WALS 2021

13:00-13:10

(CET)

20:00-20:10

(GMT +8)

06:00-06:10

(CST)

Opening of Conference in Zone 2

Welcome to participants and information about conference organization

Musical Introduction by Vienna Boys Choir

“With this musical opening, the Vienna Boys Choir is sending a warm welcome to all WALS members -- wishing a wonderful conference!”

www.wsk.at/en

Session 1

13:10-14:00

(CET)

Q&A start 14:00

20:10-21:00

(GMT +8)
Q&A start 21:00

06:10-07:00

(CST)
Q&A start 07:00

Parallel Paper A

Improving knowledge sharing and knowledge creation within and across lesson study communities through networked learning

When people collaborate, connections are built among people who come together for a common reason to collectively negotiate meanings and co-create knowledge. Developed on the principles of collaboration, lesson study (LS) involves educators working together to study, research, plan, develop and teach a lesson. LS is built on ongoing conversations, mutual trust, respect and support. In LS, sustained connections have the potential to enable the creation of a learning network. Indeed, we see that LS principles resonate with theories of networked learning (NL) that emphasise collaboration, collective inquiry and knowledge-creation underpinned by trusting relationships as core principles connecting people together in a learning network (NLCE, 2020). This presentation seeks to explore parallels between principles of NL and LS. We shall look at how these NL principles may feature within the LS process and when they may become more prominent towards learning. In addition, we aim to look at how LS could create sustained opportunities for NL that extend beyond the classroom and the school context where LS takes place. We explore the potential that viewing LS as NL may connect educators with a broader network of professionals that include educators, knowledgeable others and LS enthusiasts. Hence, professional learning networks consisting of individuals who engage in “collaborative learning with others outside of their everyday community of practice to improve teaching and learning in schools and/or the school system” (Brown & Poortman, 2018) can emerge and with the possibility of better sustaining knowledge sharing and creation within and across LS communities.

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Laura Formosa , James Calleja

Malta

Collaboration and culture – how much do they relate? An international comparison on teachers in Germany, Finland, Japan and Ethiopia.

Achieving deep learning through teacher collaborations is a goal pursued in many countries around the world. The aim of this study is to find out to what extent teachers in different countries cooperate and whether they think differently about their teaching when they work in teams. Findings from the study can contribute to bringing formats such as Lesson Study into the field by incorporating country-specific attitudes of teachers into implementation. The research sample is divided into two parts. It includes two countries (Japan and Finland) where collaboration is systematically embedded in the education system and two countries (Germany and Ethiopia) where collaboration is encouraged but not systematically implemented. In all four countries, teachers (N= 3054) were surveyed quantitatively about their attitudes and behaviors toward collaboration and teaching. Exploratory factor analysis was used to obtain two scales on deep engagement with teaching. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed different patterns of collaboration. Comparison showed that teachers in Japan and Ethiopia gave similar patterns of responses, and German and Finnish teachers were very similar. This result is very surprising and suggests that the culture of the respective nation may play a greater role and needs to be taken into account more profoundly when introducing forms of collaboration than has been perceived so far.

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Britta Klopsch , Emma Kostiainen, Matti Rautiainen, Toshiya Chichibu, Ephrem Tekle

Germany

Maintaining motivation and curiosity in a professional learning community

The aim of this presentation will be to describe and discuss how the use of a model of Lesson study has been used to develop and sustain a professional learning community in a secondary school in Norway. The school has used Lesson study twice a year, over a period of six years as their main form of teacher development. The themes of their research have for example, included, assessment for learning, the introduction of a new curriculum and pupils' voice in the classroom. The school has developed a model of lesson study which closely follows Dudley's lesson study cycle (2011). In addition, the school has designed several support materials to guide the cycle. The school has also trained several coordinators who lead the work done in the Lesson study groups. During Spring 2021 the headmaster, in collaboration with researchers at the university, conducted a short teacher questionnaire (open answers) of the challenges and benefits of implementing Lesson study as a form of professional development (Chassels and Melville 2009, Fauskanger 2019). Content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon 2005) of the results, show that that the teachers are positive to this form of professional collaboration. However, there are also indications of a possible instrumental approach to the Lesson study work amongst some of the teachers. This raises the challenge of how to sustain a professional community which remains motivated, curious, and enquiring rather than just doing as they are expected by their head. These elements will be discussed during the presentation.

119

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Deborah Larssen , Nina Helgevold, Øyvind Fjermestad

Norway

Planning research lessons as a tool for changing views on mathematics teaching

In this research and development project, primary teachers in Malawi are invited to participate in professional development (PD) where Lesson Study (LS) is used as a tool to improve teaching of mathematics towards a more learner-centered education. Although learner-centered education has been highlighted in the Malawian curriculum since 2007, mathematics teaching in the country still appears to be traditional (Longwe, 2018). LS is found to create PD opportunities for teachers where quality of their teaching increases through a cyclical process including investigating a problem, planning a research lesson, teaching and observing the lesson in a real classroom setting, and reflecting on the teaching practice. In this study feed-back and revision of teachers’ research lesson plans (RLPs) was an important part of the LS cycle. Malawian teachers’ views about teaching and possible changes in these views has been analyzed with a focus on how their views are constructed in their written discourses. We aim at answering the following research question: How can developing RLPs contribute to change teachers’ views of mathematics teaching? Conventional content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) was conducted when analyzing the RLPs. When exploring how development of RLPs contribute to change teachers’ views of mathematics teaching, we found that planning the research lesson with feed-back and revision was important in bringing about a shift in teachers’ views of teaching from a traditional view towards a more learner-centered understanding. Developing relevant research questions was demanding, but important in bringing about this change.

164

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Nina Helgevold , Mercy Kazima, Janne Fauskanger , Arne Jskobsen

Norway

Parallel Paper B

Teachers as designers embedding lesson study in makerspace to create artefact based interdisciplinary steam activities

Science education increasingly pushes for STEAM education as an integrative approach in classrooms (Holmlund et al., 2018; Hlukhaniuk et al., 2020). The challenges to these approaches though are manifold, ranging from structural to curricular barriers (Ejiwale, 2013; Falloon et al., 2020). One challenge is that teacher attitudes and beliefs fundamentally influence their instructional practices, with novel practices requiring shifts in attitudes (Thibaut et al., 2018). Another challenge is that models of pre- and in-service teacher training don’t sufficiently help teachers to develop the competencies necessary to plan, implement, evaluate novel pedagogical approaches for STEAM education (Margot & Kettler, 2019; Anisimova et al., 2020). Recent research explores the potential of LS-based approach to address these issues (Kandaga, et al., 2021; Morago & Grigioni Baur, 2020; Lim & Widodo, 2017), enabling teachers to collaboratively experiment, observe and improve lessons for STEAM education. Other researchers have examined Makerspaces as learning environments (Miller & Cline, 2017). Building on this, we propose a teacher training course that integrates those hitherto separate approaches: We developed a “nested loop” model of LS-artefact design, through which teachers learn to collaboratively construct STEAM lessons centered on subject-related artefacts produced using Makerspace tools. We present preliminary results, in which we examined the potential of the “nested loop” model with the 20212022 cohort of pre-service Biology and Physics teachers. We evaluated factors that hinder the relevance and effectiveness of the “nested loop” model. We hypothesise that these approaches can work in synergy, with novel fabricated artefacts evoking new pedagogical ideas vice-versa.

Innovative uses of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Sveva M Grigioni Baur , Engin W. Bumbacher, Yves Debernardi

Switzerland

Connections promote sense-making and reasoning in algebra: A qualitative study of tasks assemblage among elementary school students

This article explores the features of students’ reasoning and sense making when computer programming and mathematics interact, specifically, using the concept of variables to make different regular polygons with Scratch as a programming tool. At the end of the 2019 spring term in a public elementary school, data were obtained from a pretest, a posttest, programming tasks, surveys, audio recordings, and research field notes. Fifty-six students aged 13–14 years participated in the study. Concepts from variation theory in combination with a post-structuralist philosophical perspective were used to analyse what features of tasks allow students to experience reasoning and sense-making and what features are discerned in students’ reasoning and sense-making. The results illustrate the features of tasks as well as how connections are created during task construction between different concepts from mathematics and programming to promote sense-making and reasoning. The results also indicate that the features discerned in students’ reasoning and sense-making consist of a flow of lines that are diverse in form and are distributed across the task assemblage. The use of repetition as difference at the level of idea is powerful in order to create a close connection between reasoning and sense-making and to support differences and heterogeneities. This study is significant because it will also provide teachers with a robust pedagogical framework built on verified fundamental theories with clearly identified learning models and effective instructional techniques. The approaches used in this study are intended to support progress for all students and afford flexibility of student engagement.

Innovative uses of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Olteanu Constanta , Olteanu Lucian

Sweden

Understanding the directions of Professional Learning and their differences in Professional Evaluative Judgement

This contribution aims at conceptualizing professional learning communities to help overcome existing barriers in developing quality in schools. We build on the core principles and ideas of existing concepts. Thereby, we argue that it is necessary to understand different aspects of learning in cooperation, to establish criteria for professionalism for successfully developing the quality of schools and teaching by an evidence-oriented approach, and to promote professional learning communities across schools (Brown & Poortman, 2017; Wiesner & Schreiner, 2020). We pick up three designs, Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1991), Professional Learning Communities (Senge, 2000) und Research Learning Communities (Brown, 2017), and analyze their focus, strengths and weaknesses for school development and improving and developing teaching based on students’ assessment data. Evidence-oriented quality development in schools needs a variety of concepts. In order to shape effective changes in a school system, in schools and in class, an adequate understanding of change and the balance between stability and instability is needed (Wheatley, 1999). Kruse (2004) and Schratz (2009) distinguish functional optimization on the one hand, from changing patterns of process in the form of development according to Argyris and Schön (1978), on the other hand. The latter differentiate between the principles of single-loop learning (improving, optimizing) and double-loop learning (changing patterns). In order to develop a model of structure and process for learning communities that enables schools as learning organizations both to improve in a structured way and to change patterns, we integrate the various approaches (Wiesner, 2019; Wiesner & Schreiner, 2021).

273

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Christian Wiesner , Claudia Schreiner

Austria

The Impact of Lesson Study on Methodological and Organizational Innovation

The aim of the practice to share our experience on the implementation of myBRAND program strategy at the Budapest Metropolitan University, Hungary, especially focusing on the impact of lesson study methodological and organizational innovation. The methodology is based on literature analysis on relevant concepts: learning community; lesson study¸ innovator’s mindset and models of professional/learning community (Senge, DuFour, 7 C). The significant part of the methodology is our pilot qualitative research of the implementation on myBRAND program focusing on changing the traditional lesson observation and organizational culture. The findings firstly are based on our hypothesis, namely the lesson study has strong consistency with methodological and organizational innovation under the umbrella of effective and sustainable implementation process. Secondly, our findings have qualitative research data analysing the focused-group interviews of the mentors and management members. On the base of the significant theory of knowledge management, learning community and innovator’s mindset, we present a summary of the development- and progression-centred professional learning community model, which is based on theory and practice and has relevant elements: observation, reflection, collaborative learning, creativity and courage. Finally, the authors draw conclusion with questions and dilemmas.

272

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Ferenc Kiss , Vilmos Vass

Hungary

The idea of the Origo for successful learning communities. Inspirational thoughts on innovating, optimizing and preserving from gestalt perception for practice

How are professional learning communities possible? Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) would probably literally put this question at the beginning of the treatment of the subject. At the same time, the question arises: What can we learn from Karl Bühler's (1879-1963) "Gestaltwahrnehmung" (perception of shape) in relation to the idea of innovating, optimizing and preserving? The paper deals with Bühler's theories (1907, 1908, 1927, 1933, 1934) and shows current approaches for practice on the basis of his models. Bühler's work contains a multitude of well-considered, "inspiring thoughts and observations" (Daneš, 1988), of which "only a small amount has been scientifically exploited" so far. It seems essential to use the idea of the "Origo" for an understanding of learning communities, whereby conditions for success can obviously be located on the basis of gestalt-theoretical and integrative approaches. Successful developments can be described as "showing", which means "pointing the way" - like a signpost. This makes the path the goal and thus establishes the principle of polarities. Learning communities are then based on the clarification of different relationships and worldviews that arise between the aspects of innovating, optimizing and preserving, all of which are necessary as validity claims and none of them can be dispensed with (Habermas 1981).

321

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Christian Wiesner

Austria

Parallel Paper C

Leading Online Lesson Study: Brokering at the boundaries

This paper presents a critical reflection on the author’s recent novel experience as a Lesson Study (LS) facilitator, where they acted as a boundary broker, using online LS as a boundary object to support the collaborative professional learning of a group of Irish primary teachers who taught in three different schools. The schools involved were part of an existing inter-school Shared Education partnership. The aim of the LS in this instance was to foster participants’ achievement of relational agency, i.e. the capacity to engage in joint collaborative work for mutual benefit, by introducing them to online LS as a sustainable form of PD which can support their collaborative practice within and between their schools. The author’s critical reflection, which derives from their reflective diary and field notes, draws from Schön’s (1983) notion of reflection-on-action, as well as Brookfield’s (2016) critical lenses and is theoretically framed by emerging literature which proposes LS as a vehicle for teacher agency.

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Mairead Holden

Ireland

Assessment tools used or developed by Lesson Study - a systematic review of research

This systematic review is aiming to capture research results of assessment tools used or developed by lesson study (LS). The research questions are; 1. How are Lesson Study used to develop assessment of students' knowledge in education?; 2. What research results and implications for practice is found?, and 3. What gaps and implications for future research are defined based on the review? The systematic review is based on a research string "lesson study" and "assessment tools OR assessment method OR assessing" and captured nine articles in ERIC EBSCO. One article was rejected as it focused on assessing LS as a method, and another because it focused on teachers' assessment or their own work, assessment of a lesson (not student learning). The results show that formative assessment, assessment of modelling, assessment in science education, noticing, focus on content assessment as hinder for inquiry learning, but also that assessment is an area which is not developed in LS and by that needed to be studied further. The studies found focused on a school subject perspective are all from Mathematics or Science.

Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

Papers

Helena Sjunnesson , Mona Holmqvist

Sweden

Developing a Design-based Making Pedagogy through Lesson Study

Maker education is a promising approach to support interdisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) education. One of its promises is the development of a maker mindset in students, defined as increased self-efficacy, problem-solving skills and attitudes that facilitate STEAM learning. However, implementing maker education to effectively increase students’ STEAM engagement has challenged elementary teachers in terms of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and learning outcomes assessment. Lesson Study (LS) provides a solution enabling teachers across STEAM disciplines to collaboratively develop and evaluate a pedagogy suitable for creating and supporting meaningful maker activities. Such a pedagogy entails combining elements from design thinking into the lessons as well as developing instruments to assess maker mindset. This paper aims to adopt LS to engage STEAM teachers working collaboratively to focus on the underlying mechanisms of maker education and design thinking, and to make students’ learning and thinking visible. Thus, an interpretive qualitative study using case study methodology will be employed. Five STEAM-teachers from a Chinese elementary school will be invited to form a LS research team to develop instructional guidelines and a series of relevant lessons, specifically aimed at developing maker mindsets. Data collected include participant observations, interviews, designed lessons, transcripts of LS discussions; interviews will be coded for thematic analysis. This study diversifies the possible fields of LS that can be applied to STEAM curriculum design, solving long-term existing problems (e.g., lacking pedagogy, teacher resources) faced by STEAM education, and cultivating students’ maker mindsets conducive to STEAM learning.

197

Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

Papers

JIAJIA LI , Suilin Goei, Wouter van Joolingen, Maartje Raijmakers

Netherlands

Parallel Paper D

Exploring teachers’ use of formative assessment in mathematics classes: a case of Lesson Study

Formative assessment (FA) practices, such as tracking learning through feedback and informing instructional decisions is an essential element in mathematics education. However, teachers tend to focus more on summative assessment, which is mainly concerned with awarding of grades after a significant chunk of content has been completed. Through FA practices, focus is placed on the continuous improvement of learner’s mathematical thinking. Through the teacher development practice of Lesson Study (LS), the challenge of teaching for summative purposes can be addressed. The aim of the research is to identify how, within the context of LS, teachers are able to collaboratively plan, teach and improve on various FA practices to improve learner understanding. Data was gathered through observing three stages of LS, namely collaborative lesson planning, lesson presentation and post-lesson reflection. Thereafter, unstructured interviews were conducted to gain further insight into teacher practices. The preliminary findings of the research suggest that teachers do not plan FA activities to implement. However, within post-lesson reflection, they discuss what forms of FA worked well within the lesson and which can be improved on. The preliminary findings can be beneficial as they will sensitise teachers on the importance of planning FA. This will shed light on how mathematics teachers can develop learners mathematical thinking through meaningful FA practices. The findings of the research are relevant to the selected strand of this conference as LS provides a fertile context to gain in-depth insight on how FA can be implemented and improved upon, to develop learners mathematical thinking.

132

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Lauren Neuhoff , David Sekao

South Africa

Do mathematics textbooks promote teacher learning through Lesson Study?

Mathematics textbooks have proven to be a pivotal resource that mediates the goals of the intended curriculum to implemented curriculum. This paper explores how mathematics textbooks contribute to grade six mathematics teachers’ understanding of numeric and geometric patterns when planning collaborative lessons in the context of Lesson Study. The Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) framework was used as a lens to analyse data collected through the observation of collaborative lesson planning and later corroborated with interviews. The preliminary findings revealed that there was learning that took place in both the teachers’ subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge from the time they kyozaikenyu-ed until the lesson plan was developed. This was evident when teachers debated and discussed the activities related to numeric and geometric patterns from the textbooks and the possible solutions thereof, as well as when they discussed and decided on how the topic should be taught. We conclude that textbooks with educative features such as teachers’ guides relatively promote teacher learning compared to those that do not have but, learning from textbooks is maximised by planning the lesson collaboratively. We therefore recommend that mathematics textbooks be written with teachers’ guides 1) to make them more educative for teachers, and 2) to reinforce the attainment of the envisaged goals of the intended curriculum.

144

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Nomvuyo Thobela , David Sekao

South Africa

Mathematics textbooks as a catalyst for instructional decision-making: kyozaikenkyu-ing during collaborative lesson planning

The paper explores how Grade 6 mathematics teachers engage with and study textbooks during the Lesson Study session focusing on the concept patterns. In particular, the paper looks at how teachers’ use of mathematics textbook activities inform instructional decision-making during collaborative lesson planning. Data was collected by observing teachers during collaborative lesson planning, and through interviews to corroborate and/or gain more insights into the observed trends. Data analysis was informed by the Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) framework. Preliminary findings suggest that although teachers’ instructional decisions are mainly stimulated by the textbooks, the dominant feature of textbook use is adopting the activities found in the textbook. In other words, notwithstanding the infrequent practice of adapting some activities to meet their learner’s needs, teachers’ use of textbook activities as they are, is widespread. The study concludes that although textbooks constitute basic resource for teachers, text therein is often subjected to in-depth interrogation by teachers to make informed and meaningful instructional decisions. We further contend that the capacity to conduct in-depth interrogation of the text is a derivative of all forms of mathematics subject matter knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge. Therefore, the widespread adoption of text without interrogation could be indicative of the lack of requisite content knowledge and pedagogical skills.

145

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Nomvuyo Thobela , David Sekao

South Africa

Questions and questioning: are they neglected narratives within the Lesson Study contexts?

In this paper the intent is to report on the preliminary findings of a doctoral research which focusses on exploring the character of mathematics teachers’ questions in the context of Lesson Study. This qualitative case study followed the journey of six secondary school teachers who embrace and implement Lesson Study as a form of professional development model. The study departs from conventional theories by employing new theoretical tools - Variation Theory. Preliminary findings revealed that although there seem to be a lack of intentional attentiveness to questions during the planning of research lessons and when these lessons are presented, teacher tend to address questions during the reflection session. Secondly the kinds of questions teachers ask during the lesson seem not to be purposeful and how these questions get asked is indicative of lack of proficiency in questioning. Review of literature also demonstrated that research on questions and questioning within Lesson Study contexts is scanty and further explorations and investigations are needed to enable Lesson Study communities to deeply reflect on their questioning practices. Our view in this paper is that for questions to fulfill their full educational potential and purpose Lesson Study communities should first acknowledge and recognize that they (questions) do matter. The contribution of this paper , therefore, is that questions and questioning should (1) be planned for during collaborative lesson planning, (2) intentionally permeate the lesson presentation and (3) feature prominently in the reflection session. The chosen conference strand is, therefore, deemed relevant for this paper.

198

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Lesego Mokotedi , David Sekao

South Africa

On new paths in collaborative development and research of teaching and learning with Lesson Study and smART

At the University College of Teacher Education Lower Austria, a collaboration project took place between students of the study course “Cultural educational school practice” and the primary school of the Vienna Boys' Choir. The aim of this collaboration was, to combine for the first time the Lesson Study method with the teaching analysis program smART (Systemic Music Analytics Response for Teachers) within learning sequences under the topic “Dialogic-integrative learning with Tableaux Vivants with music”. smART was developed by Gerald Wirth, Artistic Director and President of the Vienna Boys' Choir. With a special software three video cameras provide audio and video data from the learning sequences. Pillars, triggers and actions are digitally analysed, evaluated and made available to the teachers via the dashboard as feedback for self-reflection. In this collaboration-project findings and insights now are compared with those of the Lesson Studies and thus experience a high-quality extension. If necessary, parts of the lesson sequence can be watched again during the reflection meeting in order to evaluate learning processes in a more in-depth and sustainable manner. Short examples from the learning sequences in connection with the didactic design pattern and notes from the reflection meetings will show this. After these first joint steps and after the pandemic break, this collaboration will now be deepened in the next years. This will be done together with some lesson study groups in primary schools to try out and evaluate prototype learning sequences developed for the new competence-oriented curricula for music.

230

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

hubertgruber

Austria

Live Q&A

14:00-14:10

(CET)

21:00-21:10

(GMT +8)

07:00-07:10

(CST)

Parallel Paper A

Parallel Paper B

Parallel Paper C

Parallel Paper D

Session 2

14:10-15:25

(CET)

Discussion start 15:25

21:10-22:25

(GMT +8)
Discussion start 22:25

07:10-08:25

(CST)
Discussion start 08:25

Parallel Symposium A

What are the features of effective leadership of lesson study worldwide which lead to sustainability? Are there cultural differences and similarities?

According to Yang, (2014), there is strong evidence from research regarding the essential part that principals play in establishing conditions for school improvement. In Japan, the principal plays a critical role in promoting lesson study (LS), and in China, a review of senior school leadership from1998–2008 stressed their crucial role in leading school improvement and managing reforms (Walker, Hu, & Qian, 2012). Akiba et al., (2019) argued the need for stability of professional leadership in sustaining LS and drew on previous research from Hargreaves & Fink (2003); and McLaughlin & Mitra (2001) to document the detrimental effects of turnover of leadership in sustaining and scaling up reform. Watanabe (2018) emphasised the need for leaders to have a clear understanding of what LS is and to value it and pointed out that Japanese principals take part in LS whilst this is rare in the USA. Stoll et al. (2006) argue that sustaining change requires a “range of people in chains of influence” (p.14), and Hargreaves (2003) suggests that success in education that is sustainable lies in the creation of a culture of distributed leadership. Schipper (2019) emphasises the importance of middle leaders in shaping LS processes This symposium presents four case studies detailing the role and co-operation of senior leaders, middle leadership and committed teachers as `key-actors´ in securing sustainable lesson study and compares practice worldwide, considering cultural similarities and differences.

171

Leadership, management and policy aspects of sustainable Lesson or Learning Study

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

Jean Lang , Haiyan Xu, Liz Cowdell, Jo Code, Rhona Leonard, Roland Knoblauch

United Kingdom

Parallel Symposium B

Lesson Study, School and University: Pedagogical Principles for Cooperative Action Research in Initial Teacher Training

Scientific contributions on Lesson Study in initial teacher training have shown its potential in terms of reconstructing practical knowledge and developing practical thinking (Bell, 2020; Fauskanger & Bjuland, 2019; Lamb & Ko, 2016; Larssen, 2019; Po Yuk, 2011; Rodríguez et al., 2021; Wood & Cajkler, 2019). However, for this process to be meaningful and meet today's challenges in education, our research demonstrates the need to relate the Lesson Study (LS) process to a set of principles that will foster an active, collaborative, reflective, critical, creative pedagogical culture, not only to improve initial teacher training but also to stimulate curricular experimentation. This symposium therefore aims to share our experience and research in LS since academic year 2013/2014, carried out within the framework of an R&D project with a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach, with a sample of 370 students on 8 different courses and 17 tutors. This research has described and analysed the pedagogical potential of LS in terms of reconstructing practical knowledge in initial teacher training at University of Málaga and the National University of Education of Ecuador. What pedagogy do we as university teachers construct, and what pedagogy do our students end up constructing at school? How does this pedagogy relate to the transformation of their practical knowledge?

222

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

cristinarodriguezrobles , Noemí Peña Trapero, Gonzalo Maldonado Ruiz, Encarna Soto Gómez, María José Serván Nuñez, Ángel Pérez Gómez

Spain

Parallel Symposium C

How to orchestrate whole-class discussions? The role of lesson study on the development of prospective and in-service mathematics teachers’ knowledge about classroom communication

Whole-class discussions are opportunities for students to discuss mathematical ideas and procedures, and to reflect on the work they have done solving the tasks proposed by teachers. However, orchestrating whole-class discussions is challenging for teachers. We aim to understand how participating in lesson study (LS) promotes the development of prospective and in-service mathematics teachers’ knowledge about classroom communication, namely about orchestrating whole-class discussions. In this symposium, we share LS’ experiences in Portugal carried out in 2020/2021, at different contexts and with participants having different teaching experiences: prospective teachers (PTs), grades 1-4 and 10-12, without teaching experience, and in-service teachers (ITs), grades 10-12, with several years of teaching practice. The PTs and ITs discussed how to orchestrate the whole-class discussions and identified some challenges they could face during the lesson, such as monitoring students’ work and selecting and sequencing answers for the discussion. They also identified the challenges they faced during the whole-class discussions, as supporting students without reducing the challenge of the task and fostering students’ explanations and justifications. The results suggest that those discussions provided opportunities for PTs and ITs to deepen their knowledge about classroom communication, especially about leading whole-class discussions. However, the results also point that orchestrating whole-class discussions needs particular attention in future LS, both with PTs and ITs. Thus, reflecting on our ongoing work led us to rethink how to develop LS, to create opportunities for PTs and ITs to face those challenges and to deepen their knowledge about classroom communication.

Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

Paula Gomes , Micaela Martins, Linda Cardoso

Portugal

Parallel Symposium D

Open Lesson Study Research Lesson on Formative Feedback in English as a Foreign Language: Debriefing

This debriefing of the “Open Lesson Study Research Lesson on Formative Feedback in English as a Foreign Language” explores the development of the research lesson as well as its theoretical background and rationale. In its first part, two teachers elaborate on the collaborative planning and adaptation of the research lesson reflecting learner needs and feedback gained in the first cycle. As a key aspect of this Lesson Study was the collaborative evaluation of formative feedback activities in terms of their usefulness and practicality, the second part of this session deals with the analysis of formative feedback in Lesson Study. Teaching is often sequential, with teachers providing input and setting tasks that produce output. Learners perform these tasks, and they experience the subsequent consequences: Usually more tasks, and higher expectations are placed on them. Thus, they learn that the question "Where to next?" often leads to "more." Quite contrary, formative feedback can provide more specific and nuanced answers to this question with more concrete information leading to better learning opportunities associated with greater challenge, more self-regulation, better fluency, more effective strategies, and deeper understanding. Such "feed-forward" can have authoritative effects on learning as it points the way to more complex learning rather than quantitative addition. However, this is only possible with the feedback gained from learners. How this can be achieved effectively through Lesson Study with a strong emphasis of learner voice is discussed in a reflection on the learner feedback shown in the video recorded lesson.

258

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Claudia Mewald , Miriam Bayram , Tamara Solnitzky

Austria

Live Discussion

15:25-15:40

(CET)

22:25-22:40

(GMT +8)

08:25-08:40

(CST)

Parallel Symposium A

Parallel Symposium B

Parallel Symposium C

Parallel Symposium D

Session 3

15:40-16:00

(CET)

22:40-23:00

(GMT +8)

08:40-09:00

(CST)

Parallel Poster A

Lesson Studies in higher education: Possibilities for the professional development of university mathematics teachers in Brazil and Portugal

The purpose of this research is to understand how Lesson Studies are carried out, aiming at the professional development of university mathematics teachers who teach undergraduate students in Brazil and Portugal. The research questions seek: (i) to identify characteristics that a Lesson Study needs to assume when carried out with these participants, in order to know its possibilities for professional university teacher development, and (ii) to verify whether the discussions among teachers, while defining the teaching approach, the tasks and the type of communication for the research lesson, can be enhancers of the development of didactic knowledge. The research is framed in a qualitative approach, with an interpretative nature and participant observation design. The instruments for data collection are direct observation, research journal, interviews, questionnaires, documents prepared by teachers and students and audio and video recordings. Data analysis and interpretation are carried out through content analysis, with inferences based on categories drawn from the conceptual framework that underlies the project. It is expected to understand whether teachers from different cultural contexts value the use of an exploratory teaching approach and problems and exploratory tasks, combined with a communication in which the students dialogue and share the reasoning processes. It is also sought to understand whether this may imply improvements in teaching practice as well as in teachers’ collaborative relationships, aspects of the professional development of the university mathematics teacher still to be explored in Lesson Study.

156

Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

Poster Session

Ranúzy Borges Neves , João Pedro da Ponte

Portugal

Parallel Poster B

Experiencing Lesson Study in different education centers in Early Childhood Education

Lesson Studies help starting teachers from various contexts to improve their learning and their education. In our case, we were a group made up of four starting teachers of Early Childhood Education who created an Autonomous Intervention Project based on Lesson Study. This Project was carried through four quite different schools: one of them had a wealthy socioeconomic status, two had a middle-low income socioeconomic status and the students from the last one came from low-income families and lived on welfare. Based on Lesson Study, we analysed our classes. After that, we noticed similar necessities, which allowed us to set out three common objectives for the four schools. These objectives were ‘Stimulate socialization and cooperation’, ‘Generate autonomy and creativity’ and ‘Promote healthy diet, hygiene and psychomotricity’. Keeping always in mind our objectives, we started to create our Project 'Pequeños pasos de bienestar' (‘Little steps of welfare’), meaning to improve our students’ welfare. Afterwards, we put into practice the Project in the four schools, which allowed us to confirm that it was appropriate for students from quite different socioeconomic contexts. Thanks to the observation and the evaluation, we could verify that we had achieved our objectives and thus we had improved the students’ welfare. Creating our Project based on Lesson Study helped us to learn and think about our teaching experience. Furthermore, it made possible for us to provide the students a high-quality educational experience based on solid objectives and according to their necessities.

316

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Poster Session

Lucía Ruiz Cruz , Clara Ruiz del Rey

Spain

Parallel Poster C

Parallel Poster D

Teacher trainees studying educational sciences in a distance learning participatory action research process

The project was initiated by Ars Electronica Center (AEC) Linz, who were curious to find out how motivating their book ‘TARDI’ would be for pupils’ self-involvement and inquiry-oriented learning. The idea of this study was to carry out this research with a group of teacher trainees during a seminar concerning educational sciences. Goal was to research the didactic applications of the book and at school, as well as for the university students to learn and practically apply socio-scientific methods. In our accompanying research study, we investigated the teacher trainees´ involvement, motivation, and inquiry-oriented attitude. Besides, we evaluated their learning progress concerning educational research. The research design was inquiry-oriented and participatory (Reitinger, 2013). Our main interest focused on the following questions: Can tertiary students learn socio-scientific basic methods by realising this practice-oriented project? Can they carry out a participatory, inquiry-oriented learning process even in “CoV distance learning online times”? How strongly involved are students (Balwant, 2017) in a participatory distance learning scenario? Empirical data suggest that all questions can be answered positively. ‘Hands on evidence’ for the students´ project were lesson plans developed and researched applying and empirically testing them qualitatively using interviews with teachers, and quantitatively by handing out questionnaires to pupils in class. The students evaluated their own approaches and the pupils’ experiences and used their findings to further improve their lesson plans. The lesson plans were compiled in a booklet for teachers attending the exhibition at the AEC with their classes.

270

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Poster Session

Susanne Oyrer , Chrisitine Mitterweissacher

Austria

Q&A Live

15:50-16:00

(CET)

22:50-23:00

(GMT +8)

08:50-09:00

(CST)

Parallel Poster A

Parallel Poster B

Parallel Poster D

16:00-16:15

(CET)

23:00-23:15

(GMT +8)

09:00-09:15

(CST)

Welcome WALS President & Conference Curators

Keynotes live

16:15-17:15

(CET)

Q&A start 17:15

23:15-00:15

(GMT +8)
Q&A start 00:15, 1st Dec

09:15-10:15

(CST)
Q&A start 10:15

Prof Geoff Wake: Sustainability and scalability in lesson study: building from the ground up

Prof Mona Holmqvist: Lesson and learning study for inclusive education

Introductions & Chair: James Calleja

Session 4

17:25 - 18:40

(CET)

Discussion start 18:40

1st Dec
00:25 - 01:40

(GMT +8)
Discussion start 01:40

10:25 - 11:40

(CST)
Discussion start 11:40

Parallel Symposium A

The object of learning: subsidiary element or core of the LS?

Aim: In this symposium, we will study the different statuses that can be attributed to the object of learning according to the context: is it a subsidiary element or the core of the LS? Methodology: Fist, Rosanna Margonis-Pasinetti will analyse a LS in which the object of learning is central: her group seeks to develop didactic sequences around plurilingual activities. Then, in the LS presented by Julien Buchard, the object of learning plays a diametrically opposed role: different groups explore the research theme by planning, observing and analysing lessons with different objects. Finally, Béatrice Rogéré Pignolet will present a 'hybrid' LS that illustrates a method of working with a specific object: her group tries to understand how to appropriate a new textbook by studying sequences. Findings: These three contributions will enrich the debate that will follow to discuss the place of the object of learning in Lesson Studies and its impact on the process and its outcomes. Significance and relevance for the 4th conference strand: Our symposium is part of a desire to promote the development of LS in the French-speaking world, in the service of the quality of education. To do so, we increase the understanding of LS by analysing the role of one of its main components: the object of learning, which can be different depending on the learning context.

205

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

Beatrice Rogere-Pignolet , Rosanna Margonis-Pasinetti, Julien Buchard

Switzerland

Parallel Symposium B

The adaptation of lesson study to vocational education and training: The LS4VET project

Since the Japanese jogyou kenkyuu (lesson study /LS/) became internationally well-known – following the first influential American publications on the method in the 1990s (Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998; Stigler & Hiebert, 1999) – a number of related types of Lesson Study became also well known (e.g., Chinese lesson study: Chen & Zhang, 2019). Hybrid versions (Selezniov, 2019) of LS have also evolved that involved fundamental theoretical changes (e.g., learning study; Marton & Fung-Lo, 2007), but most adaptations emerged to adjust to local cultural characteristics (e.g. in the USA; Wolf, 2007), to local systems of education (e.g. in Kazakhstan; Khokhotva, 2018), to certain sectors of education (e.g. in initial teacher education; Larssen et al., 2017), or even to certain institutions (e.g. in Budapest Japanese School; Gordon Győri, Halász & Endrődy-Nagy, 2017). However, until now LS has not been systematically adapted to a special educational sector: vocational education and training (VET). In a 3-year-long Erasmus+ project (LS4VET: Lesson Study for VET –Teachers' collaboration for Improving the Quality of Vocational Education and Training; 2020-1-HU01-KA202-078848) our 4-country-team (Hungary, Austria, Malta and the Netherlands) is working on the adaptation of LS to VET. In our symposium we present our project objectives and first results: the project background and planned activities, the outcome of interview- and survey-based data collection to guide our adaptation, a new theoretical model of LS developed within the framework of the LS4VET project, and the role of learners in the adapted version of LS to VET.

296

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

Bükki Eszter , János Gordon Győri, James Calleja, Therese Camilleri, Anne Khaled , Mewald Claudia , Michaela Tscherne

Hungary

Parallel Symposium C

The development of a handbook for lesson study in initial teacher education

In the Netherlands we are currently working on developing a handbook with a supportive website for Lesson Study (LS) in teacher education for primary, secondary and vocational education that is based on our practical experiences in teacher training courses and in collaboration between teacher training courses and practice schools. We have chosen to base the handbook on the big ideas of LS, and not solely on going through the LS-cycle. The intended learning objectives are that student teachers not only experience what LS is, but also gain a deep understanding of it and can perform it independently with a team as starting teachers at their own schools. In this symposium we will first discuss these big ideas, based on an extensive literature review (presentation 1). Then, in the two following presentations, we will further elaborate exemplary on two big ideas, research into one's own educational practice (big idea 1) and cyclical nature (big idea 5), how we define and elaborate them for the handbook and how want to approach these didactically for student teachers, especially the aspects that are perceived as difficult by student teachers, and how teacher educators could guide the process.

152

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

Siebrich de Vries , Carien Bakker, Catherine van Beuningen, Jantien Gerdes, Wouter van Joolingen, Dubravka Knezic

Netherlands

Parallel Paper D

“Lesson Study – The Game” – a game-based professional development for in-service and initial teacher training

Conveying the practical and personal benefits of Lesson Study (LS) to teachers unfamiliar with evidence-based professional development can be a challenge. Successful collaboration needs practice (Mynott, 2019); a commitment not every teacher is ready to make. Therefore, we developed a game-based learning opportunity in which teachers and teacher-students can experience a LS process in a short time-span and discover its potential benefits first-hand. The boardgame is based on a real LS process conducted in a 2nd grade mathematics lesson at a German elementary school. The LS adaptation follows the guidelines suggested by Dudley (2014) and Knoblauch (2019), with a focus on the collaborative and systematic reflection of student learning. By engaging teachers in a self-led, active learning process, using a model of effective practice, and opening up a space to share ideas and to create a community prior to the actual LS-work, this game aims to provide teachers with authenic insights into LS and spark their interest for the method. The game may serve as an introduction to the LS process or act as a further training opportunity for experienced LS-teams seeking to cultivate their LS core skills, such as dialogic reflection (Kager et al., forthcoming). The game is currently being evaluated and improved based on the formative feedback of in-service and pre-service teachers. We would like to present the game to the LS community and discuss the potential of game-based learning as a way to introduce LS and train teachers’ core skills.

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Swantje Bolli , Anne Jurczok, Klara Kager, Miriam Vock

Germany

Prospective teachers learn when they share lesson study results

Researching is a mean for teachers to reflect on their practices and to introduce educational changes. Initial teacher training programs should involve prospective teachers (PT) in research activities, including sharing its results with the educational community. Lesson Study (LS) is increasingly implemented in initial teacher education (ITE) and it could be a privileged mean to introduce PT in research activity. This paper describes a LS incorporated in a teacher education module of an elementary (grades 1-4) ITE program, in a Portuguese public teacher education college. It focuses on how the involvement of PT in sharing LS results provides an opportunity to deepen their capacity to notice students’ mathematical thinking. Throughout the sessions, two PT were involved in preparing, planning, teaching, and reflecting about two research lessons, where anticipating students’ reasoning played a central role. Subsequently, the PT analyzed students’ productions, and elaborated and presented a poster at a conference. The team was also formed by the school cooperating teacher, the teacher educator from the college and I, as researcher. Findings provide evidence supporting the idea that when PT prepared and shared the LS results to the educational community, they deepened their knowledge about students’ mathematical thinking and established relationships between teaching strategies and students’ reasoning. The PT pointed out that anticipating strategies allowed them to prepare and enrich their activity in the research lesson. They also stressed that getting involved with sharing LS results deepened their knowledge about students’ mathematical thinking.

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

raquelvieira , João Pedro da Ponte, Joana Mata-Pereira

Portugal

Design principles for a Learning Study to promote Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in initial mathematics teacher training in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, we want to implement Learning Study (LgS) in initial mathematics teacher education (IMTE) to enhance Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) (Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2008) of student-teachers. Implementing LgS in the Netherlands is unchartered territory, for both researchers, facilitators and participants. Our research question, therefore, was: What are the ‘design principles’ of a LgS based in IMTE in the Netherlands? We used a dual approach to answer this question: on the one hand, we conducted a review of research on implementing LgS in various contexts (Davies & Dunnill, 2008; Durden, 2016; Holmqvist, 2011; Lai & Lo-Fu, 2013; Royea & Nicol, 2018). On the other hand, we set up a pilot group of 3 student-teachers to conduct a LgS with, to inform us on the enhancement of MKT in lower secondary and on the design principles that were related to this. The first author was facilitator/researcher of this group. All groupmeetings were recorded and transcribed. Afterwards, the student-teachers reflected both on paper and during an interview. Findings based on the pilot-study suggest that the MKT of the students increased as a result of the LgS in the topic of area of a triangle. Design principles that were helpful were a clear introduction of the framework of LgS and variation theory, use of knowledge of their own pupils, use of literature and the discussions amongst themselves and with the facilitator/researcher. Findings could be of relevance for theory and practice in the domain of the implementation of LgS in IMTE.

192

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Dede de Haan , Siebrich de Vries, Paul Drijvers, Gerrit Roorda

Netherlands

Beyond COVID-19: sustaining effective Lesson Study face-to-face and online.

This co-authored paper shares findings from an EdD study into leadership practices which support effective, sustainable Lesson Study (LS) and a Master’s study into how some of those practices have translated to sustain LS in a digital environment throughout the pandemic. The doctoral study has explored school and network conditions, processes, structures and cultures perceived by teachers and leaders to support implementation of effective and sustainable LS in a network of eleven English primary schools. The master’s study, centred around three small, rural primary schools in the same network, was initiated at the beginning of the crisis to investigate how pre-Covid professional development leadership practices in LS contexts might be applied in online contexts and how they might later be adapted for a post-Covid world. The inquiry also explored effects of this change on teachers’ experiences of professional development in LS and on their pedagogy. The authors summarise their individual studies and present their findings. Using theories relating to learning, specifically professional learning, learning cultures and educational leadership, they outline the connections and resonances that have emerged from both studies. The paper may interest those working to sustain effective LS to promote teachers’ professional learning and action research in individual schools and at scale. It includes practical, affordable strategies used by leaders and teachers to sustain LS during the crisis to exploit the benefits of the digital environment to establish remote and research-informed professional collaboration, learning and practice in LS contexts within and between schools.

233

Leadership, management and policy aspects of sustainable Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Stef Edwards , Alan Eathorne

United Kingdom

The strategic role of Lesson Study: Stressing the importance of an integrated Learning and Development strategy in schools

Whereas learning and development is inherent to teachers’ day-to-day profession, either through teaching students or spending time on their own professional development, in other sectors this topic receives increasing attention. In business, for example, Learning & Development (L&D) has even become a vital profession on its own over the past three decades, with various university degrees offered in this field and new roles such as L&D manager and Chief Learning Officer (CLO) in large companies (Van Dam, 2018). Despite Lesson Study – as a professional L&D approach for teachers – has a rich and still rapidly growing knowledge base (Dudley, 2015), the business perspective on L&D may offer useful insights that could further improve the way Lesson Study is implemented and sustained in schools. In this paper, I introduce a business framework using five components of a successful L&D strategy (Brassey, Christensen, & Van Dam, 2018). Central to this framework is the alignment of L&D with a company’s overall business priorities and its strategic role in the following areas (1) attracting and retaining talent, (2) motivating and engaging employees, (3) developing people capabilities, (4) creating a values-based culture, and (5) building an employer brand. Using this framework, I explore how Lesson Study could be integrated in schools’ HR policies and governance strategies (Admiraal et al., 2016), and what it requires from school leaders to promote a sustainable professional learning culture in schools for Lesson Study to become an organizational routine (Wolthuis, Van Veen, De Vries, & Hubers, 2020).

234

Leadership, management and policy aspects of sustainable Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Tijmen Schipper

Netherlands

Live Discussion

18:40-18:55

(CET)

1st Dec
01:40-01:55

(GMT +8)

11:40-11:55

(CST)

Parallel Symposium A

Parallel Symposium B

Parallel Symposium C

Parallel Paper D

18:55-19:00

(CET)

1st Dec
01:55-02:00

(GMT +8)

11:55-12:00

(CST)

Break

Session 5

19:00-19:50

(CET)

Q&A start 19:50

1st Dec
02:00-02:50

(GMT +8)
Q&A start 02:50

12:00-12:50

(CST)
Q&A start 12:50

Parallel Paper A

Sustainable instruction development through Teacher Research Group

The aim of this study is to capture how variation theory can be used as theoretical lense for teachers’ work in Teacher Research Groups, and what parts of the theoretical assumptions used have sustained, respectively which parts have disappeared during the years. The research questions are; 1. How are the goal of the lesson clarified for the pupils?, 2. In what way do teachers capture pupils’ knowledge development related to the defined goal?, 3. Which theoretical assumptions are used to develop test-questions and design of lessons? The context is a Swedish primary school, where a variant of Lesson Study called Teacher Research Groups (TRG) (Yang, 2009) was introduced more than four years ago, and is still sustaining as professional development for enhancing the quality of instruction and pupils’ learning. The model consists of collaborative discussions about the content presented and design of the lessons, designing entrance and exit tickets. The tickets consist a question or task to be answered in a couple of minutes. The question is capturing the goal of the lesson, what the teachers have decided as knowledge development during the lesson. Both the questions and design of the lessons are guided by variation theory (Marton, 2015; Holmqvist, 2011). The results show how the teachers identify the goal verbally and by the entrance and exit question tickets. The knowledge development are identified by the tickets but also during the lessons. The theoretical assumption mainly used is contrast.

Reconceptualisation of Lesson or Learning Study through ongoing practice-based classroom teaching and learning

Papers

Mona Holmqvist , Mona Holmqvist, Agneta Borgström, Birgitta Jönsson

Sweden

Lesson Study Research for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

The aim of this review is to synthesize research results from studies using the lesson study cycles as method studying SEND issues in the field of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD) e.g Autism, ADHD and Intellectual Disability to analyze if and how lesson study is a powerful model to enhance students’ with NDD learning and designed to be used in education. By that, this review differs form, but is based on the review done by Brahm Norwich, Benham-Clarke and Goei (2020), as this review is narrowed down to only include LS-studies focusing NDD participants. If lesson study, as a collaborative professional development model, can contribute to develop inclusive education for students with NDD is a question to be answered in this systematic research review. The review used the concepts Lesson Study and SEND approaches, and research articles in international scientific journals during the past 10 years was selected. The initial search identified few studies, therefore we additionally searched by hand amongst other sources e.g the International Journal of Lesson and Learning study. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers and checked for validity by third author. Thematic analyse was used to synthesise the findings. The result contributes to stakeholders and educators as well as to the society as a whole, finding innovative ways of enhancing academic achievement for all students is a worldwide goal.

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Linda Petersson-Bloom , Emma Leifler, Mona Holmqvist

Sweden

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

The pedagogical practices in mainstream settings for inclusion and the response to the identified and targeted needs for Special Educational Needs (SEN) learners appear somewhat fragile and indeed fragmented. There is a gap between the knowledge and theory of SEN and actual practice, and this is evident in primary mathematics. Teacher Professional Development (PD) plays a pivotal role in supporting schools towards the inclusion of SEN learners. It is prudent that the PD needs of teachers address this gap. This case study follows two primary schools as they develop a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and engage in the Lesson Study (LS) process to support their PD regarding the inclusion of SEN learners in mainstream primary mathematics. Underpinned by the Teaching for Robust Understanding (TRU) framework in mathematics (Schoenfeld, 2018) and focused on case study pupils (Dudley, 2013), the LS cycle is framed by the teacher participants experiencing mathematics through the eyes of the child, and in this case, the SEN learner. Early findings show that teachers developed PCK for mathematics teaching. They also collaborated effectively to understand and direct the mathematical trajectories for their SEN learners and made connections to all their learners. In this case, LS shows promise and potential as a sustainable form of teacher PD that can support the inclusion of all learners in an inclusive mainstream setting.

134

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Dennis Mulligan

Ireland

Title: Lesson Study – the role of the school management

The tasks of teachers in Lesson Study processes are described in detail in the literature. A role that is still little described is that of the school management in the practical implementation of Lesson Study, which is why two school leaders give insight into school leadership in Lesson Study. This paper describes school and lesson development as core tasks of school leaders, who implement the following activities when conducting Lesson Study: Initiate, Organize, Moderate, Present, Publish. In the primary school of the University College of Teacher Education in Lower Austria, Lesson Studies have been carried out for several years as part of the pedagogical-practical studies of initial teacher education. Its headteacher reports on knowledge gained and the collegial collaboration experienced. She discusses the resources required for the regular and comprehensive implementation of Lesson Study and the managerial support for professional learning communities to create productive and sustainable collaboration between school management and staff. The primary school St. Johann team, together with the school leader, set itself the goal of professionalizing English lessons with the help of Lesson Study using the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) method. The headteacher discusses the creation of the necessary conditions to implement Lesson Study: It was necessary to train the entire team so that the teachers could act as a professional team to carry out this form of lesson development. To make Lesson Study sustainable, strong support from the school management was required: Primary measures for making this happen are presented in this session.

252

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Silvia Quendler , Angelika Dobrowsky

Austria

Professional Learning Communities as Facilitators of Reflection to Connect Learning Outcomes, Learning Processes and Teaching Practices

The concept of a reflective/proflective (Fischer, 2007) developmental orientation as paradigm corresponds with the “function of quality development in schools and teaching” (Wurster, Richter, Schliesing, & Pant, 2013, p. 24). It requires a systematic and systemic approach to quality development in each school drawing on external and internal evidence. Contextual data like affective and social effects (Ditton, 2000), the characteristics of teaching (ibid.), complex processes in schools and in class as well as competency orientation (Weinert, 2001) and results from competence assessments (Leutner, Fleischer, Grünkorn, & Klieme, 2017) gain in importance. Helmke’s (2004) model on working with evidence in quality development in schools has been used as a framework in different contexts. Empirical data from Austria as well as Germany show that the reflection phase turns out to be the crucial factor, so that evidence can trigger well-founded and long-term action in quality development. Dialogue and cooperation are ways to support reflection processes, which are best initiated in the context of professional learning communities. This contribution aims at discussing the role of professional learning communities for quality development in schools. Furthermost, professional learning communities can help overcome the gap between student assessment outcomes and teaching practices. Finding way in the reflection phase to connect learning outcomes, teaching practices, and learning processes is the most important aspect, so that quality development processes can touch the core of schools – learning and teaching. This paper discusses a basic model of learning communities to serve those need.

319

Developing Professional Learning Communities: Models and practices

Papers

Claudia Schreiner , Christian Wiesner, Simone Breit

Austria

Parallel Paper B

Prospective mathematics teachers’ perceptions about their learning experience in a lesson study

Initial teacher education is often criticized by the separation between theory and practice and by unfolding in unconnected activities that prospective teachers find difficulty in integrating as a coherent whole. Lesson study, carefully framed considering the conditions of teacher education programs, is a promising working process for initial teacher education, allowing overcoming these limitations. This study aims to identify what prospective mathematics teachers that participated in a lesson study, from their own point of view, learned regarding mathematics and mathematics teaching. It also aims to know what salient elements of the dynamics of a lesson study in initial teacher education may be conducive to professional learning. The methodology is qualitative and interpretative, with data collected by participant observation, a semi structured interview carried out at the end of the semester, and document collection. This lesson study was carried out with fourteen prospective mathematics teachers, in the first year of their master’s of teaching program in a Portuguese university. The results indicate that future teachers manifest initial difficulty in understanding the LS process, which was overcome when the planning phase began. It also shows that future teachers can develop a deeper knowledge of the contents, becoming more aware of their own difficulties in Mathematics. In relation to didactic issues, this study shows that future Mathematics teachers can experience significant learning regarding the selection of tasks to propose to students, the anticipation of students' reasoning and difficulties, as well as about the conduction of classroom communication.

151

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Marisa Quaresma , João Pedro da Ponte

Portugal

Bridging theory and naïve prospective teachers practice observation in the context of lesson studies

Framed by the project “Lesson study in initial teacher education”* we developed multiple lesson-studies, each study with one pair of prospective primary teachers, aiming to understand the development of prospective teachers´ PCK. In this presentation we focus two research questions: 1) how prospective primary teacher organize mathematical lesson planning, integrating learning objectives, structure, and flow of the lesson? and 2) what challenges they face? Results indicate that prospective teachers tend to elaborate a global plan based on their interpretations of what pupils can understand and do. One difficulty they observed in previous classrooms´ lessons of mathematics is assumed as a ‘law’ that is not questioned or analysed in the context of the related didactics of mathematics theory. Gradually, they became aware of these difficulties and begin to recall aspects of the theory that can help them to decide on the structure and flow of the lesson. The collaborative characteristic of lesson studies clearly helped them to justify or to refute their naïve observations helping them to bridge theory with practice. It also propitiated the identifications of challenges they face when they define the learning objectives of a mathematical lesson or when they justify the curricular integration of the lesson. Our findings contribute to research knowledge about major factors (other than the well-known factors related to teachers’ mathematical knowledge and beliefs) that deserve attention by teacher education programs in preparing prospective teachers to plan lessons. * Project reference: PTDC/CED-EDG/31480/2017

185

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Catarina Delgado , Fátima Mendes, Joana Brocardo

Portugal

PINK / BLUE COLOUR OR GENDER BIAS? AUDIOVISUAL LITERACY AND LESSON STUDY FOR TEACHER EDUCATION FROM GENDER PERSPECTIVE

This research untitled “This is not an issue about pink colour or blue colour. This is a gender issue”, to be applied in a first year of Degree in Early Childhood Education at University of Malaga (Spain), concretely in a subject called ‘Inclusive Education’. The aim of this research project was to raise a critical awareness of gender and cultural stereotypes in future teachers. This project team offers originality due to the diversity of the profiles of the members: a professor specialised in Social Studies, Literacy Audiovisual, and Feminist Theory; a lecturer and a researcher in Lesson Study; and a teacher in Child Education and a master´s student in Equality and Gender. The research design has developed in two cycles according to Lesson Study, and the process of audiovisual literacy-performative practice (ALPP). This process ALPP is based on a method called ‘Didactics of Eutopian’ (Triviño y Vaquero, 2019) and it is structured in three phases: ˗ Phase 1. ‘Audiovisual Literacy’. Using an observation guide, to analyse conflicts relating to gender bias and racist prejudices in TV shows about childhood contexts. ˗ Phase 2 ‘Audiovisual Literacy-Performative Practice’. To reflect on these videos and to identify agents acting to generate a inclusive situation. ˗ Phase 3 ‘Performative Practice’. To design a resource (tale, video, toy…) that transmitted inclusive values directed at children. The successful results of this project showed the effectiveness of the application of Lesson Study and process ALPP for the acquisition of critical and creative skills in teacher education.

223

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

cristinarodriguezrobles , Marina Estela Martín-Olmedo, Laura Triviño-Cabrera

Spain

A framework for analysing video-recorded Lesson Study research lessons in initial teacher education and teacher induction

This paper deals with the use of video recorded Lesson Study research lessons in initial teacher education and teacher induction. Although it refers to eight lessons from the subject English as a foreign language in lower secondary education, conceptual rationales and analytical conclusions can be transferred to other subjects or school types. Based on the observation that in the last 10 years video has been increasingly used in teacher education, Gaudin and Chalies (2015) identify three reasons for the increasing use of video in teacher education: (1) Compared to traditional observation, videos offer easier access to classroom events without losing authenticity. As selected "artifacts of practice", they create a link between traditional theoretical education at university and classroom practice. (2) Technological advances have made it easier to create and view videos and improved storage capacities and software contributed to the development of video as part of professional practice analysis. (3) Video sequences are used to facilitate the implementation of institutional reforms. During recent lockdowns caused by the Corona pandemic, video provided insight into otherwise closed classroom situations. Considering this scenario, the increasing use of video in teacher education, and the growing digital orientation of mentoring, this paper summarizes Lesson Study approaches to video creation and use. Moreover, it presents a framework for the analysis of video-recorded research lessons based on Lesson Study of three teacher educators in the context of initial teacher education and mentoring in Austria.

259

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Claudia Mewald , Karin Rath, Sabine Wallner

Austria

Parallel Paper C

Working toward the sustainability of lesson study in Malta: Drawing insights through self-study

To support the growing interest in lesson study in Malta, the three authors teamed up in 2019 to launch the ‘Collaborative Lesson Study Malta’ (CLeStuM) research programme (see www.clestum.eu). Through this programme, they help schools do lesson study, organise lesson study events and conduct lesson study research. However, the need is now felt to make lesson study a sustainable professional learning option for local teachers. Their accumulated lesson study experiences make it ideal for them to look back and reflect in order to look forward and plan ahead toward a more sustainable future for lesson study in Malta. They are adopting a self-study approach that permits them to study their own ‘practice’ (see Lunenberg, Zwart & Korthagen, 2010) of promoting and contributing to the implementation of lesson study in Malta. The research data was generated through ‘professional conversations’ (see Britt, Irwin & Ritchie, 2001) that each had with oneself and with the other two. They also wrote a number of individual reports that are based on their own experiences and documentation on the CLeStuM website. Moreover, they participated in online discussions as a group that were video recorded. This multi-layered data collection process has led to rich narratives (both written and on video) that is being analysed formally using the thematic approach advocated by Creswell (2013). Initial analysis suggests that sustainability is subject to a number of factors, including the school-based presence of a lesson study facilitator and adaptability of the lesson study process to the local cultural context.

Leadership, management and policy aspects of sustainable Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Michael Buhagiar , James Calleja, Michelle Attard Tonna

Malta

Lesson study results for education of students with learning disabilities, a systematic review

Lesson study results for education of students with learning disabilities, a systematic review Lesson study is an effective approach for developing teaching and by extension students learning. However, most of earlier research in the area tend to focus on typically developed students, which makes lesson studies for teaching students with learning disabilities (LD) to an urgent area of research. Therefore, our intention is to systematize research focusing Lesson and Learning studies directed towards students with LD to facilitate further research and prepare teachers to reduce barriers for learning for this student group. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of previous research regarding lesson, or learning studies for students with LD, to develop a formal set of recommendations for educators and future researchers aiming at improving teaching for students with LD. RQ1. In what fields and educational settings are studies made? RQ2. What implications for practice can be found from the results? RQ3. Which research gaps can be found? Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive search was initiated in four databases: ERIC via Ebsco, Pubmed, Psycinfo and Libsearch. Basis for the final sample consisted of peer-reviewed articles, focusing lesson and/or learning studies, conducted with learners with LD. Published in English between 2000-May 2021. Results: In the initial search, 126 potential articles were identified. After screening following PRISMA guidelines 2020, 13 items remained. Findings: Tentative findings, identification of eventually research gap and implications for practice will be presented at the conference.

Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

Papers

Kamilla Klefbeck , Linda Plantin Ewe, Mona Holmqvist

Sweden

A comparative understanding of the implementation of lesson study in Malta and the Philippines

Teacher learning and development is the focus of a broad body of literature (Orland-Barak 2014; Campbell 2017; Korthagen 2017) due to the key role which teachers hold in educational reform. Schools can be important learning environments for teachers and conceptualisations of teacher learning, competences and professionalism are mediated and situated in multiple contexts. In this research study we explore the implementation of lesson study in one school in Malta and another one in the Philippines. The way these teachers’ relate to the working and learning environment is investigated through their disposition to engage in this professional form of learning, and the constraining and / or enabling features of the schools they practise in. Teacher development is shaped profoundly by the cultural, economic, and social contexts in which teachers teach. The two school contexts which inform our research are abound with tensions surrounding the way schools concpetualise teacher professional learning and how they seek to initiate and promote lesson study. This comparative element is important to help us identify how lesson study can flourish within contexts that may not be so strongly built on collaborative professionalism (Hargreaves & O’Connor 2018). Our research questions are concerned with the convergences and pecularities that can be found in Malta’s and in the Philippines’ teacher education policies and school practices. The complexity theory (Davis and Sumara 2006) is used to help us understand these two contexts. We think that this approach can open up coherent conversations and a deep understanding of the complex purposes, opportunities and responses involved in teacher development and learning with a particular focus on lesson study. This research study suggests the need for diversity in lesson study implementation because school and professional development practices are always ‘reassembled, connected, and disconnected’ when they encounter alternative systems of knowledge production and educational practice (Popkewitz 2005, 9).

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Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

Papers

michelleattardtonna , Reyneth Renan Matta

Malta

Teacher Learning Through Conversation: How Can Lesson Study Facilitators Contribute to In-Depth Teacher Talk

When participating in Lesson Study (LS), in-depth teacher talk is essential for teachers’ learning in which teachers try to understand and challenge each other’s viewpoints. Several studies emphasize that a LS facilitator can be a potential added value to this process. However, empirical evidence is scarce of how facilitators contribute to the depth of teacher talk. In this two-case study, we conducted thorough conversation analysis on two post-research lesson conversations of two LS teams coached by a facilitator. Our main analytical framework was based on literature on inquiry-based, exploratory, connected and disconnected talk (Slavit et al., 2012) to indicate the depth of the teacher talk, and on literature on communication skills (Veening et al, 2009) to describe facilitators’ moves such as giving turns and characteristics of the asked questions. We found that (1) facilitators have a decisive influence in structuring the conversation in different phases, that (2) the facilitators’ moves relate to the goal of the different phases (for example: giving turns to ensure everyone has time to share a first impression of the research lesson), and (3) facilitators moves not only support in-depth teacher talk, but do also elicit more superficial teacher talk. This study reflects the great impact a facilitator has on the conversation what underpins the necessity for good quality training for facilitators to provide them with the tools to influence the conversations for the better. The study provides concrete recommandations on how to design facilitators’ training, which matches the strand for leadership, management and policy aspects.

318

Leadership, management and policy aspects of sustainable Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Iris Uffen , Siebrich de Vries, Sui Lin Goei, Nellie Verhoef, Klaas van Veen

Netherlands

Parallel Paper D

Enhancing Modelling of Lesson Study Outcomes: Collaboration analysis in post lesson reviews

Lesson Study is a collaborative endeavour, yet analysis of that collaboration in post lesson reviews is underdeveloped. There is developing work on facilitating Lesson Study (de Vries & Uffen, 2021; Morago & Grigioni Baur, 2021, Mynott 2018). However this facilitation focuses more on structures and ways to support collaboration, rather than analysis of the resulting collaboration. Mynott (2019) indicated that there were a variety of potential outcomes for Lesson Study cycles, with a limiting dimension being collaboration. Yet, this outcome model needs to be further developed. Using transcripts of Lesson Study reviews undertaken in 2021 and coding them using consideration of collaboration outcomes at a meta, meso and micro level supports our understanding of collaborative advantage or inertia in Lesson Study. Through the combination of collaboration research (Lemon & Salmon, 2021; Achinstein, 2002; Cropper, 1996) outside of Lesson Study with Mynott’s (2019) outcome model it is possible to extend and expand the existing outcome model for Lesson Study. This enhanced collaborative outcome model can then be linked to network analysis to further understand the dimensions of collaboration in Lesson Study. For Lesson Study facilitators this means an enhancement to the theoretical underpinning of their andragogical work, which in turn may support future facilitation.

Research methodology and theoretical underpinnings of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

johnmynott

United Kingdom

A systematic review of methodological transparency in lesson study: Collecting, discussing and analysing student data

Lesson Study (LS) is an evidence-based approach to teaching improvement that relies on systematic observations and data-driven reflection. Yet, the processes of observation and reflection in LS are not standardized (Cerbin & Kopp, 2006) and often remain vague in publications (Larssen et al., 2018). The underreporting of methods and processes is not unique to LS-literature, but extends to other research areas in education (DeLuca et al., 2014). Reasons for this lack of transparency are plenty, as educational systems require unique adaptations of professional development programs, publicatications are subject to space restrictions, and processes such as observation and reflection are often presumed to have an universal understanding. We argue that without clearly explained methods, valuable knowledge on the effectiveness of LS is lost in the translation from practice to theory. Building on Larssen et al.’s (2018) review of LS in initial teacher education, the current study examines how observation and post-lesson discussions are reported in the in-service teacher LS-literature published between 2010-2020. In total, 1.765 articles have been identified and are currently being screened for inclusion in accordance with PRISMA-guidelines (Moher et al., 2009). The resulting articles will be analysed on the basis of a Critical Appraisal Checklist using MaxQda. By describing the characteristics of methodologies in LS-literature, we aim to identify specific areas that empirical papers should give critical attention to. We further discuss the findings in the light of the current discourse on the importance of articulating ambiguous concepts in the field of education. (for references contact author)

Research methodology and theoretical underpinnings of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Kager Klara , Jurczok Anne, Vock Miriam

Germany

How dialogic interactions contribute to the construction of teachers’ mathematical problem-solving knowledge

This research aims to analyse how dialogic interactions contribute to the construction of teachers’ mathematical problem-solving knowledge. The meetings during one lesson study cycle of a group of ten Swiss primary teachers were video recorded and transcribed. The ongoing analysis is conducted by crossing dialogic analysis (e.g., Kershner et al., 2020) on the one hand, and mathematical knowledge for teaching (Ball et al., 2008) and Mathematics Problem-Solving Knowledge for Teaching (MPSKT, Chapman, 2015), on the other hand. Preliminary results showed how the roles of the participants (facilitators, participating teachers) shaped their contributions in the dialogue and their use of MPSKT. Updated results will be included in the presentation. This research should bring significant contributions both from theoretical (networking of two families of theories, fine-grained characterisation of the link between lesson study dialogue and teachers’ knowledge development) and practice (for example, facilitators' moves to stimulate rich dialogue in order to develop shared knowledge) points of view. Ball, D. L., Thames, M. H., & Phelps, G. (2008). Content knowledge for teaching: What makes it special? Journal of Teacher Education, 59(5), 389-407. Chapman, O. (2015). Mathematics teachers’ knowledge for teaching problem solving. LUMAT (2013–2015 Issues), 3(1), 19-36. Kershner, R., Hennessy, S., Wegerif, R., & Ahmed, A. (2020). Research methods for educational dialogue. Bloomsbury Academic.

Research methodology and theoretical underpinnings of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Stéphane Clivaz , Luc-Olivier Bünzli, Valérie Batteau, Audrey Daina, Sara Presutti

Switzerland

Variation theory as a mediating tool for developing leisure-time teachers’ awareness of research-based studies for contributing student learning

This study aims to increase teacher awareness of using variation theory to accentuate content accessible to all students. Variation theory contributes to opportunities to study, develop and construct teaching practice where the teacher’s acquired content knowledge is closely related to the students’ learning possibilities. Furthermore, the assumptions of variation theory can include a mediating artefact for teachers’ professional development teaching when participating in learning study, since these assumptions create an understanding of how the content can be treated and understood. In the present study, 20 primary school teachers, mainly leisure-time teachers who had previously completed four learning studies, participated in a research project consisting of literature studies for six months. At the foreground of the study were the possibilities of variation theory to develop their teaching practice towards increased content accessibility for all students’ qualitatively. The findings show that leisure-time teachers distinguish, with the support of in-depth knowledge of theoretical concepts, the research-related studies’ treatment of the learning object regardless of subject content. The study results also indicate that the teachers who did not participate in the previous learning studies showed difficulties focusing on the learning object’s treatment to putting the subject content in the foreground. This qualitative difference hindered a broad theoretical and equivalent discussion about students’ learning with their colleagues. The study supports the variation theory, such as mediating artefacts, which differed in how the leisure-time teachers in more advanced theoretical perspectives could discuss teaching design and related the research studies to their practice regardless of subject.

189

Research methodology and theoretical underpinnings of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Balli Lelinge , Christina Svensson

Sweden

Increased accessibility in moral complexity through variation theory in grade 2

This study aims to increase teachers’ awareness and knowledge to develop students’ moral competencies using the variation theory approach. The design of the study was through the learning study method. One researcher, four teachers and 77 students were involved in this study that lasted for half a semester with a planning meeting once a week for two hours. The data collection included role-plays, interviews, classroom observations and audio-recorded documentation of the student’s reflections. Using pre-, post-and delayed post-tests, the teachers could design new lessons according to the critical aspects each research lesson indicated needed to develop. The findings showed that students consider peer actions as morally superior to their school’s demands for discipline and punctuality. Though, the teachers, on the other hand, are concerned about the students’ inability to see the consequences of their actions. In using critical aspects and contrasting different moral dilemmas, there is evidence in the results that variation theory increases understanding and awareness that democratic actions and kindness are more important for the students than schoolwork consequences. Variation theory also helped inform the teachers how to vary their lessons to develop students’ moral competencies. This study has a great significance on students more profound understanding regarding the learning object. The teaching design contributed to communicating thoughts through body language and discussing and arguing for their ethical standpoints. The intervention also highlights that students’ descriptions of dilemmas are associated with moral complexity and difficulties finding the “keys” to comprehend the chosen learning objects.

190

Research methodology and theoretical underpinnings of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Balli Lelinge

Sweden

Live Q&A

19:50-20:00

(CET)

1st Dec
02:50-03:00

(GMT +8)

12:50-13:00

(CST)

Parallel Paper A

Parallel Paper B

Parallel Paper C

Parallel Paper D

Session 6

20:00-20:40

(CET)

Q&A start 20:40

1st Dec
03:00-03:40

(GMT +8)
Q&A start 03:40

13:00-13:40

(CST)
Q&A start 13:40

Parallel Symposium A

Open Lesson Study Research Lesson: Attending to student voice in vocational education and training

This symposium presents a Lesson Study (LS) research lesson (RL) in vocational education and training (VET) with a focus on student voice and participation. In Austria, a “dual vocational training” can be attended after compulsory schooling at companies and vocational schools. Its major part is the company-based practical training: Apprentices are employed under paid apprenticeship contracts, fully integrated into the world of work. VET lasts for 2-4 years and can be supplemented by an extra-curricular school leaving exam for university qualification. Instruction at school is organized in day-, block-, or seasonal-release. This LS was carried out in a VET school using the block-release system with students attending 1 block of 10 weeks each year. The confectioners in this LS were in their 3rd year and in preparation for the final exam, which includes the production and presentation of several workpieces, usually carried out in the language of schooling (German). In this LS, however, the presentation was part of the students’ English for professional purposes course. The study aimed at creating a professional learning community between teachers, knowledgeable others, and students to find out how a focus on the students’ voice would improve their motivation to carry out their presentation in English and its quality. The first part of the symposium presents extracts from the video recorded LSRL and student interviews. In their paper, the teachers reflect on the LSRL as well as student and teacher learning. The second paper discusses student participation in LS from an inside and outside perspective.

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Lesson or Learning Study in different cultural, subject and learning contexts

DEEP DIVE - Symposia

Claudia Mewald , Elena Lehmann, Nina Snopek , Michaela Tscherne

Austria

Parallel Paper B

Online LS with Biology and Physics Preservice Teachers: First Results and Food for Thought

Implementing LS in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) is not as common or easy as its use within groups of teachers. The sanitary situation made it more complex. An interdisciplinary LS including preservice highs-school Biology and Physics teachers was implemented. Each LS group contained at least one Biologist and one Physicist. They were set to work on a lesson or double lesson that would deal with either energy or evolution, and would look at both sides of the topic, making it teachable both in a Biology and a Physics class. Lockdown happening just after the first meeting prevented the lessons to be taught and observed live. However, as shown by other research (Wang et al., 2021; Goei et al., 2021), rich discussions about the lessons took place when the students presented their work to their colleagues online. The purpose of this presentation is to lay before you the problems and good bits of the experience, and discuss the planned evolution of this online project in the future, because zoom meetings have become part of our lives. Our results show that online LS without the live research lesson doesn’t allow LS to show its full professional development potential. However, apart from the predictable logistical issues, a lot of positive findings were made: the limits to which co-operation was pushed were furthered, practical tools for teaching were developed, links between Biology and Physics, unexpected for the students, were discovered, and a master’s thesis about the work was written.

108

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Pia-Ingrid HOZNOUR , Sveva M. Grigioni Baur, Yves Debernardi

Switzerland

A professionalization intervention to support mathematics teachers to implement problem solving in lessons.

Mathematics teachers in the Netherlands pay little attention to problem-solving skills in their lessons, while there is a lot of material available. An approach that has good results in Japan, Teaching Through Problem-solving (TTP) combined with Lesson Study (LS), may offer a solution for this: TTP provides a structure to implement problem solving skills in math lessons; LS appears to be a powerful professionalization approach. At two secondary schools in the Northern part of the Netherlands mathematics teachers,, teacher educators, and researchers are developing, implementing and evaluating a TTP and LS based intervention. The aim is to develop a scientifically based and practice-supported intervention, with which math teachers in the Netherlands can improve their education in problem-solving. The research focuses on the question: How can a professionalization intervention with characteristics of TTP embedded in LS support mathematics teachers to pay attention to problem-solving? In line with design research and in line with our central question, our sub questions are: a. How has the developed TTP-LS intervention been implemented in the context of the two schools? b. What are the perceived benefits of the TTP-LS intervention? c. What successes and problems do teachers and facilitators experience with the implementation of TTP-LS in the two schools with regard to (i) the characteristics of the intervention and (ii) the mechanisms leading to potential benefits? During the WALS the interim results will be presented.

150

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Gerrit Roorda , Siebrich de Vries, Annemieke Smale

Netherlands

Analysis of interactions between children and early chilhood educators in creches

Language acquisition is one of the most important achievements of early childhood, its process and its quality shape the future life of the child. For example, it has a decisive influence on the acquisition of additional languages, the development of cognitive processes and the quality of social integration. The emotional and motivational basis of language acquisition is formed by the toddler's social inclinations and attachment needs, as well as social inclinations, with his environment playing a prominent role in changing these processes. These interactions provide a framework for language acquisition, where in the classic case language acquisition is not guided, but takes place through everyday situations, through participation in authentic communication situations. The axiom is that language skills develop in language use. The aim of the present study was to examine the qualitative aspects of communication between a child and a teacher by means of empirical language-pedagogical research. We examined the diversity, awareness and efficiency with which educators use communication tools and techniques in various preschool education situations for children under 3 years of age.

155

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

dr. Agnes Klein , dr. Éva Szederkényi

Hungary

Physical Education Students Teacher's perceptions about the use of Lesson Studies as a method support their Schools Placement Education

Lesson studies (LS) have been little explored in the context of Physical Education (PE) (Jess, 2017), namely in Portugal. This study aimed to analyse the perceptions of PE student teachers regarding the usefulness of LS as a method to support their practicum An LS model in a complete format (Sayto & Yeo, 2017) was carried out. The participants were nine student teachers (4 ♀ e 5 ♂). Two lessons were studied. The composition of a creative floor gymnastics performance was the LS topic. Eight sessions were implemented in planning and analysis of two research lessons. Data were collected by a focus group, didactic documents, logs and videotaped lessons. Data analysis was carried out through inductive observation, and inductive thematic content analyses. According to the student teachers’ perceptions, there was an improvement in their technologies management and in the preparation of their logs. Group reflection, collaborative work, and work in practice communities were also valued. The student teachers recognized the action context as both practical and applied, and also as their roots to their pedagogical content knowledge improvement and to the impact on their students’ knowledge. These results support the positive contribution of LS to PE student teachers’ education during the practicum. Positive perceptions on LS and their contribution to collaborative work skills, planning, and pedagogical content knowledge were expressed.

207

Lesson or Learning Study in initial teacher training

Papers

Marcos Onofre , António Rodrigues, João Martins, Maria João Martins, Fernanda Santinha, Ana Quitério

Portugal

Parallel Paper C

Linguistic Concretization Grids: Revisiting Lesson Studies with a Helpful Tool for German as a Foreign Language Classrooms.

Aim of our project at the University of Bozen-Bolzano is to improve linguistic input quality during activities in German-as-a-foreign-language at Italian kindergartens. Through a two-step video recorded field study with non-participatory open observations based on the Language Input Observation Scheme I (LIOS I, Asgari, Zanin, WALS 2020), we want to find answers to the following research questions: Can the categories “quantity” and “quality of linguistic input” be improved by concretizing the linguistic means before a teaching activity? And: Are a checklist for linguistic means and an input observation scheme helpful tools for Lesson Studies. A focus group consisting of two university researchers and four kindergarten teachers will develop the linguistic input with help of a checklist based on the LIOS I categories. Similar to Grießhaber's (2006) concept of profile levels, linguistic means are assigned to the different proficiency levels of the children in line with the teaching sequence. In the next step, the enhanced teaching activity based on the kids book Zilly die Zauberin (Zilly the Sorcerer) will again be filmed and analyzed with the LIOS I observation sheet. At the WALS 2021 conference we would like to present a descriptive-analytical assessment of the LIOS I observation dataset and a qualitative semiotic analysis of the linguistic resources during the Lesson Study in a German as a foreign language activity. At the meta-level, a group discussion and a self-assessment questionnaire for the educators will also be used to ascertain whether linguistic concretization grids are a useful tool for Lesson Studies.

Reconceptualisation of Lesson or Learning Study through ongoing practice-based classroom teaching and learning

Papers

Asgari, Marjan , Zanin

Italy

Linguistic Input Quality in Learning Scenarios: Revision and Sustainability through a Practice-Based Research Approach

Aim of our research project of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and the Erasmus+ Project "Learning scenarios to support inclusive language and culture education for heterogeneous school classes" (2020 - 2023) is to create a reservoir of learning scenarios, which will be designed, validated, and revised in a Lesson Study cycle. For a needs analysis, a questionnaire was first sent to 39 kindergarten teachers. In this questionnaire they were asked about the framework conditions for German as a foreign language activities and their self-perception regarding their own linguistic input quality. It turned out that an uncertainty exists especially regarding syntax (24%) and lexis (21%). Therefore, integrating linguistic input quality into learning scenarios is of crucial importance. Based on the Input Quality Observation Scheme (Martina Weitz, 2015), and the Teacher Input Observation Scheme (Kersten 2020), the Language Input Observation Scheme (LIOS I, Mastellotto, Zanin 2020; Asgari, Zanin 2021) was created for peer. In September, a focus group consisting of two researchers and four kindergarten teachers will plan a learning scenario using the LIOS I in a cross-school cooperation through video conferences. In October these learning scenario will be overserved, filmed, and analyzed with the LIOS I. Based on qualitative and quantitative data the LIOS I and the learning scenario will be revised. Afterwards they will be available for kindergarten teachers throughout the province of South Tyrol. During WALS 2021, we would like to present the advantages of this practice-based research approach for developing learning scenarios with a high linguistic input quality.

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Asgari, Marjan , Zanin

Italy

THE USE OF LESSON STUDY IN DEVELOPING GRADE 1 TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

Results of (inter)national assessments suggest that South African learners underperform in mathematics. One of the key explanations for this is that teachers are deemed to have inadequate knowledge of mathematics content and pedagogy. To improve teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge, well-planned and researched professional development programmes need to be put in place. The seeming success of the Lesson Study approach to continuing professional development in Japan and in many countries internationally provided the framework for developing primary mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. The research asks: How does Lesson Study contribute to the development of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge? Using a qualitative case study approach, the first author worked collaboratively with four Grade 1 teachers from two schools. Data was generated through observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis during the Lesson Study process. The Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2008) framework was used as analytic and explanatory tool in this research. This framework delineates between subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The pedagogical content knowledge category, which is the focus of this paper, consists of three domains, knowledge of content and students, knowledge of content and teaching, and knowledge of content and curriculum. This study's findings showed that participation in the interactive cycles of Lesson Study provided the teachers with an opportunity to collaborate and reflect on their knowledge. Together, they developed their confidence and pedagogical content knowledge. The study's findings suggest that lesson study can be used as a strategy for practice-based teacher professional development.

212

Reconceptualisation of Lesson or Learning Study through ongoing practice-based classroom teaching and learning

Papers

Naomi Kgothego , Lise Westaway

South Africa

Parallel Paper D

Lesson study: can the talks be exploratory? - A case study

The paper presents some of the results I gathered while working towards the completion of my PhD thesis. I place myself in a historical-cultural perspective that considers language as the tool of tools for the development of thought. I sought to understand what and how a lesson study group interacted when preparing a geography lesson for pupils aged 8 to 12. Considering lesson study as a possible way to reduce the tensions between practitioners and researchers, the research questions focuses on the thematic contents elaborated during the process, as well as on how the claims “to truth” are discussed and how possible disagreements are resolved. The corpus of the research consists of the transcripts representing in total about 16 hours of videos. I used an inductive methodology based on Maulini (2013/1017) to identify the thematic contents and the discourse analysis to understand how interactions take place in a way to think pupils’ learning. The main results show a predominance of convivial or friendly talk to the detriment of an exploratory talk (Littelton & Mercer, 2013) that should foster professional development. This leads to reconsider the role of facilitators and the use of theoretical frames in the process.

148

Research methodology and theoretical underpinnings of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Sandrine Breithaupt

Switzerland

ONLINE AND IN-PERSON CLASS INTERACTION: A RESEARCH ON COMBINATORICS CONDUCTED DURING COVID-19

A 6-cycles Lesson Study experience conducted in an Italian secondary school on the introduction to combinatorics is presented. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students were split into two groups: one group attending class physically, and the other attending online. The aim of the Lesson Study research was to compare the interactions among the students and between the students and the teachers according to the different modes of attendance: physical and virtual. In order to find evidence for the research, some teachers observed the lesson online, others in-person, and in the following cycles they swapped their roles. The analysis of the data, together with the video-recordings of the lessons and meetings and the interviews, allowed to identify some critical points, such as managing groups activity or the need to adapt the language when communication is not supported by physical interaction. In this presentation, after briefly introducing the setting, we focus on the differences in the class interactions in the two modes: in-person at school, and online presence. We conclude by analyzing some innovative aspects that came up from this experience and that could benefit the quality and the sustainability of Lesson Studies.

182

Innovative uses of Lesson or Learning Study

Papers

Carola Manolino , Valeria Andriano, Andrea Doveri, Cristiano Danè, Noemi Nurisso, Flavia Piazza

Italy

The role of lesson studies to foster a STEAM approach in education with textile design

This communication presents a reseach using lesson studies to improve a STEAM (Science, Technology, Egineering, Art, Mathemathic) approach (Yakman et al., 2012) in education to foster textile design in compulsory schooling in the french speaking part of Switzerland. To achieve such an endeavour, we used Lesson Studies to enable teachers in training programs to develop professional gestures centered on planning, analyzing as part of their teaching process. The process of lesson studies promotes a professional change for diffent reasons : on the one hand collective planning allows to deepen the comprehension of the object of learning and on the other, collective analysis pushes to articulate and internalize the theoretical frameworks explaining what is being done (Lewis & Hurd, 2011). In this research, the STEAM approach was used to train textile design activities to enhance multidisciplinary learning. Developing a STEAM approach in the teaching requires a change of paradigm in the education. This change has to be supported by the identification of professional gestures, focused on the learning process of the pupils. We compared pilote classes in compulsory schooling in the french speaking part of Switzerland and observed several issues related to the STEAM approach wich have been overcame with the lesson study. The results highlight the role of lesson studies in the construction of the professional gestures of teachers in order to improve a STEAM approach in the contexte of multidisciplinary learning with design textile activities.

204

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

John Didier , Frederique Vuille , Guillaume Massy, Suzanne Boulet

Switzerland

Learning to research and learning to research - Approaches and suggestions from an action research project in teacher education.

If action research is understood as "the systematic investigation of professional situations carried out by teachers themselves with the intention of improving them" (Elliott 1991: 69), then teachers should have a researching attitude. In other words, they must be enabled to systematically record, observe, and reflect on their everyday pedagogical activities. During teacher education, this research attitude should be developed and tested in order to then become effective in one's own professional practice. For this purpose, it is advisable to actively involve students in educational research. Different attitudes, multiple ways of working, non-linear processes and contradictory results of research should be made tangible for students (Huber 2009), to make university knowledge building transparent on the one hand and to enable independent research on the other hand. The approach of inquiry-based learning therefore aims at the participation of the learner in the process of science, at the alignment of the learner's situation with that of the person doing science. This translates Elliot's action research into the everyday life of students. The joint research effort of students and faculty can be traced along the ten characteristic features of action research (Altrichter & Posch, 2007) and a corresponding acquisition of competence can be expected (Posch 2009). Therefore, the approach of inquiry learning as learning to research (Stadler-Altmann at al. 2018) in a module of teacher training is presented first. Following this, aspects corresponding to the action research approach will be elaborated and perspectives of action research within teacher education will be pointed.

221

Creating knowledge in practice: action research and other practice-based research approaches

Papers

Ulrike Stadler-Altmann

Italy

Live Q&A

20:40-20:50

(CET)

1st Dec
03:40-03:50

(GMT +8)

13:40-13:50

(CST)

Parallel Symposium A

Parallel Paper B

Parallel Paper C

Parallel Paper D

20:50-21:00

(CET)

1st Dec
03:50-04:00

(GMT +8)

13:50-14:00

(CST)

Closing of the day: Pete Dudley and the Zone 2 team

2nd Dec
07:30–08:30

(CET)

(London -1hr)

2nd Dec
14:30–15:30

(GMT+8)

2nd Dec
00:30–01:30

(CT)

(New York +1hr)

WALS AGM (Live)

2nd Dec
08:30-09:00

(CET)

(London -1hr)

2nd Dec
15:30-16:00

(GMT+8)

2nd Dec
01:30-02:00

(CT)

(New York +1hr)