INSOLVU Project: Disseminating Teachers’ Lesson Study Work

INSOLVU, is a project led by the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation (MEYR) and supported by Collaborative Lesson Study Malta (CleStuM) to assist primary school teachers in teaching mathematics through problem-solving. Supported by UNESCO and funded by Huawei Technologies as part of the “Revitalizing STEM education to equip next generations with STEM competency”project, INSOLVU involved a design research lesson study based professional development for mathematics teacher educators and teachers. 15 primary mathematics teacher educators, 1 head of school, 7 deputy heads of school, 18 teachers and 6 learning support educators benefits from learning about teaching mathematics through problem-solving. Eventually, 177 primary school students benefitted from the lessons taught.

Co-led by Ms Melanie Casha Sammut, Director for STEM and VET programmes, and Dr James Calleja, Research Academic at the Faculty of Education in the University of Malta, INSOLVU adopted lesson study as a collaborative tool. Through lesson study, 15 primary mathematics teacher educators (heads of department, support and numeracy teachers) worked closely with 6 groups of teachers in 6 primary schools – Gozo College (Gharb), Gozo College (Sannat), Maria Regina College (Qawra), San Gorg Preca (Pieta), St Clare College (San Gwann) and St Augustine College – over a period of about 8 weeks. During December 2024 to February 2025, six lesson study groups engaged in (1) identifying an issue with teaching mathematics through problem-solving; (2) carried out research; (3) planned a detailed research lesson; (4) taught the lesson, observed and collected data about student learning; (5) reflected on the lesson outcomes; and (6) shared the outcomes and their learning with the wider community of educators.

To share and celebrate the work of all those involved in INSOLVU, on Wednesday 26th February 2025 a closing event was held. Following a short speech by the two project leaders and the launch of the project video, the UNESCO Associate Project Officer from the UNESCO Office in Venice, Ms Laura Bortolutti, gave her welcoming speech. The climax of the event, attended by 92 educators, were the presentations by the 6 lesson study teams from the six different primary schools who shared their lesson study experiences and their learning about teaching mathematics through problem-solving. Through a panel discussion, 6 of the 15 primary mathematics teacher educators also shared their experiences of facilitating work with teachers. Another panel discussion, involving the participating of two Faculty of Education mathematics teacher educators (Prof Marie Therese Farrugia and Prof Michael Buhagiar) and a MEYR education officer of mathematics (Mr Jonathan Mifsud) focused on the meaning, purpose, benefits and challenges of teaching mathematics through problem-solving. The event was concluded with a commentary by Prof Christopher Bezzina, from the Faculty of Education, who presented his reactions to the ideas and experiences shared and who then delved into what the future could possibly hold for the sustainability of the high-quality work presented.

As a way forward, the project leaders in close collaboration with those involved, will launch the INSOLVU project video together with three other shorter 2-minute videos focusing on three key aspects promoted within the project: (1) teaching mathematics through problem-solving, (2) lesson study, and (3) collaboration. Moreover, the participating teachers will be supported to produce and publish a report of their lesson study. This report, which will be published in the open access Malta Review of Educational Research journal, will serve as a resource for other teachers. This dissemination is critical for the sustainability and the long-term goals set by the project leaders.

James Calleja
Leader of Collaborative Lesson Study Malta
Faculty of Education, University of Malta

Melanie Casha Sammut
Director for STEM and VET Programmes
Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation