) is very popular activity in China Mainland

Becoming a Professor-rank Teacher Since 2006, about 100 mathematics teachers awarded as professor-rank teachers in Jiangsu Province.

Standards for professor-rank senior teacher (Jiangsu Province) l Demonstrate a deep theoretical and content knowledge about their teaching area; l Demonstrate strong teaching abilities, rich experience and high efficiency in their teaching; l Demonstrate abilities to reform teaching methods creatively and leadership in the local teaching and research activities; l Know the newly development in the teaching area around the world and show high creative teaching ideas and research abilities; l Demonstrate abilities to use modern information technologies in their classrooms; l Demonstrate high level professional moral and responsibilities.

II. Lesson Study at different levels

ABCDE A.Pure theoretical guidance with no real classroom problems B.Reading and communicating theoretical materials with colleagues C.Lesson study with curriculum experts and experience teachers D.Lesson plan with the guidance by experience teachers E.Discussion on real classroom problem with colleagues Gu, L. & Yang, Y. (2003). School-based active training on teacher professional development. Educational Development Research. Vol. 6 Survey: What kind of professional activities are most welcomed by teachers

Classroom observation between colleagues with no guidance Classroom observed and assessed by experts and master teachers Attending “open lesson” given by excellent teacher and assessed by experts. Working with experts and master teachers to plan, observe, discuss and improve lesson design and teaching skills Case study based on teachers’ own teaching practice. Gu, L. & Yang, Y. (2003). School-based active training on teacher professional development. Educational Development Research. Vol. 6 Survey: What kind of lesson study is most helpful to teachers’ professional development

The above survey shows: Lesson study with the guidance of experts and master teachers is most helpful and effective to teachers’ professional development. Here experts include university professors, Teaching-researchers(TR), authors of textbooks. Among them, TR play a very important role in teachers professional development.

Most popular way of Lesson study in Mainland China: Teaching-research Activity ( 教研活动 ) County-level TRO City-level TRO Province-level TRO System of TRO in China Mainland

Theoretic model: Three stages, two reflection New design: Focusing on the new design of the lesson Existing action: Focusing on previous personal experiences New action: Focusing on the new classroom Updating ideas Reflection 1 ： Finding the gap between existing ideas and innovative ones Improving action Reflection 2 ： Finding the gap between innovative design and implementation （ Gu & Wang, 2004 ）

Main activities of TRO –Organizing, observing and evaluating open lessons –Selecting and spreading good teaching strategies and experiences, –Organizing the assessment of teacher rank promotion; –Constructing mathematics problems and test sheets, and –planning monthly teaching schedule –…… All Teaching Researchers (TR) were experience teachers.

What topics do TRs and teachers often talk about during lesson study 1.mathematics content knowledge: prior knowledge, concept system, mathematics theory, etc; 2.Curriculum standards: Changes, new perspectives and ideas, samples, etc; 3.Textbooks: Arrange of math topics and tasks, differences between different version or series textbooks; 4.Students’ preparation: What prior knowledge should be reviewed before the lesson? What is and how to deal with the difficult point in this lesson? 5.Mathematical methods and thinking: Are there any important math methods or thinking in this lesson? What tasks are suitable for students to learn these methods and thinking? ___based on observation of lesson study

What topics do TRs and teachers often talk about during lesson study 6.Teaching and learning theories related to this lesson; 7.Good math problems or tasks maybe used in this lesson; 8.Different design of this lesson; 9.Assessment on teaching and learning before, during and after the lesson; 10.Resources: papers, books, internets, math history, etc.

A theoretic framework of interaction between TR and teachers during lesson study (Gu,2012) Mathematics content Teaching Strategies Task design Improve of teaching behavior Formative assessment Students learning reality Content of interaction General guidance Solve problems posed by teachers Discuss new design or problem with teachers equally Foresee problems may appear in this lesson Levels of interaction

Another way of Lesson Study: Video-based lesson study Teacher education should focus classroom Classroom observation Videotape analysis (Text) Case study Video-based lesson study Traditional ways for lesson study

Video case study Video play Lesson Clips Related database Cases studies Case question

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