Wasyl Cajkler

Lesson Study: Towards a Collaborative Approach to Learning in Initial Teacher Education?.

Lesson Study (LS) case studies were conducted in two secondary school teaching practice placements in England. Using Dudley’s framework, Geography and Modern Languages trainees and school-based colleagues collaboratively planned a ‘research lesson’. This was taught by the mentor while the trainee and other teachers observed the learning of three ‘focus’ students. The lesson was reviewed and revised for teaching to a parallel group by the trainee and the cycle of observation and evaluation was repeated. In post-lesson study interviews, analysed from a Communities of Practice perspective, mentors claimed that LS facilitated rapid integration of the prospective teacher into departmental working practices while trainees claimed they benefited from the team approach inherent in LS. The process enabled participants to explore collaboratively the ‘pedagogic black-box’ enriching the experience and learning of both trainees and mentors. Successfully integrated, LS improves support for teacher development in teaching practice placements.

Lesson study as a vehicle for collaborative teacher learning in a secondary school

This paper reports the outcomes of a ‘lesson study’ project conducted in a mathematics department with four serving teachers in a secondary school in England. Using Dudley’s lesson study framework and drawing on Hargreaves and Fullan’s notion of professional capital, the feasibility and value of collaborative lesson study as a vehicle for the development of teacher learning were explored. Planning and evaluation meetings as well as end-of-project interviews were analysed to investigate how teachers planned research lessons together and how these were evaluated. Despite time constraints, teachers who engaged in lesson study reported that the process improved understanding of their students; that collaboration helped them to develop less-teacher-centred approaches and created a stronger sense of teacher community. The project demonstrated that lesson study has potential as an alternative or complementary model of teachers’ learning, but it also throws up substantive organisational challenges if its use is to expand.

Adapting ‘lesson study’ to investigate classroom pedagogy in initial teacher education: what student-teachers think

This paper reports findings from a project that explored the use of a modified form of ‘lesson study’ in a one-year programme of secondary school initial teacher education (ITE). Twelve mentors and student-teachers worked in pairs to design and teach two ‘research lessons’ in the course of two eight-week teaching practice placements as part of a university–school partnership for the preparation of new teachers. Participating student-teachers reported that engagement in this form of lesson study with a mentor was an effective way to help them grow individual teaching skills, knowledge and confidence in teaching placements. In addition, in most cases, it enabled active and creative participation in a community of teacher learners. However, engagement in lesson study not only supported student-teachers to meet ‘qualifying to teach’ standards, but also offered opportunities for holistic study of teaching and learning, leading to growth in what we characterise as ‘pedagogic literacy’.

Teacher Perspectives about Lesson Study in Secondary School Departments: A Collaborative Vehicle for Professional Learning and Practice Development.

Two departments in a secondary school in England participated in ‘lesson study’ projects over a five-month period to explore its usefulness as a vehicle for professional development. Through a cycle of two research lessons, conducted separately in each department, teachers identified challenges that inhibited the learning of their students and collaboratively prepared innovative approaches to address the learning challenges. The process yielded multiple sets of data: DVD-recorded lessons, lesson plans and resources, transcripts of preparation and evaluation meetings and individual interviews at the end of the project. This paper draws principally on detailed qualitative analysis of end-of-project interviews about teacher experiences of learning and practice development in the two contexts. While the teachers encountered some logistical challenges to the implementation of lesson study, a number of important gains were reported: collaboration in lesson study reduced feelings of professional isolation; teachers reported a sharper focus on pupil learning and more confidence to take risks with approaches to teaching, which led to greater opportunities for pupils to engage in interactive activities, for example, involving problem-solving and peer teaching in groups.

Mentors and student-teachers “lesson studying” in initial teacher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study an adapted version of lesson used with mentors and student-teachers in a one-year initial teacher education (ITE) programme for prospective teachers of geography and modern languages. In partnership with eight secondary schools, the effectiveness of the lesson study cycle was evaluated as a vehicle for exploration of approaches to aid student-teacher learning during school placements. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 12 lesson study case studies were completed and analysed. Findings – Three principal findings emerged: first, most collaborating mentors and student-teachers reported that they engaged in a reflexive process, exploring the complexity of teaching, each learning more about the characteristics of teaching; second, in cases where collaboration allowed student-teachers a degree of autonomy, lesson study provided a collaborative scaffold for understanding the complexity of teaching, contributing to professional development along a continuum whi...

Languages in primary classrooms: a study of new teacher capability and practice

This study explored the language capability of two groups of new teachers in a multilingual city: the first in their initial teacher education year, and the second near the end of their induction year. Almost all teachers in the city face the challenge of teaching English as an additional language in classrooms characterised by super-diversity and many also teach French. Language capability surveys were completed by 175 respondents (103 trainees, 72 new teachers) and five interviews were conducted. Results revealed high levels of language capability with up to a third of new teachers and 15% of trainees using a heritage language. Of the respondents, 80% had an identifiable language capability often described as school French, now largely forgotten. The classrooms in which both trainees and new teachers worked were often characterised by great diversity of languages. Some participants engaged in learning about language and even a little of the languages spoken by children they taught. The study concludes that there are opportunities to develop language capability in schools but research about existing capability is essential.

Language learner perceptions of strategy use in secondary schools

As part of an Action Research project, a group of teachers in Italy, Spain and UK focussed on interaction in their own classrooms. Their investigations were informed by a survey of pupil perceptions and by videotaping of their own lessons. This article reflects on the investigation undertaken in relation to learner strategies in a range of secondary schools in Majorca (8), Italy (20) and the UK (19). The investigation was conducted as part of a Socrates/Lingua European Co-operation Project linking the three areas.

A participatory approach to Lesson Study in higher education

Purpose – This Higher Education Academy funded study explored learning challenges faced by international students early in their post-graduate courses through the use of Participatory Lesson Study (PLS). The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Two approaches to PLS were explored. Students were interviewed after “research lesson seminars” about their learning experiences; before two seminars, groups of students participated in planning meetings to inform preparation of seminar content and activities. Findings – Results suggest that PLS encourages a deep consideration of pedagogy by lecturers. Observation of student learning and post-seminar interviews highlighted the complex nature of the learning that unfolds during seminars. In some cases, student explanation of learning was dissonant with observations. Research limitations/implications – This was a small-scale project which cannot offer generalised implications for practice. However, it should act as a starting point to devel...

Grammar for reading: why now and what for?

This paper analyses the way English grammar is described in Grammar for reading (DfES, 2003a, 2003b) and the pedagogy that underpins the document. The following features are considered: the accuracy of the grammatical description and its evidence base, the meaning of Grammar for reading, and the evidence presented in support of this approach. While the description of English grammar at the beginning of each module is accurate and potentially helpful, the grammatical observations accompanying texts and activities are often vague and misleading. Furthermore, the value of Grammar for readings reductive approach to engaging with texts is called into question.

Lesson Study and Pedagogic Literacy in Initial Teacher Education: Challenging Reductive Models

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that teacher learning is not reducible to lists of ‘performative’ standards. Funded by the Society for Educational Studies, we used ‘lesson study’ as a vehicle to develop new teacher expertise, following which we concluded that conceptualising ‘learning to teach’ as acquisition of standards is insufficient for understanding the process of teacher growth. We propose an alternative holistic vision.