Pages: 18

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 9

Since educators and researchers learned how Japanese teachers and schools use Lesson Study to improve mathematics teaching and learning, some schools outside Japan started to try using it as their primary form of mathematics professional development. However, some early adaptations resulted in ineffective and non-sustainable lesson studies due to unexpected challenges. Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR) was proposed and used among teachers outside Japan to overcome these challenges. This chapter describes the challenges that the early adaptations have experienced and what may be needed to overcome these challenges. Then, the chapter discusses how the CLR approach, a unique approach to implementing educational research ideas in the classroom, has been developed and benefitted teachers and schools outside Japan.

Pages: 7

For Japanese educators, Lesson Study is like air, felt everywhere because it is implemented in everyday school activities. (Fujii, 2014, p. 68)

Pages: 54

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 7

Several schools and school districts outside Japan have been using lesson studies to see the impacts on student and teacher learning. Among those, the schools using a specific form of Lesson Study, Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR), have seen major changes in teacher and student learning. In this and the following three chapters, US and UK authors share their CLR endeavors, how they were initiated, how they grew, and how the students, teachers, and schools benefitted. First, the author describes a US high school case in which CLR gradually grew from a few enthusiastic teachers to a department-wide initiative. The second case reports how CLR is used in a university-led professional development intervention. The third case reports how CLR's ideas impacted cross-school school district professional development in the United Kingdom as a part of a nationwide school improvement initiative. The last chapter shares the cases of school-wide CLR schools inviting others to their research lessons as public research lessons. All these cases show the impacts of well-designed Lesson Study projects using CLR in different settings.

Pages: 7

In the United Kingdom, students who fail to achieve a pass mark in the public examination in mathematics taken at the age of 16 (GCSE) are required to attend mathematics lessons and re-take the examination in their further education (FE). These students are known as GCSE-resit students. Between 2018 and 2023, the government funded an initiative, the Centres for Excellence in Mathematics programme, designed, amongst other things, to improve the mathematical experience of these students. The University of Nottingham was one of a number of partner organisations responsible for the project and our role involved organising, running and evaluating a randomised control trial of an intervention in which about 10,000 students were taught mathematics using a “mastery” approach. The chapter considers how the requirements of a randomised control trial influenced some of the design decisions we made.

Pages: 7

This chapter explores the experience of lesson study from the perspective of the Devon Maths team, a team of four advisers. The team's earliest involvement with lesson study was as part of the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) which was a government-funded initiative in England from 1999 to 2011. The inclusion of lesson study in the NNS approach was heavily influenced by the publication of The Teaching Gap and by Pete Dudley, who was director of the Primary National Strategies from 2006 to 2011. Assessment acts as a bridge between the exploration of subject knowledge/curriculum materials and planning the research lesson; it is a vital part of our lesson study process, helping to shape the teaching sequence and focus the planning team on the mathematics and understanding of the mathematics. The curriculum and curriculum materials available to schools differs greatly between England and Japan. In Japan, all schools use one of the six state-approved textbooks.

Pages: 31

In Japan, public research lessons are one important way that knowledge spreads across settings. For example, university-affiliated laboratory schools and national subject matter associations host public research lessons (usually annually) to test out innovations to curriculum and instruction. Smaller-scale public research lessons are conducted by district-based Lesson Study teams and individual schools engaging in Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR), whose work often focuses on local adaptation and spread of research-based innovations. Reading the account of the public research lesson seven years later, the research lesson instructor identified several shifts in her practice catalysed by the experience. Her reflections bring together the different types of learning – about content, professional learning, standards – highlighted in this section. Planned board use was another routine used to support discourse during the lesson; the board made student thinking visible in an organised way that allowed students to compare mathematical ideas (along with corresponding diagrams and expressions) as they asked questions or made arguments.

Pages: 55

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 5

This chapter describes two major pathways to get started in Collaborative Lesson Research. Then, several frameworks for conducting Collaborative Lesson Research, learning to analyze lessons from observing live research lessons in classrooms, learning to analyze lessons by watching the research lesson videos conducted by Japanese teachers, and learning to observe research lessons by focusing on student learning processes. The chapter also provides a step-by-step guide to conducting impactful collaborative lesson research in your school with your colleagues.

Pages: 8

When one thinks about learning through Lesson Study, one reasonably thinks first about what is learned by the team that plans the research lesson. But much of the power of Lesson Study as a systemic form of professional development comes from the learning opportunities that research lessons create for outside observers. And perhaps the most far-reaching outcome of observing research lessons is that one can become more proficient at learning from one's own teaching, and thus better equipped to continue improving throughout one's career. The first step in learning from a research lesson is to carefully read the research proposal prepared by the planning team. Observing a research lesson is an especially good opportunity to improve one's ability to see whether a lesson's goals are being achieved. The post-lesson discussion provides an opportunity to help inexperienced observers understand the importance of collecting evidence of student learning.

Pages: 7

In the United Kingdom, teachers' first experience of Lesson Study has frequently occurred when planning a research lesson. This may be led by those with experience in conducting and observing research lessons or may be initiated by those with little hands-on experience who have heard about the benefits. This is a contrast to Japan where teachers new to Lesson Study will predominantly observe research lessons multiple times before participating in a planning team. In this chapter, the authors look at the process of observing a research lesson using examples from visits to Japan and the insights it provided to us as UK educators. The contents of the proposal will vary but a detailed research proposal in Japan will typically contain: the research question(s), information about the class (year group, class size etc.), an overview of the unit of study and where the lesson sits within this, a detailed lesson plan for the research lesson itself, and the expected board layout.

Pages: 11

A key turning point that accelerated my understanding of Lesson Study in general but also how to analyse teaching in terms of student learning was participating in a series of online modules led by the International Math-teacher Professionalization Using Lesson Study (IMPULS) group in collaboration with the Collaborative Lesson Research UK (CLR-UK) group. Within the broader unit of work, the idea of “per unit quantity” is introduced using the concept of crowdedness followed by population density which sets students up to learn about rates such as speed which was the focus of the research lesson. This detailed analysis highlighted the importance of paying close attention to task design and presentation to maximise student learning in relation to the intended goal(s) of the lesson. By withholding key information (the area of each cage) students’ attention can be drawn to the new mathematics they are learning.

Pages: 22

For Japanese teachers, Lesson Study is “like air”: it is a practice that pervades all aspects of teaching and learning in school and is thus made invisible. Indeed, Lesson Study in Japan has evolved for over a century, as educators have incrementally and organically adapted its form through their practice. For those who do Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR) around the globe, however, the process can be daunting to begin and even harder to maintain. To practice CLR in a context where it is not “like air” – and sometimes where it is not known at all – requires a firm understanding of not only its structure, but the rationale behind each of the steps in the process and how they work together to create a beautiful whole. One research lesson can be a nice experience for those involved, but the power of CLR emerges with multiple research lessons, in which ideas learned from one lesson transfer to the next one.

Pages: 31

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 6

This chapter considers different aspects of collaborative lesson research that require attention in relation to maintaining this is a mode of professional learning. The insights are provided by a number of practitioners in the United Kingdom who have different roles in education: they draw on their personal experiences to illustrate a rich account of how they have tackled issues of capacity building. Their illustrative descriptions provide insights to be tackled at a systems level both working across a number of schools and in initial teacher education as new entrants to the teaching profession take their first steps in collaborative lesson research. Two specialist roles in collaborative lesson research are also considered: these focus on taking part in kyouzai kenkyuu and providing outside expertise as a knowledgeable other.

Pages: 11

Developing an understanding of the process of kyouzai kenkyuu cannot be attained in a single cycle of Lesson Study. It should be considered an ongoing and iterative process that becomes more nuanced with each cycle. Despite its importance in Japan, in-depth discussion is infrequent. The research lesson discussed occurred due to the opportunity to work with a visiting Japanese Professor from the IMPULS3 team at Tokyo Gakugei University. The nature of the visit was to look at statistics lessons in the United Kingdom prior to a proposed change in the Japanese curriculum. In Japan, curriculum changes are made gradually with careful research and consideration before that change is implemented. Although, at the end of the day, the focus of a research lesson is on student learning the development of the lesson also impacts teacher's own professional learning.

Pages: 6

Once a decision has been made to undertake a collaborative research lesson as part of Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR), a team will be assembled and the research question decided. The planning of the lesson will have taken place and decisions made about how the lesson research proposal will allow for the research question to be investigated. This will be finalised and one of the team will agree to teach the lesson to a selected class. Different knowledgeable others will operate in slightly different ways but you will see common strands in the role that they adopt. The knowledgeable other should be aware of the particular context of the school and should assess and respond to the needs of the teachers involved. The knowledgeable other needs to initiate protocols for teachers to reflect on their practice. This needs to be handled carefully as it must not become a criticism of the teacher but of the lesson structure.

Pages: 6

Lesson Study has, since 1999, been developed in the West, initially being used in the United States and Australia, and more recently in the United Kingdom. The Japanese model has been adapted in the West to suit different needs. In some cases, it has been adapted to such an extent that it can no longer be considered Lesson Study. This chapter looks at how Lesson Study can be modified to aid the development of practice of student teachers. In Japan, Lesson Study is actively practised mainly by experienced teachers. There have been some attempts in Japan at using Lesson Study with beginning teachers, however, it is not common practice there to conduct Lesson Study with student teachers. Experienced teachers’ involvement in the project varied in different schools. Some teachers invested time planning alongside the student teachers, others agreed to teach the lesson, even if they had spent little time planning, and yet others participated only as observers.

Pages: 43

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 6

Hearing from collaborative lesson research practitioners from a range of different communities and with a range of experiences forms the basis of this chapter. Each contribution from the United Kingdom looks at a particular phase of the collaborative lesson research cycle providing detailed insight into how the author experienced that part of the process and what they learned from it. Contributions consider the design of research lessons, their observation, their teaching, and facilitating post-lesson discussions. There are also contributions that consider what might be learned from making final comments as a knowledgeable other and by researching collaborative lesson research. The insights provided by the specific instances of collaborative lesson research activity provide a brief glimpse into its complexity and potential for learning.

Pages: 6

The Centres for Excellence in Mathematics (CfEM) programme in England focused on students aged 16 or older, studying in Further Education colleges (post-16 colleges, primarily hosting students studying on courses leading to pre-vocational qualifications). These students had, at the time of the study, not achieved the required “pass” grade, grade 4 or above, in mathematics in their school-leaving examinations, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). They were, therefore, required to attend mathematics lessons and re-take the GCSE examination at the end of the academic year. Together with other partners responsible for the CfEM programme, we ran a day-long meeting involving academics and Further Education practitioners, aimed at developing an understanding of what TfM might mean in this post-16 sector for these particular students. The University of Nottingham research team identified mathematics topic areas for the seven lessons and worked closely with an expert author of lessons who was commissioned to write the lessons.

Pages: 6

It is something of a truism to say that the relationship between teaching and learning is complex: no amount of breaking the curriculum down into small steps or providing clear explanations can ensure that desired learning outcomes will be attained. In our experience, teaching collaborative research lessons gets to the heart of examining and understanding the relationship between teaching and learning whilst recognising the need for both teachers and learners to maintain some autonomy. Attention to the teaching/learning gap – the gap between the intended and the attained curriculum – is a central aspect of Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR) and the authors have witnessed its transformative effect on the teachers involved in CLR through their attending to expected learner involvement, over and above teaching actions. Planning for teaching through problem solving is a deceptively complex endeavour for teachers, even those who are primary maths specialists.

Pages: 10

The work on Lesson Study, as a maths support team in the South West of England, includes working with planning teams of teachers from different schools, as well as within a single school, with teams ranging in size from two to ten teachers and planning for both whole class and small group lessons. This chapter focuses the post-lesson discussion on the impact on the learners of the teaching decisions made, both by the planning team in advance, and by the teacher in the moment. This is rooted in non-judgemental observations of what the learners did and said during the research lesson and it allows observers the opportunity to recognise the careful thinking of the planning team, interrogate why particular teaching decisions were made, and consider whether they had the desired impact on learners. These include decisions about choice of resources, numbers, and language; organisation of the class; writing on the board; and recording in books.

Pages: 5

Lesson Study in the form of Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR), forms an important part of the author's professional life. In this chapter, the authors reflect further on important aspects of making the final comments at research lessons and aim to provide insight into what he have learned from his experience as a knowledgeable other. As teachers engage with collaborative lesson research, they have invested time and commitment to the process. It is only natural to want to say how good the experience was and how it has made a change to classroom practice and learning. It is important for the planning team to understand what has changed in the classroom in both teachers and learners because of CLR. As a knowledgeable other this provides another good reason for developing a long-term relationship with a CLR group.

Pages: 8

A distinguishing factor of CLR is that it used to develop mathematical thinking in students rather than trying to produce a perfect demonstration lesson. In this chapter, the author reflects on some important lessons that he have learned in his research. These relate in particular to two phases of the CLR cycle and he illustrate these by drawing on a recent CLR cycle completed with a mathematics department from a secondary school in England. In addition, the diagram also highlights how we were explicit in recognising that our educational values (Fujii, 2014) feed into each of the phases. In brief, the planning team met together for three sessions prior to the live research lesson, before meeting together in the fourth session to discuss it. The author explores the role of educational values in the context of the phases of identifying a research theme (session 1) and carrying out the groundwork for the lesson design through kyouzai kenkyuu (session 2).

Pages: 8

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 6

In this final chapter, the editors reflect on the totality of the volume and draw out some recommendations based on themes that emerge and from their own experience of leading and facilitating collaborative lesson research quite extensively. The recommendations are clustered in three major areas related to, getting started and developing a workable model of collaborative lesson research, thinking about the different aspects of learning that are involved and how to embed and sustain Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR) into the future.