Sharing lesson study work with Philippine educators
Collaborative Lesson Study Malta (CLeStuM) was invited to provide an online professional development session for educators of the Quirino Province (Philippines). This session, which was held on Thursday 9th September, was co-presented by Dr James Calleja from the Faculty of Education and CLeStuM team leader, and Ms. Laura Formosa an assistant head of school. The session focused on how lesson study was adopted and adapted within the Maltese context and included a teacher’s experience of the lesson study learning process and ensuing professional development opportunities. The over 180 audience consisted of teachers and school leaders, educators from the Department of Education of the Quirino Province and academics from the University of the Philippines.
In this professional development session, James shared the work carried out by CLeStuM since its inception in 2017. This included the lesson study model implemented in Maltese schools, the main phases that teachers usually engage in and the development of lesson study within teacher education programmes offered by the Faculty of Education. James also shared the variety of resources available on the CLeStuM website (www.clestum.eu).
Laura then presented her experience when she was a primary school Art teacher in 2019-2020. In her presentation, she discussed how she engaged in lesson study over an eight-week period during which she was assisted by a lesson study facilitator. She also mentioned how lesson study was adapted based on her school context, the flexibility that lesson study provided her in addressing her professional needs and the professional learning opportunities that this journey offered her beyond this lesson study experience.
The session also involved discussions with Philippine educators about the role of lesson study in teacher education, lesson study adaptation to particular school contexts and the development of teacher expertise through lesson study.
CLeStuM would like to thank Ms Pauline Anne Therese Mangulabnan, Professor Ricardo Ma Nolasco and Ms. Elaine May Gonzales for their kind invitation.
James Calleja
Faculty of Education, University of Malta
Laura Formosa
St Joseph Junior School, Sliema (Malta)
