Exploring and developing graduate teaching assistants' pedagogies via lesson study

Dotger, Sharon

doi:10.1080/13562517.2010.507304

Cited by 48 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This sharpening of focus afforded by lesson study processes helps teachers to develop greater awareness about students and their needs (Dudley 2013;Lee 2008;Perry and Lewis 2009;Rock and Wilson 2005;Ylonen and Norwich 2012). For instance, it has been reported that teachers become more attentive to students' prior knowledge (Dotger 2011) and more analytic in making connections between a set of learning objectives and what their students already know (Lawrence and Chong 2010). Such research suggests that participation in lesson study helps teachers to develop more contextualised insights into their students' learning and deepens their collective learning about students.…”

Section: Sharper Focus Among Teachers On Student Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher perspectives about lesson study in secondary school departments: a collaborative vehicle for professional learning and practice development

Cajkler

Wood

Norton

et al. 2014

Research Papers in Education

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Abstract:Two departments in a secondary school in England participated in 'lesson study' projects over a five-month period to explore its usefulness as a vehicle for professional development. Through a cycle of two research lessons, conducted separately in each department, teachers identified challenges that inhibited the learning of their students and collaboratively prepared innovative approaches to address the learning challenges. The process yielded multiple sets of data: DVD-recorded lessons, lesson plans and resources, transcripts of preparation and evaluation meetings and individual interviews at the end of the project. This paper draws principally on detailed qualitative analysis of end-of-project interviews about teacher experiences of learning and practice development in the two contexts. While the teachers encountered some logistical challenges to the implementation of lesson study, a number of important gains were reported: collaboration in lesson study reduced feelings of professional isolation; teachers reported a sharper focus on pupil learning and more confidence to take risks with approaches to teaching, which led to greater opportunities for pupils to engage in interactive activities, for example involving problem-solving and peer teaching in groups.Keywords: secondary school, lesson study, collaboration, observation of learning, teacher development IntroductionThe purpose of lesson study is improvement in the quality of teaching through a 'reflexive, recursive and collaborative' process (Dudley 2011, 5). Translated from the term 'kenkyu jugyou' meaning lesson study, the process originates from Japan where it has been widely used since the 1950s (Abiko 2011). A lesson study cycle involves small groups of teachers collaboratively planning a 'research lesson' that is taught by one member of the group while the others observe one or two 'case' pupils (Dudley 2011). The lesson is then evaluated in light of the reflections of the teacher and the insights of those who observed their respective case pupils. Subsequently, the lesson may be revised for further teaching with other classes (Hiebert and Stigler 2000). What distinguishes this from other forms of professional development is the planning of jointly conceived research lessons to address particular problems with learning, rather than focusing on the performance of an individual teacher.The process requires an investment of time and patience: 'Lesson study is a process of improvement that is expected to produce small, incremental improvements in teaching over long periods of time ' (Stigler and Hiebert 1999, 121). Consequently, it may not be attractive 2 in school systems that are hungry for quick-fix impacts, for example on examination results. Despite this, its use is growing and ever larger numbers of research investigations have explored its effectiveness in different contexts (Lewis, Perry and Murata 2006;Fernandez 2002;Fernandez, Cannon and Chokshi 2003;Lawrence and Chong 2010;Dudley , 2013). According to Lewis (2004, 19), teachers in Japa...

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Section: Sharper Focus Among Teachers On Student Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher perspectives about lesson study in secondary school departments: a collaborative vehicle for professional learning and practice development

Cajkler

Wood

Norton

et al. 2014

Research Papers in Education

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“…The literature demonstrating the use of Lesson Study within higher education contexts is currently very small; in a recent literature search carried out for this project, only nine academic papers and one book considering Lesson Study within an HE context could be found. The use of Lesson Study within a university/college context is particularly popular within the USA (for example Demir et al, 2012;Dotger, 2011;Alvine et al, 2007), although studies from other countries have also been completed including Denmark (Christiansen et al, 2007), and Australia (Djajadikerta, 2009;. In the majority of cases these studies focus on the development of Lesson Study as a technique for furthering pedagogic understanding of faculty members through professional development, particularly by stressing the collaborative nature of the process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A participatory approach to Lesson Study in higher education

Wood

Cajkler

2016

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies

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Purpose – This Higher Education Academy funded study explored learning challenges faced by international students early in their post-graduate courses through the use of Participatory Lesson Study (PLS). The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Two approaches to PLS were explored. Students were interviewed after “research lesson seminars” about their learning experiences; before two seminars, groups of students participated in planning meetings to inform preparation of seminar content and activities. Findings – Results suggest that PLS encourages a deep consideration of pedagogy by lecturers. Observation of student learning and post-seminar interviews highlighted the complex nature of the learning that unfolds during seminars. In some cases, student explanation of learning was dissonant with observations. Research limitations/implications – This was a small-scale project which cannot offer generalised implications for practice. However, it should act as a starting point to develop PLS on a larger scale and in other pedagogic contexts. Practical implications – This project led to reassessment of lecturers’ pedagogic assumptions and to development of new approaches. Thematic analysis of pre- and post-seminar student responses highlighted several important issues: variation in approaches to participation in seminars, variable use of technologies to support learning, importance of differentiation for learning and task-types preferred by learners. Originality/value – Results suggest that PLS facilitates the study of learning in higher education and the development of pedagogy, informed by and responsive to the needs of international students. As such, it has the potential to support any tutors working in higher education, whilst having wider, general utility to other groups approaching the development of pedagogy through Lesson Study.

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“…These results were not unexpected, since the literature provides examples showing that lesson study improves the content of lessons and develops teaching skills (Alvine, Judson, Schein and Yoshida, 2007). According to Dotger (2011), among the benefits of the LS approach, the greatest was the regular forum LS provided for teacher candidates to explore their ideas about teaching by defining a context for practice and constructing a structure for new discourse. Lesson study also increases teachers' experience levels by allowing them to learn from the experience of others, which, in turn, improves the content of the lessons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Effects of lesson study on science teacher candidates teaching efficacies

Pektaş¹

2014

Educ. Res. Rev.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the lesson study process on science teacher candidates' teaching in terms of lesson plan content, pedagogy and classroom management based on expert, peer and self-evaluations. The participants of this case study consisted of 16 teacher candidates in elementary science education in their fourth year of school. Participants conducted a three-phase lesson presentation, and each phase was observed and commented on by experts, peers and the lecturers. All evaluations indicated positive changes in terms of lesson planning and design, creating a positive learning environment, engaging students with meaningful content, and assessing student learning.

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Exploring and developing graduate teaching assistants' pedagogies via lesson study

Cited by 48 publications

References 18 publications

Teacher perspectives about lesson study in secondary school departments: a collaborative vehicle for professional learning and practice development

Teacher perspectives about lesson study in secondary school departments: a collaborative vehicle for professional learning and practice development

A participatory approach to Lesson Study in higher education

Effects of lesson study on science teacher candidates teaching efficacies

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