How Do We Judge Whether Lesson Study is Working?

How Do We Prove It To Others?

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.

0207259. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those

of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Traveler, there is no road. The road is created as we walk it

together.

Antonio Machado

Goals

• Advance our understanding of lesson study and its evaluation

• Examine potential measures of lesson study progress

• Identify measures for our own work

• Formulate a networking plan (if desired)

sources

Planning Phase

Lesson StudyLesson Study

• Collaborative planning

• Discuss goals for students & content

• Study available units & lessons

• Build from an existing lesson

Research Lesson

Planning Phase

Lesson StudyLesson Study

• 1 teacher teaches; others observe/ collect data

• Designed to bring to life a particular goal/ vision of education

• Record lesson - video, audio, student work, observation notes

Post-LessonActivities

Research Lesson

Planning Phase

Lesson StudyLesson Study

• Formally debrief lesson

• Share data

• Draw implications for lesson and teaching-learning more broadly

• Revise and re-teach if desired

Lesson Study

1. STUDY

Consider long term goals for student learning and

development

Study curriculum and standards 2. PLAN

Select or revise research lesson

Do task

Anticipate student responses

Plan data collection and lesson

3. DO RESEARCH LESSON

Conduct research lesson

Collect data

4. REFLECT

Share data

What was learned about students learning, lesson

design, this content?

What are implications for this lesson and instruction more

broadly?

? InstructionalImprovement

VisibleFeatures of Lesson Study•Consider Goals

•Study Curriculum and Standards

•Plan and Conduct Research Lesson

•Collect Data

•Debrief Lesson

•Use Debrief to Inform Instruction

How does lesson study improve instruction?

Visible Features of

Lesson Study

Plan Teach Observe Discuss Etc.

Key Pathway

Lesson Plans Improve

Instructional Improvement

A Common Early Conception of Lesson Study

VisibleFeatures of Lesson

Study•Consider Goals

•Study Curriculum and Standards

•Plan and Conduct Research Lesson

•Collect Data

•Debrief Lesson

•Use Debrief to Inform Instruction

•What Else?

How Does Lesson Study Improve Instruction?Cause Changes In:

•Teachers-Knowledge of subject matter and its teaching

-General knowledge of instruction

-Ability to observe students

-Connection of daily instruction to long-term goals

-Motivation/willingness to improve

-Capacity to learn together, collegial networks

•Curriculum-Better lessons-Choice of better curricula•System-Changes in policy-Changes in learning structures

Result in Changes in Teaching-LearningSpecific Examples:

Teaching-Offer high-level task

Learning-Student journals reveal thinking re: proportional reasoning

Can patterns help us find an easy way to answer the question: How many seats fit around a row of triangle tables?

Lesson Study Lesson Study

What Happens Over Lesson Study Cycles?

Builds:

- Knowledge

- Motivation to Improve

Collective Work

Lesson Study

1. STUDY

Consider long term goals for student learning and

development

Study curriculum and standards 2. PLAN

Select or revise research lesson

Do task

Anticipate student responses

Plan data collection and lesson

3. DO RESEARCH LESSON

Conduct research lesson

Collect data

4. REFLECT

Share data

What was learned about students learning, lesson

design, this content?

What are implications for this lesson and instruction more

broadly?

Measures Related to Instruction

• Specific to topic:

Yoshida: counting by ones vs. chunking

R. Perry: ideas about proportional reasoning

• General to subject area:

MK Stein: Mathematical task level

• General to teaching-learning:

Student discourse

Low-Stakes, High-Yield Assessment

Measures that reveal student thinking in ways that help you build learning

“Use of assessments in an ongoing and repeated manner to monitor the qualities of teaching and learning, where the goal is solely formative and no high stakes are connected to the effort. My claim is that the two go together; the higher the stakes attached to the assessment, the less likely it is to yield useful diagnostic or formative information to the guide the practice. Most of the energy of educational assessment specialists has gone into "high stakes, low yield" assessments, given at the end of the year or program, designed for a single administration, and with results far too late to guide program modification or student work.”Lee Shulman, Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching

(NCTM, 2002)

Ideas From Planning

• Unit rate (value of a ratio) relates equivalent fractions;

• Relates to measurement; • Uses division; • Units (e.g., of 1) can be

grouped to form larger units (e.g., of 5)

• Teachers don’t typically think in units, but in “simplest form”

(Lo, Watanabe, & Cai, 2004)

Ideas From Planning• These methods differ from the standard

cross-multiply and divide algorithm

(McDougall Littell, 2004)

video

Ideas from Post-Lesson Activities

• Double number line can summarize methods

Evaluation of Proportional Reasoning

• How many of the research-identified important ideas about proportional reasoning came up in teachers’ planning?

• How many came up during the lesson?

Mathematical Task Level1. Non-Mathematical

2. Memorization

3. Procedures Without Connections

4. Procedures With Connections

5. Doing Mathematics

Stein, M.K., Smith, M.S., Henningsen, M., & Silver, E.A. (2000). Implementing standards-based mathematics instruction: A casebook for professional development. New York: Teachers College Press.

Smith, M.S., & Stein, M.K. (1998). Selecting and creating mathematical tasks: From research to practice. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 3(5), 344-3

Levels of Math-Talk CommunityShift Over 0-3: Classroom community grows to support-student reasoning & contribution-focus on mathematical thinking, not only answers

Shifts in 4 dimensions:-Questioning-Explaining Mathematical Thinking-Source of Mathematical Ideas-Responsibility for Learning

Hufferd-Ackles, Fuson, Sherin JRME Mar 2004 35: 2, 81-116

Motivation to Continue to Improve Instruction

• Do teachers find their work useful?

• Are they motivated to continue it? Why or why not?

• Do teachers feel commitment and connection to group members? Do they feel responsibility to help others improve?

Changes in Norms, Identity, Learning Structures

Changes in:

• Beliefs about children & teaching

• Identity: see self as researcher, as learner e.g., “kindergarten teachers should know algebra”)

• Schedules & structures (e.g.,meetings)

Example: Capacity to Learn

Ex from www.stanford.edu/group/CRC

The teachers in this school

• Feel responsible to help each other do their best

• Share ideas and teaching practices

Example: Beliefs about Students

Ex from www.stanford.edu/group/CRC

• By trying different teaching methods I can significantly affect my students’ achievement level

• My expectations for my students’ learning have been increasing

Planning Phase

Lesson StudyLesson Study

Is the group building

• Knowledge?-Drawing on excellent resources

-Solving, discussing mathematical tasks, predicting student thinking

-Connecting prior & new ideas, exploring conflicts

• Motivation to Keep Improving Practice?-Ownership of work, connection to own questions & student needs

-Commitment, connection to colleagues

Research Lesson & Debrief

Planning Phase

Lesson StudyLesson Study

Is group building

Knowledge?• Observational Skills• Research Stance• Grasp of Student Thinking

Motivation to Keep Improving Practice?• Perceived Usefulness of Learning from Colleagues, Students, Outside Resources

•Sense of Commitment, Connection

Post-LessonActivities

Research Lesson

Planning Phase

Lesson StudyLesson Study

Is the group building

• Knowledge?-Continued Application to Practice

-Continued Information-Seeking

- New Questions

• Motivation to Keep Improving Practice?- Perceived Usefulness of What Was Learned- Valuing/Feeling Valued by Colleagues

Protocol for Sharing Plans• Listen SILENTLY to evaluation presentation

(5 minutes)

• Write SILENTLY (5 minutes)

- Most important things that will be learned from this evaluation

- What might be added/changed