www.le.ac.uk

Lesson Study - a collaborative approach to developing and

researching pedagogy

Lesson Study Research GroupSchool of Education

University of Leicester

Session Outline

• Aims/Contexts for the research• Lesson Study as a process• Some initial insights• Where next?

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)

‘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)

Context of study

• MA International Education

• 26/24 students in the group

• with only one student being a native English speaker, with other students from South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe

• Three academic members of staff who teach on the course decided to use lesson study as a tool for understanding and extending student learning

Working with international students

• culture shock - the emotional response which is a result of feeling a lack of understanding and confidence in an unfamiliar environment,

• homesickness - unhappiness in an environment which is obviously unlike that of home, and which may lead to falling quality of work and a lower level of concentration in studies,

• language difficulties - within a UK context students may be enrolling on a course where English is almost certainly their second, and possibly the third or fourth language. Language difficulties can vary enormously and may include spoken communication as well as written work,

• academic problems - some international students will have studied in teaching and learning cultures which may be very different to those of the host country leading to a potential dissonance between experience and expectations within the new context.

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

Activity

Planning Activity

Research lessons

Student

stimulated-recall interviews

Evaluation

Meeting

Individual

Interviews

Focus Group

sMethods

Audio record Save outputs Plans Resources

Video Observation

notes Student work PowerPoints

Audio record Amendments New plan (if

applicable)

Data collection techniques

Two main projects to date:

1. Developing understanding of international student learning

2. Understanding the role of study skills in the MA International Education

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)

Exploration of student perspectives on their learning experiences

J: What do you, as he’s talking, what, what are you actually thinking about? How do you think you’re learning while he sort of explains things?

M: Oh, for the knowledge, may be, mmm, some knowledge I have already read it before from the books-all the articles and, and I note, ‘oh, that’s right. This is, I have the knowledge’ but sometimes, the knowledge I haven’t heard before. So, I may need to look the notes, look at…’ (Lecturer J and student M, individual interview after research session 1)

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) – session supporting first assignment writing, focused on analysing papers (empirical and position papers)– Wasyl

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

academic Poster presentations - Sue

• MAIE Study Skills (March) - Dissertation Development- creating a coherent plan –Phil

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

Affective foundations• Values• Attitudes• Philosophies

Personal growth• Professional skills• Understanding through pedagogic content knowledge

• Experience & reflection

Collaborative growth• Professional development • Collaborative development & learning

Organisational contexts• University & disciplinary cultures• Understanding/undertaking

research

Societal contexts• Policy• Socio-economic and cultural change

What is research?

Introduction to critical reading

What is research?Epistemologies & worldviews

Methodologies & ethics

Introduction to critical writing

Research design and tools

Analysis tools

Networked thinking & reporting research

Dissertation

1 day

1 day

1 day

2 days

1 day

3 days

2 days

1 day

1 day

Critical reading and epistemology

Theory and research

Introduction to research design

Methodologies & ethics

Analysis

Face to faceOnline

8th Oct

15th Oct

5th Nov

18th/19th Nov

3rd Dec

13th-15th Jan

19th/20th Feb

13th March

8th Dec – Presentations (paired posters)

20th March

Baseline• Student questionnaire

on prior learning• Student interviews

• student questionnaire• Stimulated recall int4erviews• Documents• Participatory dev. Focus grp

• student questionnaire• Stimulated recall int4erviews• Documents• Participatory dev. Focus grp

• student questionnaire• Stimulated recall int4erviews• Documents• Participatory dev. Focus grp

LS 1

LS 3

LS 2

LS 4

Summative• Student questionnaire

on course• Student interviews

Links

http://leicls.weebly.com

http://SCITTLs.weebly.com

http://hereflections.wordpress.com

@geogphil

pbw2@le.ac.uk