Wednesday 2 Dec 2020

4:30 pm - 4:30 pm Opening on Lead Day

No workshops in this session.

5:00 pm - 6:15 pm Zone 2 Session 1

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm Symposia (Recorded)

Parallel A

Harnessing the power of dialogic learning to support sustained student and professional learning in classrooms, schools and systems

Dr Peter DudleyUnited Kingdom

Abstract

This symposium draws upon the presenters’ recent studies, a legacy of past development and research and their current organisational leadership and practice to illustrate the powerful interrelationship between lesson study, dialogic learning and improved outcomes for students and professionals at classroom, school and system levels.

Wed 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

Parallel B

Teaching and learning addition and subtraction bridging through ten in grade 1

Angelika KullbergSweden

Abstract

This symposium focuses on teaching and learning of addition and subtraction bridging through ten in grade 1 in a two semester long learning study. A team of researchers worked in collaboration with eight primary teachers in order to identify what pupils need to discern in order to be able to add and subtract items, like 8+5 and 15-7, and how to teach the topic so it enhanced pupils’ learning. Video recorded interviews with 131 pupils were conducted before and after the intervention in order to gain insights on pupils’ learning (also in a comparison group). The knowledge gained from the interviews and previous research formed the basis for the design of teaching activities that were enacted in four classes. The lessons were video recorded, analyzed, revised and enacted again using variation theory as a theoretical tool. In this symposium teachers and researchers share results and insights from the project.

Wed 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

5:45 pm - 6:15 pm Live Q and A

(All symposia speakers)

6:15 pm - 6:30 pm Break

No workshops in this session.

6:30 pm - 6:30 pm Zone 2 Session 2

WALS Talks and Posters (Recorded)

‘Let’s talk about it’: Examining how teachers learn through reflective group discussions in the Lesson Study process

Klara KagerGermany

Abstract

This work-in-progress investigates how teachers reach new insights in the context of Lesson Study’s (LS) post-lesson discussion. Evidence suggests that LS increases several types of teacher knowledge, as well as teachers’ awareness of student learning. Yet, the precise impact LS has on teachers’ practices and how teachers develop new knowledge through the LS process remains largely undetermined. Four post-lesson discussions at primary schools in Germany were audio-recorded and analysed with the use of a coding tool based on Korthagen’s (2010) model of reflection and Bae et al.’s (2016) coding tool for examining the substance of teacher learning. The aim is to make visible (1) what insights teachers reach, (2) at what depth teachers communicate, and (3) how these insights develop throughout the conversation. We expect this study to help us better understand how teachers learn and thus, how we can maximise the opportunity of learning in the context of LS.

Wed 6:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Drawing as a tool to assess the efficacy of Lesson Study

Pia-Ingrid HOZNOURSwitzerland

Abstract

Measuring the efficiency of a Lesson Study cycle is never easy. Usually it is done via questionnaires or interviews. We’ve been developing a tool that allows us to measure the change in teachers and pre-service teachers who take part in a lesson study cycle in another way. The tool is based on drawing, a self-assessment table of teaching style, a teaching scenario multiple choice and a questionnaire (open questions). The whole set is administered at the very beginning of the cycle and after the last debriefing. The focus of this presentation will be on the drawing and how it allows to show the participants’ progress throughout the cycle, via what rubric items we chose to put forward to assess each drawing. Our results show that this tool is reliable and gives valid feedback on what the lesson study could change in the participants’ view of teaching.

Wed 6:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Evolution Of Teaching Dispositions Among A Lesson Study Team In Free Learning Contexts. Spanish Case Study In Initial Training

Noemi Peña TraperoSpain

Abstract

This paper presents the results of R&D carried out in Spain. It will focus on qualitative analysis carried out on teaching dispositions by observing and recording participants' espoused theories (present during dialogue and group exchange) and theories-in-use (present during action with the children) in each Lesson Study phase. The results show how the dynamic of reflective habits, commitment, cooperation and self-criticism, as facilitated by the Lesson Study experience, have helped the group's teaching dispositions to evolve: from the need to control and obtain tangible learning from pupils, through to a desire to listen to children and adjust the educational action in line with their actual interests.

Wed 6:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Lesson Study At The University: Strengths And Weaknesses Of An Interdisciplinary Academic Experience For Initial Training. A Case Study

Noemi TraperoSpain

Abstract

Modern society demands thoughtful, committed professionals, capable of working in an ever-changing, unpredictable environment. It was with this premise in mind that a coordinated, interdisciplinary, tutored Lesson Study experience was developed with students from year one of the Infant Education Degree at University of Málaga, which was subsequently studied and qualitatively analysed in the context of an R&D project . The main results show the strengths and weaknesses of this methodology in the university context. Its potentialities include, most notably, the authenticity of the proposal, cooperative work, and mutual learning among university teachers. The most significant constraints were contextual (student-teacher ratios, lack of space, availability of time), cultural (difficulty stepping out of one's comfort zone) and pedagogical (lack of balance between content and principles, along with beliefs that limit and condition the methodology used).

Wed 6:30 pm - 6:30 pm

7:10 pm - 7:25 pm Zone 2 Session 2 Live Q and A

Live Q and A from Zone 2 session 2
#129 #175 #174 #139

7:25 pm - 7:55 pm Zone 2 Session 3 Parallel sessions

Parallel A Sharecases (Recorded)

Examining a lesson study from a zones of enactment theory perspective

James CallejaMalta

Abstract

Lesson study generally engages the collaborative work of a group of teachers. However, in our presentation we focus on lesson study as enacted by one primary school teacher who was the only Art teacher at her school. In her Art lesson study, the teacher worked closely with a lesson study facilitator and an Art education expert to plan and teach her research lesson. In examining the teacher’s lesson study, we use the zones of enactment theory (Spillane, 1999) to explore the interplay between the teacher’s personal resources (prior knowledge, beliefs and practices), and the influences of external factors (pupils, policy, public, private and professional sectors). Our findings indicate that the lesson study process promoted social enactment zones. Social enactment zones enhance ongoing negotiation, feedback and support from external factors which, in turn, helped the teacher transformation to become better informed about the changes that she made to her professional practices.

Wed 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

Improving Lesson Study Practice and Sustainability through Self-Study

James CallejaMalta

Abstract

Lesson study in Malta, which is still in its initial stages, is promoted and supported through the ‘Collaborative Lesson Study Malta’ (CLeStuM) programme. CleStuM aims to help schools do lesson study, organize lesson study events and conduct lesson study research. The presenters, who run the CleStuM programme at the University of Malta, adopt a self-study approach to look back and reflect critically on the introduction of different lesson study practices in Malta. The data include online professional conversations among the presenters, reflective writings produced by the individual presenters, and the documentation of six lesson study experiences that is available on the CleStuM website (see www.clestum.eu). This data is analyzed thematically to shed light on how things have worked out so far. The identification of the ‘achievements’ and ‘challenges’ helps to plan ahead towards improved lesson study practice within a forward-looking framework that promotes sustainability and growth.

Wed 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

Utilising lesson study to support teachers sustained teacher professional development and learning for the inclusion of SEN learners in mainstream

Dennis MulliganIreland

Abstract

The inclusion of Special Educational Needs (SEN) learners is accepted mainly as customary practice in the Republic of Ireland. Yet, it appears that there is a gap between the knowledge and theory of SEN and the actual practice in primary mathematics. Facilitators of teacher professional development (PD) play a pivotal role in supporting schools in the inclusion of SEN learners in the mainstream setting. This presentation will explore the methodology used to investigate teachers’ perceptions, understandings and actions relating to inclusive practice with regards to SEN in mainstream primary mathematics using Lesson Study as a form of sustained teacher PD and learning. This study took place during an academic year that was interrupted with the Covid-19 lockdown, and so there were additional unplanned and unforeseen methodological challenges as a result. This double case study follows two primary schools as they develop a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and engage in the Lesson Study process to support their PD regarding the inclusion of SEN learners in primary mathematics. Underpinned by the Teaching for Robust Understanding (TRU) framework in mathematics (Schoenfeld, 2018) and Dudley’s (2013) case study pupils, the Lesson Study cycle is framed by experiencing mathematics through the eyes of the child, and in this case the SEN learner. A range of qualitative research methods was used to gather data including semi-structured interviews (pre and post) with teacher participants, focus groups, researcher and teacher reflections and lesson observation schedules.

Wed 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

Parallel B

Meet Up (Recorded Intro) + Live discussion

Competence development of teachers by using lesson studies and learning studies

Elisabeth StipsitsGermany

Abstract

Teachers, who participate in lesson or learning studies, invest considerable time and knowledge over a period of time (mostly for a whole school year). There they work together as professional learning communities in order to develop teaching and instruction cooperatively. This is a form of informal learning which is documented by the participants with the help of a guideline, but the skills development is not obvious. So the presenters developed a catalogue of competences focusing different aspects of professional development, which addresses different interdisciplinary competences. It will be used at the beginning and at the end of lesson or learning study cycles in order to make the participants aware of their competence development. In the meeting this catalogue will be discussed in order to find out, if the catalogue focuses the right aspects or if it should be supplemented, so that it can also be used for research.

Wed 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

Parallel C

Meet Up (Recorded Intro) + Live discussion

Collecting, discussing, and analysing student observations in Lesson Study: Does it matter how we do it?

Anne JurczokGermany

Abstract

There is a consensus that LS is an evidence-based approach to teaching improvement and that systematic observation and data-driven discussion are integral to its effectiveness (Cerbin & Kopp, 2006; Fernandez, Cannon & Chokshi, 2003; Lewis, Perry, Hurd & O’Connell, 2006; Perry & Lewis, 2009). Yet, there are no standardized methods for data collection and analysis in the context of LS (Cerbin & Kopp, 2006). Several methods and protocols aiming to scaffold the observation and post-lesson discussion have been published. Given that LS is often adapted to vastly different school systems and diverging norms, we can expect an additional large number of analytical instruments, tools, protocols, and discussion frameworks within the Lesson Study community, that often remain underdescribed in publications. The question arises: does the method of data collection and analysis matter for the effectiveness of LS?

Wed 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

8:00 pm - 8:00 pm Zone 2 Session 4 Q and A from Zone 2 Session 4 and Meet Ups

Parallel A

Live Q and A from Zone 2 session 3 Parallel A

Parallel B

Meet Up (Recorded intro) + live discussion

Success factors in implementing Lesson Study in non-math/science higher education disciplines

Mary Lynn RentonUnited Kingdom

Abstract

I am engaged in a research project which has explored the impact of using Lesson Study (LS) to develop and deliver glocalised (global+local) higher education (HE) marketing lessons at a Western cross-border college operating in the Middle East. The benefits of implementing Lesson Study (LS) at HE Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Institutions includes providing an opportunity for instructors to engage in reflective teaching practice resulting in improved student learning. Many instructors who find themselves teaching at TVET HE institutions often do not have a background in education and are hired specifically because of their industry experience. Introducing LS as a supported ongoing professional development program in such institutions has the ability to provide support for instructors new to teaching. I am interested in exploring and mitigating the obstacles and challenges in introducing LS in such environments.

Wed 8:00 pm - 8:30 pm

8:30 pm - 8:45 pm Break

No workshops in this session.

8:45 pm - 9:05 pm Zone 2 Session 5

WALS Talk(s) and live Q and A (Recorded)

What kinds of school and system leadership practices successfully promote and sustain Lesson Study within schools and across a network

Alan EathorneUnited Kingdom

Abstract

This talk introduces participants to practical aspects of doctoral research investigating the kinds of school and system leadership practices which successfully promote and sustain Lesson Study within and across a network of ten UK primary schools. The hosts will present the background to the inquiry and explain how it is influencing leadership of Lesson Study at scale in their organisation. It will outline key routines and procedures, providing a rationale underpinned by emerging themes from research data. They share emerging trends in the outcomes for all children and those who in this context are deemed disadvantaged. They explain the role of the RIPPLE (Research-Informed Practice, Professional Learning and use of Evidence) Leader in creating conditions conducive to effective Lesson Study. They share how the group of schools are trialling ‘remote’ methods to ensure Lesson Study continues to be used with the COVID-19 restrictions in place.

(Live 20.55)

Wed 8:45 pm - 9:05 pm

9:05 pm - 9:35 pm Zone 2 Session 6 Parallel sessions A and B

B Single papers (Recorded)

Keep the play alive in child-initiated situations by using theoretical assumptions in the teaching design

Christina Elisabet SvenssonSweden

Wed 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

Leisure-time teachers’ experiences of teaching in relation to inclusion and equality in leisure-time centre

Christina Elisabet SvenssonSweden

Abstract

This study is based on the major gap of research models, theoretical inputs and systematical collaborative work to enhance inclusive education in relation to the curriculum for teaching in leisure-time center [school-age educare] in a Swedish context. The aim of this pilot study is to contribute with new knowledge about leisure-time teachers’ collaborative experiences of teaching in relation to inclusion and equality supporting by a Learning Study approach. Eleven leisure-time teachers, one principal and two researchers lead a pilot study developing knowledge about the importance of theoretical instructed teaching for contribute pupils’ learning abilities in different soft knowledge values. The results indicate: a) that Learning study contribute develop the teaching practice and increased the teachers understanding of pupils’ learning capability, b) highlighted the importance of the revised process of three lessons that provide understanding of what teaching can be and how teaching can be created in a leisure-time context.

Wed 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

Lesson Study and the long-term impact of developing, strengthening and sustaining teacher community

Emily Lewanowski-BreenIreland

Abstract

Lesson study (LS) has been shown to foster the development of teacher communities which, in turn, can serve as a valuable context for school-based professional growth. In this research, we examine the long-term impact of engaging in LS on the development of teacher community in order to investigate the potential sustainability of the communities which emerge. Qualitative data was generated through semi-structured interviews with six mathematics teachers from two secondary schools, who had participated in school-based LS in 2012/13. Utilising a framework for teacher community formation (Grossman et al., 2001), we find that both schools had developed mature teacher communities during their participation in LS and that six years later, in the absence of any other intervention, the communities were sustained in one school and further developed in the other. This research suggests that LS could serve as a model to develop, strengthen and sustain teacher community in the long-term.

Wed 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

The role of lesson study in the implementation of portfolio-based education in higher education (case study)

Vilmos VassHungary

Abstract

The talk focuses on portfolio-based education at Budapest Metropolitan University, where iMyBrand program was implemented in 2018. MyBrand is based on the portfolio-based education closing the gap between higher education and labour market. Portfolio-based education means methods, tools, structures, which can help students construct their rich and relevant portfolios from the aspect of market and lifelong learning using the activities at the universities and outside in order to apply their knowledge, skills and attitudes (competences) in more efficient way. Lesson study plays effective role on these levels, especially organizing the teacher development networks and thematic workshops on renewing teaching and assessment methodologies in order to implement portfolio-based education at Budapest Metropolitan University. Lecture focuses on the main results of impact on lesson study in the implementation process emphasizing some research data (focused group interviews, participated observation, questionnaire) and drawing conclusion (dilemmas, challenges and next steps).

Wed 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

9:30 pm - 9:50 pm Q and A live from Zone 2 Session 6

#84, #116, #118, #114

10:00 pm - 10:00 pm End of day highlights and announcements

No workshops in this session.

Thursday 3 Dec 2020

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Opening on Lead Day

Opening of conference in Zone 2 (Recorded)

Musical introduction
WELCOME Catherine Lewis: Mills College, San Francisco and Pete Dudley, President of WALS

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm Zone 2 Session 1

Keynote Live
Chair Dr P. Dudley

Keynote: Professor Neil Mercer
Talking and learning: students and teachers

6:15 pm - 6:30 pm Break

No workshops in this session.

6:30 pm - 6:45 pm Zone 2 Session 2

Single papers (Recorded)

Dialogue between practice and research enhanced by Lesson study in music education

Sabine ChatelainSwitzerland

Abstract

This contribution focuses of a lesson study about the use of a free online tool for music visualization for pupils from 11 to 18. The tool offers the possibility to create video animations on existing music, incite them to listen repeatedly to unfamiliar music and use technologies in a collaborative activity. The conception of this lesson study had been underpinned by research on interdisciplinary approaches in music education and use of new technologies in a collaborative creative process. Different ways of introducing the tool in different classroom have been tested by teacher-researchers from the fields of music and education. Theoretical framework from dialogue theory, intersemiotic translation and socio-cultural psychology had been used to analyse the data. Variations within the same lesson helped to identify some levers or obstacles to the pupils' learning (Marton, 2015). Findings suggest the important role of the teacher’s action to guide the classroom dialogue.

Thu 6:30 pm - 6:45 pm

Enhancement of Linguistic Output Quality in Foreign Language Classrooms through Peer Observation and a Newly Developed Reference Frame

Marjan AsgariItaly

Abstract

On the basis of a lesson study and interactive strategies of Classroom Interaction Competence (Walsh 2006), we developed an observation scheme for peer observation in kindergartens and a corresponding reference frame. Our Goal is to ensure high-quality linguistic input and thus to particularly promote children from families with poor literacy input. In a pilot project, we found that a numerical rating scale for peer observation (IQOS Weitz 2015) was perceived by educators as imprecise and emotionally charged. Therefore, we developed a frame of reference which, comparable to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, assigns verbal descriptions to numerical categories of the rating scale (0-4) in mostly positive “can-descriptions”. In a lesson study, this frame of reference turned out to be valid and reliable. Observation form and reference frame - both revised with a focus group - can be a helpful tool for collegial observation for improving input quality.

Thu 6:30 pm - 6:45 pm

Let’s get personal: why we need to understand personal-professional learning in Lesson Study?

John MynottUnited Kingdom

Abstract

When we think of effective Lesson Study we tend to focus on immediate outcomes. Yet, longevity of professional learning is key to really effective professional development. Change that endures is change that develops, refines and transforms practice. It is therefore important that we know more about that process, and what the research in this paper shows is that while Lesson Study processes are situated in professional contexts, it is the personal-professional learning that occurs within and from Lesson Study that is most significant overtime. Over half of the long-term learning in personal or personal-professional. Yet, this personal-professional learning is also far more challenging to deal with, within a professional culture, as it is harder to define, articulate and relate to performative outcomes. Ultimately, personal-professional learning in Lesson Study needs to be considered in more depth as overtime it is the personal learning that facilitates the professional development.

Thu 6:30 pm - 6:45 pm

Virtual teaming in a new normal: first experiences with online Lesson Study

Wouter van JoolingenNetherlands

Abstract

In this session we will present our first experience with online Lesson Study in the wake of the lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We started from an analysis of the essentials of Lesson Study, in terms of “Big Ideas”, “Critical Elements” and “Procedures” as well as literature on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. From this analysis design, criteria were derived. In a virtual Lesson Study team, consisting of six members, all with extensive Lesson Study experience, an online lesson was designed, performed and observed. Participants kept record of their reflections and sessions were recorded. From these data, a set of recommendations was derived regarding the functionality of the online environment, the role of the facilitator and the way online lessons can be observed. The discussion in the session will focus on how the essence of Lesson Study can be held up in an online environment, based on this experience.

Thu 6:30 pm - 6:45 pm

7:10 pm - 7:10 pm Zone 2 Session 2 Live Q and A

Live Q and A from Zone 2 session 2
#237 #22 #210 #227

7:25 pm - 7:55 pm Zone 2 Session 3 Parallel sessions

Open Research Lesson

Open research lesson based on a story by Eric Carle

Fiona LackenbauerAustria

Abstract

An open research lesson, available in video-recorded form, was designed collaboratively by a team of two primary school and two secondary school teachers with the goal to investigate the impact of formative feedback on the oral and written communicative competence of young foreign language learners. A lesson study in three cycles brought about variations in the design of the lesson, its teaching and learning materials as well as feedback tools. In the sharecase, the fourth research lesson will be shown and afterwards, the lesson study team will discuss the intended and observed learning of four case study pupils.

Recorded research lesson followed by live reflection

Thu 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

8:10 pm - 8:30 pm Live reflection

No workshops in this session.

8:30 pm - 8:45 pm Break

No workshops in this session.

8:45 pm - 9:00 pm Zone 2 Session 5

WALS Talk (Recorded)

School Memorial Days Rebooted

Agnes KleinHungary

Abstract

Aims: The talk proposes a methodological dialogue between practitioners in order to foster creativity and utilize digital skills in celebrating memorial days giving empirical research background and suggestions with practical lesson designs. Rationale: Basic to the analysis, the most important starting point for the design of a teaching unit is to get to know the learning activities of the students and to consciously approach the teaching on the basis of the knowledge gained. In the context of this study, the authors do not want to draw attention to the activities of the children during class, but rather report on how festivals are celebrated with the children at school. Empirical study: Pupils in two 5th grades were asked to write an essay and these were evaluated by the authors according to objective criteria and presented in tabular form or with the help of diagrams. The children were asked to name and characterize the national holidays they knew and describe their feelings about the holidays. From the answers it can be stated that most of the Hungarian children have little knowledge about the content and background of the holidays and wrote rather negatively about the way of celebrating. Suggestions: On the basis of the results of this study, the authors give recommendations for an experience and child-oriented celebration that also develops the community and brings the teaching material close to the children. Key words digital learning, experience-oriented celebrations, memorial days

(Live Q and A 20.55)

Thu 8:45 pm - 9:00 pm

9:05 pm - 9:35 pm Zone 2 Session 6 Parallel sessions A and B

A Multiple Round Table (Recorded)

Student teacher learning through on-line lesson study in English as a foreign language, mathematics and physical education

Claudia MewaldAustria

Abstract

Since March 2020, teaching and teacher education have changed dramatically. Although digital literacy had been at the forefront of new developments in education to foster 21st century skills, nobody had really anticipated a total lockdown and the need to facilitate remote and autonomous learning. Success in this endeavour seemed to depend on three main aspects: the access to digital resources (hard- and software), the ability to make use of digital learning opportunities, and the efficiency of the collaboration between parents, pupils and teachers, student teachers and lecturers, or all of these in the case of teacher education. This round table presents three modifications of lesson study in a virtual environment making use of various digital technologies and strategies to support student teacher learning in three seminars: formative feedback in English as a foreign language, mathematics, and physical education for primary and secondary school pupils.

Thu 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

B Single papers (Recorded)

Lesson study as a vehicle to foster teacher agency: An emergent theoretical framework

Mairead HoldenUnited Kingdom

Abstract

Despite evidence in support of Lesson Study (LS) as a powerful approach to teacher professional learning (e.g. Cheung & Wong, 2013; Dudley, Xu, Vermunt & Lang, 2019), the mechanisms by which Lesson Study foster teacher agency in particular contexts, including primary school settings, remain under-explored (Lewis, Friedkin, Emerson, Henn & Goldsmith, 2019; Willems & Van den Bossche, 2019). With this in mind, against a backdrop of primary curricular reform in Ireland, this paper presents an emergent theoretical framework for LS and teacher agency. The paper describes how this framework derived from a recent systematic review of existing literature which used an ecological conceptualisation of agency (Priestly, Biesta & Robinson, 2015) as a lens to examine empirical studies across multiple contexts in order to uncover how LS may support teachers to become agentic.

Thu 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

Lesson Study: a revealing mirror of teaching knowledge. The value of subtlety

Isabel M. Fernández GarcíaSpain

Abstract

What role does Lesson Study play in initial teacher training? In what way does it allow future teachers to question their convictions, conscious and unconscious, about what the teaching-learning processes entail? This communication contains the results of a case study framed in a Spanish R&D project. In it, we investigate the pedagogical value of Lesson Study to reconstruct the practical knowledge of a group of teachers in training of the Early Childhood Education Degree of the University of Malaga. A journey full of uncertainties that allows the participants to become aware of their conceptions about the educational process, transform their teaching identity, and rethinking the complex relationship between autonomy-teaching and learning: How can we understand that the simple fact that children put on an apron by themselves and not that adults put it on, can open a space and time necessary for the child to develop relevant learning?

Thu 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

9:30 pm - 9:30 pm Q and A live from Zone 2 Session 6

A #154
B #123, #212

10:00 pm - 10:00 pm The WALS Routledge Book Series

No workshops in this session.

Friday 4 Dec 2020

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Opening on lead day

No workshops in this session.

5:00 pm - 6:15 pm Zone 2 Session 1

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm Symposia (Recorded)

Parallel A

Adopting and adapting lesson study in different cultural and educational settings

Sarah SeleznyovNetherlands

Abstract

This symposium explores the challenges with the ‘translation’ of lesson study (LS) into different cultural contexts and education structures, once it moves from Japan. Fujii says ‘for Japanese educators, lesson study is like air, felt everywhere because it is implemented in everyday school activities’ (2014: 3). Japanese LS is culturally aligned, systemic and embedded. The papers seek to understand how and why LS has emerged in a Japanese cultural and educational context, as well as to identify its key features so that it becomes accessible to an international audience. The symposium should raise questions for practitioners implementing LS beyond Japan and offer advice as to how to understand any implementation challenges they might face.

Wed 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

Parallel B

Oracy and Lesson Study: developing curriculum that can significantly level the playing field for disadvantaged and vulnerable learners

Dr Peter DudleyUnited Kingdom

Abstract

This symposium will introduces the idea of oracy - building on a WALS 2020 keynote speech. The first speaker will explain what oracy is in relation to student learning and adult learning and how it can help redress inherent societal inequities in schooling and show how lesson study uses oracy-based adult learning as a key to teacher learning and development. He will outline how this has been harnessed and evaluated in one particular model. The second speaker will provides a working example of this in the oracy-based ‘learning skills curriculum’ he led in a deprived school in England, significantly improving outcomes for disadvantaged students. The third speaker goes into depth, describing his oracy work, this time with teachers of children with moderate learning difficulties and disabilities, using ‘stop the clock’ interceptions in the processes of teaching to harness feedback from colleagues and students in steering a lesson’s next phase.

Fri 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

5:45 pm - 6:30 pm Live Q and A

(All symposia speakers)

6:15 pm - 6:30 pm Break

No workshops in this session.

6:30 pm - 7:10 pm Zone 2 Session 2

Single papers (Recorded)

Changing Malawian teachers’ views about mathematics teaching and learning through lesson study

Nina HelgevoldNorway

Abstract

This paper reports from a project on “Strengthening numeracy in early years of primary school through professional development of teachers”. The project, which is a collaboration between the University of Malawi and the University of Stavanger in Norway, invites primary teachers in Malawi to participate in an effort to improve teaching and learning of mathematics through lesson study. Primary classrooms in Malawi are typically crowded, and the average teacher-learner ratio is 1:88. Correspondingly, mathematics teaching is often traditional and teacher-driven, even though the national curriculum calls for learner-centered education. From analysis of data material from 26 participating teachers, we discuss how lesson study can contribute to change teachers’ views of mathematics teaching and learning.

Fri 6:30 pm - 7:10 pm

Researching the Ecology of Sustainable Lesson Study

Jean LangUnited Kingdom

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of a small-scale mixed methods global investigation to apply the factors which seem to have sustained lesson study in Japan and China to its development and sustainability worldwide. Following a literature review and analysis of data from a questionniare completed by 58 particpants from 17 countries representing four continents, six semi structured interviews took place to consider the critical features which appear to influence sustainability of lesson study in schools, districts and countries worldwide.

Fri 6:30 pm - 7:10 pm

The Challenge of Cooperation in Lesson Study in Initial Teacher Training. Two Case Studies at University of Málaga

CristinaSpain

Abstract

This paper presents a dual case study that considers in depth two groups of student teachers as they develop a Lesson Study (LS), analysing how cooperation in the different phases of LS encourages the reconstruction of their practical knowledge and also identifying improvements for their practice. Both groups are enrolled in the Practicum III and Final Dissertation subjects, part of the Early Childhood Education degree at University of Málaga. However, their organisational circumstances differ hugely, e.g. the distance between their practical training schools or their flexibility in terms of meeting up. These aspects have a big influence on their predisposition to cooperate. This LS has been developed every year since academic year 2013/14, with cooperation being one of the constant challenges when implementing it in our context. This research has been an opportunity to understand collaborative aspects and to further improve the proposal.

Fri 6:30 pm - 7:10 pm

The role of tutoring in Initial Teacher Training. Lesson Study experience included as part of the Practicum. Study cases.

CritsinaSpain

Abstract

This paper sets out the results of a case study of a Lesson Study experience included as part of the Practicum III and Final Dissertation subjects imparted in the Infant Education Degree at the University of Málaga. The research focuses on a university teacher who is in charge of five students, describing and analysing which aspects of her tutoring favour the reconstruction of students' practical knowledge. It has identified how this teacher's research and practical experience in Lesson Study, together with the coordination of the different strategies, principles and phases that this multi-methodological proposal offers, the trust she has built up with the group of students, her relationship with mentors at the school, cooperation with other university teachers, and, ultimately, her teaching commitment, all encourage students to get involved in the training proposal, promoting the reconstruction of practical knowledge.

Fri 6:30 pm - 7:10 pm

7:10 pm - 7:25 pm Zone 2 Session 2 Live Q and A

Live Q and A from Zone 2 session 2
#211 #196 #161 #158

7:25 pm - 7:55 pm Zone 2 Session 3 Parallel sessions

Open Research Lesson

An open research lesson based on young learners’ programming with Ozobots

Claudia MewaldAustria

Abstract

A research lesson, designed collaboratively by teachers and a knowledgeable other, pursues the goal to investigate how creativity can be fostered in programming, and what gender-specific differences in the approach to programming can be observed. A lesson study created variations in lesson design, teaching strategies, and learning materials. Computers, tablets, and other technologies can be used in a child-friendly way, e.g. computer science unplugged and educational robots are suitable tools for teaching children the basics of algorithms and programming. Ozobots foster motivation because of their looks and their immediate and visible response to programming. In this lesson, an interdisciplinary approach was realized in a storytelling scenario. The children listened to a prompt and programmed a path for a child to reach their goal safely. In the presentation, the intended and observed learning will be discussed and collecting feedback from young learners using the 5-finger-feedback-strategy will be presented.

Recorded research lesson followed by live reflection

Fri 7:25 pm - 7:55 pm

8:30 pm - 8:45 pm Break

No workshops in this session.

8:45 pm - 9:05 pm Zone 2 Session 5

WALS Talk(s) (Recorded)

LS to Develop Plurilingual Activities for the EFL Classroom: Teaching, Learning and Researching online Approaches and Tools

Rosanna Margonis-PasinettiSwitzerland

Abstract

We provide pre and in-service training to teachers of foreign languages and cultures, in particular to English teachers. Our challenge is to give professional development through training for teachers, who in turn have to teach to develop students' languages, as well as their cultural and intercultural competences. Whilst being based on a solid theoretical foundation and the most recent concepts in foreign language teaching and learning, our training approaches need to have an impact on what actually happens in compulsory school classrooms. This means involving pre and in-service teachers in the processes of joint creation, implementation, analysis and improvement of didactic sequences in accordance with the theoretical foundations. The Lesson Study cycle may be the instrument that allows us to open new perspectives in reinforcing foreign language teachers’ skills, particularly during these uncertain times, when closure and partial closure of schools means teaching and learning move partially or wholly online.

Live Q and A 20.55

Fri 8:45 pm - 9:05 pm

9:05 pm - 9:35 pm Zone 2 Session 6 Parallel sessions A and B

A Multiple Round Table (Recorded)

The role of task design in an exploratory approach: What mathematics teachers learn through lesson study

Paula GomesPortugal

Abstract

This symposium reports experiences in three lesson studies in mathematics in the Portuguese context with prospective teachers (grades 1-4 and 7-9) and with in-service teachers (grades 10-12). Our aim is to understand how lesson study, as a professional development process, allowed these participants to develop their capacity to design and enact exploratory tasks. In our lesson studies, the participants were challenged to design and to plan tasks in which students use several mathematical procedures and representations to construct their solving strategies. Each lesson study was conducted by a researcher and the methodology was qualitative/interpretative with observation, collection of artifacts, participants interviews and audio/video records. The results indicate that the lesson study represents a favorable context for the participants to develop their capacity to design tasks that may support a rich mathematical activity from the student, and to yield significant knowledge to the participants regarding students’ thinking.

Fri 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

B Single papers

Pedagogical documentation: Living the experience of observation as a daily professional action within the framework of Lesson Studies

Gonzalo Maldonado-RuizSpain

Abstract

In the following paper we try to understand the role that pedagogical documentation can have in developing Early Childhood Education pre-service teachers’ practical thinking in the framework of the development of Lesson Studies. To do this, we share the results of a case study carried out at a university in Ecuador in whose pedagogical model the Lesson Study and pedagogical documentation are inserted as daily practice. From this point of view, we ask ourselves: How do both methodologies promote the “observer and investigative teaching role” in the students' everyday practical knowledge? How is the design and assessment of the Experimental Lesson informed from the pedagogical documentation? This experience is also characterized by intense tutoring with features that we analyze to assess how they open up training paths in a group of students who live, for the last time in their degree, a Lesson Study cycle.

Fri 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

TELE-FACILITATION OF EFL TEACHERS' KNOWLEDGE CREATION IN LESSON STUDY THROUGH REFLECTIVE WRITING

Olga KhokhotvaSpain

Abstract

The study provides an example of how teachers' knowledge creation in Lesson Study could be supported through tele-facilitation and 'learning keeping' by reflecting critically on the doctoral researcher's experience in tele-facilitating the Lesson Study intervention in Kazakhstan throughout 2018-2019. The paper describes two reflective instruments designed and utilized to remotely facilitate teachers' knowledge creation in Lesson Study: Reflective Diaries and Joint Learning Protocols. Underpinned by Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) knowledge creation model, the paper argues that a meticulous process of 'learning keeping' in Lesson Study, i.e. keeping systematic records of teachers' reflections at each stage of Lesson Study through individual and collective reflective writing aids leveraging teachers' tacit knowledge, facilitates the conversion of teachers' tacit knowledge to explicit and thus, contributes to teachers' knowledge creation leading to improved teaching practice. Finally, the paper suggests tentative guidelines for educators and researchers employing tele-facilitation and reflective writing in collaborative Lesson Study research.

Fri 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

The inclusion of Lesson Study in the Italian teachers’ Semiosphere: a challenge for research in Mathematics Education

Carola ManolinoItaly

Abstract

Observing a foreign teaching practice has one advantage, namely a different horizon. Perhaps even further, one has the opportunity to rethink one's own practices from this new horizon. Therefore, in order to construct a Lesson Study proposal suitable for the Italian context of (scientific) high school, what are the significant characteristics of Lesson Study in China, emerged in relation to the visitor experience of an Italian secondary school teacher (grade 9-13) in China? And how the involvement of the Italian mathematics teachers (of all school grades) in the Lesson Study practices, to which they are completely foreign, leads to an evolution of their professional practices? From Italy to China and back: a fascinating glimpse of how culture permeates Italian mathematics teachers' practices.

Fri 9:05 pm - 9:35 pm

9:30 pm - 9:50 pm Q and A live from Zone 2 Session 6

#136, #206, #143, #80

10:00 pm - 10:00 pm Intro to WALS 2021 in Hong Kong/Macao + end of conference

No workshops in this session.