1. Lesson Study Overview June 1, 2006 – Pine Trail Elementary
Professional Communities for Teachers
June 1, 2006 – Pine Trail Elementary
Martha Ash, Kip Best, Jeanine Kiser, Diane Lejeune,
Becky Pittard, Amy Spies, Betsy Turner

2. Research Lesson/Lesson Study Same 2 Words, Reverse Order
Study Kenkyuu
Lesson(s)
Instruction Jugyou

3. What is a Research Lesson?
Classroom lesson with students, in which student learning is observed by other teachers
Planned for a long time, collaboratively
Brings to life a goal or vision of education
Recorded: video, audio, student work
Discussed by faculty and sometimes outside commentators

4. Lesson Study differs from
LESSON PLANNING
CURRICULUM WRITING
COACHING/MENTORING
DEMONSTRATION LESSONS
BASIC RESEARCH

5. Professional Development
TRADITIONAL
RESEARCH LESSONS
Begins with answer
Driven by expert
Communication
trainer -> teachers
Relationships hierarchical
Research informs practice
Begins with question
Driven by participants
Communication among teachers
Relationship reciprocal
Practice is research
By Lynn Liptak, Paterson School #2, New Jersey.

6. Teachers’ Activities to Improve Instruction
Choose curriculum,
write curriculum, align curriculum,
write local standards
Plan lessons individually
Plan lessons collaboratively
Watch and discuss each other’s classroom lessons
U.S.
JAPAN

7. Lesson Study Provides Opportunities to
Think Deeply About Long-term Goals for Students
Carefully Consider the Goals of a Particular Content Area, Unit, and Lesson
Study the Best Available Lessons
Plan Lessons that Bring to Life both Short-term and Long-term goals
Deepen Subject Matter Knowledge
Develop Instructional Knowledge
Build Capacity for Collegial Learning
Develop the “Eyes to See Students”

8. Types of Research Lessons
In - School
Public
Embedded in conferences, study groups, district-wide professional development, etc.

9. Plan Lessons(s) that Foster Long-Term Goals and Lesson/Unit Goals
Figure 1
Lesson Study
Planning
Phase
Research
Lesson
Post-Lesson
Activities
Discussion of Lesson Discuss research lesson. Focus on evidence of whether the lesson promoted the long-term goals and lesson/unit goals
Discuss Long Term Goals for Students’ Academic, Social and Ethical Development
RESEARCH LESSON
Actual classroom lesson; attending teachers study student thinking, learning, engagement, behavior, etc.
Choose Content Area and Unit Discuss Learning Goals for Content Area, Unit and Lesson
Consolidate Learning
Write report that includes lesson plan, data, and summary of discussion. Refine and re-teach the lesson if desired. Or select a new focus of study.
Plan Lessons(s) that Foster Long-Term Goals and Lesson/Unit Goals

10. Choosing a Lesson Study Theme
Think about the students you serve.
Your Ideals:
What qualities would you like these students to have 5 years from now?
The Actual:
List their qualities now.
The Gap:
Compare the ideal and the actual. What are the gaps that you would most like to work on?
The Research Theme: (long-term goal)
State positively the ideal student qualities you choose to work on. For example:
Fundamental academic skills that will ensure students’ progress
and a rich sense of human rights.

11. MAP OF RESEARCH CONCEPTION
School’s Educational Goals
Ideal Profile of Students
Actual Situation of Students
RESEARCH FOCUS
Ideal Profile of Students (from Grade-Level Groups)
Upper Grades
Middle Grades
Lower Grades
Research Hypotheses
Methods and Measures

12. MAP OF RESEARCH CONCEPTION
School’s Educational Goals
Children who are:
* Considerate
* Think well and try hard
* Healthy
* Can lead ordered lives
Ideal Profile of Students
* Learn with friends
* Experience natural world richly
* Have own perspectives and ways
of thinking
Actual Situation of Students
* Most are cheerful, kind and gentle
* Friendships are shallow, and capacity to think
about things from another person’s idea and
perspective is inadequately developed
* Have considerable difficulty holding their own
perspectives and ideas
* Some students lack interest in the natural world
around them
RESEARCH FOCUS
For students to value friendship at the same time that they develop their own perspectives and ways of thinking
- Toward enjoyable science and life environment studies -
Ideal Profile of Students of Research Groups
Upper Grades
Middle Grades
Lower Grades
Children who:
* Get pleasure from solving problems
* Can find problems and make predictions
* Can have their own ideas in observations and
experiments
Value learning with friends in which they
recognize each others perspectives
Children who:
* Eagerly use their 5 senses
* Make predictions and test them
Learn through comparing their own
ideas with friends’ ideas
* Cooperate with friends while carrying
out activities
Children who:
* Participate happily in
learning
* Develop their own strategies
* Learn with friends
Research Hypotheses
* If students are eager to learn and take initiative in their learning, they will be able to deepen their own perspectives and ways of thinking
* Students will develop considerate hearts if they work together in ways that enable them to recognize one another’s ideals as they engage in
observations, experiments, and activities
Methods and Measures
(1) Strategies for Curriculum (2) Strategies for Learning Materials (3) Strategies for Teaching and Evaluation (4) Strategies for Learning Activities

13. Research Lesson Planning Questions
1. What do students currently understand about this topic? 2. What do we want them to understand at the end of the unit? 3. What's the sequence of experiences (lessons) that will propel students from 1 to 2? What will make the unit and each lesson motivating and meaningful to students? 4. Which lesson in the unit will be selected as the research lesson? 5. What will students need to know before this lesson?

14. Research Lesson Planning Questions
6. What will they learn during this lesson? 7. What is the “drama” or sequence of experience through which they will learn it? 8. How will students respond to the questions and activities in the lesson? What problems and misconceptions will arise and how will teachers respond to them? 9. What evidence should we gather and discuss about student learning, motivation, and behavior? What data collection forms are needed to do this?

15. Data Collected During Lesson Study
Academic Learning
How did images of heated air change?
Did students shift from simple counting to more flexible method?
Did dramatic role-play spark higher quality and quantity of writing?
In their journals, what did students write as their learnings?
Motivation
Percent of children who raised hands
Body language, “aha” comments, shining eyes
Social Behavior
How many times do students refer to and build on classmates’ comments?
How often do the five quietist students speak up?
Are students friendly and respectful?
Student Attitudes Toward Lesson
What did you like and dislike about the lesson?

16. Lesson Study in the US: What Have We Learned?
U.S. educators Can Find Lesson Study Useful
Successful and Unsuccessful Adaptations Occur
The Idea of Lesson Study is Simple But the Practice Is Not
Qualities of Successful Sites
A learning stance
Teacher leadership
Hands-on experiences, such as work with Japanese practitioners

17. WHAT MIGHT GIVE LESSON STUDY A
SUCCESSFUL FATE?
1. FOCUS ON REINVENTION, LEARNING
2. SEVERAL SITES BECOME LEARNING CENTERS—RESERVOIRS FOR STUDY, PRACTICE
3. RESEARCH METHODS THAT SUPPORT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
4. USEFULNESS LOOP: LESSON STUDY BRINGS COHERENCE, IS NOT EXPERIENCED AS “ONE MORE THING”