www.le.ac.uk

Lesson Study - a collaborative approach to developing and researching pedagogy

Lesson Study Research GroupSchool of Education

University of Leicester

Outline

• The Lesson Study process

• Initial insights gained

• Wider lessons

‘We close the classroom door and experience pedagogical solitude… I now believe that the reason teaching is not more valued in the Academy is because the way we treat teaching removes it from the community of scholars.’

Shulman (2004, 140-141)

Background to Lesson Study

•Japanese Lesson Study (‘jugyou kenkyuu’ )

•collaborative research-oriented learning activity (plan-teach-

observe-evaluate)

•deeper understanding of students’ learning leads to

continuously refined pedagogy

• collaborative,

• case-student specific,

• classroom-based,

• lesson specific,

• qualitative,

• Learning and pedagogy-focused.

• FLEXIBLE - Variation in application might occur due to

purposes and contexts

Some core characteristics of Lesson Study

Lesson Study Cycle

1. Lecturers meet to decide

on learning challenge

2. Lecturer planning meetings

3. First research seminar is taught –

observation of 2-3 students

4. Individual student

stimulated recall interviews

5. Evaluation meeting leading to consideration of new foci for

learning challenge

Act

ivit

y

Planning Activity Research lessons

Stu

de

nt

stim

ula

ted

-re

call

inte

rvie

ws

Evaluation

Meeting

Ind

ivid

ual

In

terv

iew

s

Focu

s G

rou

ps

Met

ho

ds

Audio record

Save outputs

Plans

Resources

Video

Observation

notes

Student work

PowerPoints

Audio record

Amendments

New plan (if

applicable)

Our general data collection framework

Two main projects to date:

1. Developing understanding of international student

learning

2. Understanding the role of study skills in the MA

International Education

Aims of the Research

1. evaluate the quality of students’ learning opportunities in ‘research lesson seminars’

2. explore student perspectives on their learning experiences

3. develop a greater understanding of cross-departmental working (with ELTU)

Research session foci

Session 1 - Learning theoriesSession 2 - Effective teaching

Session 3 - Study skillsSession 4 - Globalisation of education

Session 5 - Curriculum studiesSession 6 - Neuroscience and learning

Cycle 1

Cycle 2

Cycle 3

the quality of students’ learning opportunities in ‘research lesson seminars’

• J: Was the group discussion useful?

• C: Using the fact file was good to look and spot the differences which was good when we were in groups.

• R: It was a problem for me and I didn’t finish all the papers and I only read the first and half of the second page. A little difficult for me (discussion between lecturer J and students C and R in focus group reflection meeting after research session 4)

J: And were you using that [iphone] during the session?

E: I do use it. Yeah. Like often I have the slides on my iPhone.

J: And is that to view or can you actually make notes on your iPhone?

E: No. Just to view it. Like just before class, like going back, but before the class of open most of the things. But now I’m using to like now Q comes and he gives us the papers, but before class I didn’t have it and I didn’t print it. So I just had on my iPhone, but I read it and like this stuff we just read, I just read as well in the unit and I’ve read Shepard. Then I just sort of moved on. (Lecturer J and student E, individual interview after research session 2)

Some initial conclusions

• LS only partially breaks down ‘pedagogic solitude’• Particular utility with international students• Issues of literacy and technology• Role of learning ecologies• How can we see learning?

• MAIE Study Skills (November 2013) – session supporting first

assignment writing, focused on analysing papers (empirical and

position papers)

• ELTU (December 2013) - In-sessional support class for MAIE

students – academic Poster presentations

• MAIE Study Skills (March 2014) - Dissertation Development- creating

a coherent plan

Research with ELTU - Outline of the sessions we

focused on

Study skills project - Initial Implications

• Importance of working with ELTU in designing student support

• Integration of study skills into research methods

• ‘Study skills’ – composed of critical reading, writing, speaking, listening

and the development of an academic/research community

• Developing the language of research methods, so should it be ‘research

literacy’ rather than ‘study skills’?

• Need for a greater level of team working. Need to tackle pedagogic

solitude – need for a cultural change

• Utility of lesson study as a way of gaining new perspectives and insights

Wider lessons

• Seminar rooms and student learning as a complex

adaptive system

‘In building representations of open systems, we are forced

to leave things out, and since the effects of these omissions

are nonlinear, we cannot predict their magnitude.’

Cilliers (1998: 13)

• ‘Methodology of glimpses’

• Pedagogic literacy (Wasyl Cajkler)

Methodology of Glimpses

Pastiche of

Pedagogic Literacy

Links

http://hereflections.wordpress.com

http://leicls.weebly.com

http://SCITTLs.weebly.com

pbw2@le.ac.uk

@geogphil

wc4@le.ac.uk