Teacher mindset change in boundary-crossing lesson study:a case from China

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide an alternative approach to teacher learning on top of the usual practices of listening to experts' lectures and conducting school-based activities among peers in China. A boundary-crossing lesson study (BCLS) through school-university partnership served as an example to illustrate how a class teacher's mindset changed towards her students in equal interactions with university scholars.Design/methodology/approachWith the lenses of action science theory and boundary-crossing learning theory, the study used qualitative research approach to collect and analyze data. One Chinese primary school class teacher from a workshop on narrative action research was selected as the case for this study. Interviewing, observation and document analysis were used to collect data. Data analysis methods included categorization and contextualization of the teacher's mindset change towards her student.FindingsThe case teacher, Mrs. Li, collaborated closely in paired teaching with her university partner AP Yu in all the four phases of their BCLS. Each phase was marked with an interactive event such as dialogic illumination, reflexive theorization, embodied conversation, and fusion of teacher and trainer roles. With inspirational trust as a major interactive mechanism, Mrs. Li jumped out of her single-loop learning (changing strategies according to results) to double-loop learning (changing both strategies and values/values). As a result, her mindset changed from attribution to appreciation towards her low-achieving student.Originality/valueThis study made contributions in two ways. First, it examined a class teacher's mindset change towards her student, rather than that of subject matter teachers towards their teaching materials and methods. Second, it revealed how reflective interactions in a special kind of BCLS by school teachers and university scholars may promote the teacher's mindset change. The findings further confirm that having differences as boundaries is not enough for teacher learning. For deep learning like Mrs. Li's mindset change, it requires a respectful and inspirational relationship between school teachers and university scholars in the BCLS.

How to form shared objects to enhance university–school collaboration? A cultural–historical activity theory perspective

“…From the perspective of academic logic, teachers' professional development ultimately depends on their autonomy and creativity. However, from the perspective of practical logic, when teachers (especially in China) learn to do something new, they require certain referential experience to carry out reasonable innovations according to their situation (Chen, 2020 ).…”

How does lesson study promote district education reform? – A case study of a district in Shanghai

“…It can be “a complete lesson, a relatively complete segment of a lesson, or some details involved in the lesson” (Wang and Gao, 2012). As the main initiator of LS in schools, teachers work collaboratively to solve instructional problems and improve instructional practice, through which communities of practice are developed as the organizational basis of LS (Chen and Zhang, 2019; Chen, 2020).…”

“…Some found LS plays an important role in school curriculum reform by transforming curriculum standards to classroom implementation and developing school curriculum reform pathways (Fang, 2017). Existing studies have also uncovered practical models that apply LS to classroom and school curriculum reform (Chen, 2020; Fang, 2017; Stigler and Hiebert, 1999; Wang and Gu, 2007). Others proposed that LS should move beyond school-based research to promoting district reforms (An, 2018; Huang et al , 2019).…”

Learning by Researching: Achievements and Actions of Teacher Learning in a School–University Collaborative Project

“…In the Chinese context, establishing research-based teachers is a policy-oriented discourse in schooling that has profoundly influenced teachers' perceptions of their teaching (The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, 2018; Wei, 2020). Teacher research is regarded as a boundary-crossing activity between schools and universities (Chen, 2020) and requires a learning community constructed by schools/districts for sustainable communication (Gu & Wang, 2006). Our previous research in Chinese primary schools shows that teachers learning to conduct school-based research need certain interventions from knowledgeable others (Wei, 2019).…”