Promoting English Teachers’ Professional Development (Tpd) Through the Practice of Lesson Study

Abstract

This paper sheds some lights on the practice of lesson study conducted in higher education level in relations to teacher professional development. This study employed an explorative research design which involved a team of three English teachers of STKIP Siliwangi and one class of English Department. The team was involved in jointly designing, teaching, researching, refining a research lesson. The research was conducted in three cycles, in which each cycle was evaluated. The data were collected through two instruments: classroom observation and teachers' reflective notes. The result revealed that the practice of lesson study can create multiple pathways for teaching improvement, especially in terms of collaborative activities done by teachers involved in the lesson study team. The result also revealed that the practice of lesson study the practice of lesson study can improve not only students' academic skills, but also students' social skills.

Lesson Study

“…Much research discusses the impact of weekly, monthly, and yearly professional development for teachers (Apsari et al, 2017;Ciarocco et al, 2016;Ibrahim & Süleyman Yildiz, 2017;Van Schalkwyk, Leibowitz, Herman, & Farmer, 2015). Professional development is defined as education or training with the goal of improving competency, skill, and effectiveness in a profession.…”

“…It is closely linked to student academic and behavior outcomes. A large component of professional development research has demonstrated the link between teacher professional development and improved student outcomes (Apsari et al, 2017;Groves et al, 2016;Hill, Bicer, & Caparo, 2017). Studies have shown that when professional development hours increase, student outcomes, measured by test scores, also increase (Hill et al, 2017).…”

“…Research has covered the effects of professional development on teachers, including improved teaching skills, teaching strategies, organization methods, data collection and evaluation, behavior management, and expanding content knowledge (Ibrahim & Süleyman Yildiz, 2017;Apsari et al, 2017;Ciarocco et al, 2016;Van Schalkwyk et al, 2015). Broadly, it is a means of improving teacher performance (Apsari et al, 2017;Ciarocco et al, 2016;Ibrahim & Süleyman Yildiz, 2017;Timperley, 2011). Timperley (2011) discusses the shift in education into using professional development so that teachers become learners.…”

“…In its structure, Lesson Study is a form of "teacher led" professional development. Much research has been done on the effectiveness of Lesson Study for a teacher's development (Apsari et al, 2017). Apsari et al, (2017) state "Lesson Study is one of the strategies in improving the quality of teacher profession since it can improve the quality of teaching practice" (p. 303).…”

“…Much research has been done on the effectiveness of Lesson Study for a teacher's development (Apsari et al, 2017). Apsari et al, (2017) state "Lesson Study is one of the strategies in improving the quality of teacher profession since it can improve the quality of teaching practice" (p. 303). Lesson study has recently been proven as an effective way to improve teacher professional development, precisely because it is "teacher led."…”