Teacher Professional Learning through Lesson Study

Collaborative Lesson Study Malta (CLeStuM) is a teacher professional development initiative housed within the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta. Recently, this initiative was involved in an Art Lesson Study held at Stella Maris College Junior School (Gżira). Lesson study is an ongoing professional learning approach widely used in Japan and is often attributed as an important tool for the improvement of teaching. In a lesson study teachers work together to identify goals for student learning and, consequently, engage in ongoing cycles to plan, teach, observe and evaluate the lesson. The Art lesson study was planned for a group of 12 boys in Grade 4 (aged 8 years) and focused on pupils’ understanding of the concepts of foreground, middle ground and background and their application in an art work. This lesson study involved an eight-week ongoing collaboration between the Art teacher (Laura) and a lesson study leader who facilitated the lesson study process. An Art Education expert (Raphael) also provided feedback both at the planning stage and following the actual teaching of the lesson.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

For the two lesson trials, held on Monday 2^nd March 2020 and Friday 6^th March 2020, a number of observers were invited to attend. Observers were provided with a copy of the detailed lesson plan and an observation sheet, and were asked to take notes during the lesson. The main focus of these observations was student thinking and learning. Observers included professional development leaders, academic members from the Faculty of Education (University of Malta), members of the school leadership team, the class teacher and a learning support educator. A post-lesson discussion session was held after each lesson trial. The focus of the discussion was on the lesson and, in particular, on the learning that had taken place and the ways in which the lesson could be improved.

The CLeStuM team is led by Dr James Calleja in collaboration with two other team members Dr Michelle Attard Tonna and Dr Michael Buhagiar.

For more information about CLeStuM initiatives and lesson studies: