IMPROVE TEACHER         EFFECTIVENESS  SHARE BEST PRACTICES WITH OTHER TEACHERS  IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES  DESIGN BETTER LESSONS

What is Lesson Study?

Lesson Study helps teachers and students. It is a professional development practice in which teachers collaborate to develop a lesson plan, observe the lesson to collect data on student learning, and use their observations to refine their lesson (Stepanek, J., Appel, G., et. al., 2007). Lesson Study requires a time commitment and coordination to enable teams of teachers to participate simultaneously in multiple days of training. 

The steps to conducting Lesson Study are: 

¨ Identify a student expectation from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) that students have difficulty understanding.

¨ Research best instructional practices for the identified Student Expectation (TEKS)

¨ Plan a strategic, research-based lesson to address the standard

¨ Teach the lesson to students

¨ Design and deliver pre– and post-assessments to evaluate student learning

¨ Observe the lesson and compile observation data

¨ Collaboratively analyze students’ thinking, engagement, and learning

¨ Reflect on the lesson, refine it, and reteach as necessary, and

¨ Share the lesson along with a report on its effectiveness with other teaching professionals.

Why Lesson Study?

Lesson Study is sustained professional learning that is teacher-directed and driven. There are many reasons why districts have adopted the Lesson Study format for teacher development. Lesson Study values teaching, teachers, and the professional teaching community and provides an important learning design. The process values the long-term learning and development of students and fosters teacher’s intrinsic motivation. Lesson Study builds a shared knowledge base (Lewis, C. & Hurd, J., 2011). Through the process of Lesson Study, teachers discover that their planning and work can have an impact on student engagement in the classroom in ways they did not expect. Some educators struggle with the transition from isolation to collaboration, and Lesson Study systematically bridges that gap. 

How is Lesson Study Different?

Lesson Study differs from traditional classroom practice in several ways. An analysis comparing the traditional classroom to a Lesson Study classroom is illustrated in the table below. 

• Teachers participate in research methods and collaborative meetings to create the pedogogical and subject-area bank of knowledge.
• The Lesson Study process occurs over a series of meetings. 
• Teachers observe students to collect data on lesson effectiveness.  This provides the opportunities to observe other instructors/ colleagues teach the lesson designed by the group. \
• The Lesson Study is centered on improving teaching, not the teacher.

Lesson Study provides a heightened level of educator training and support. Effective investment in teacher learning helps sustain student learning and teacher development efforts; it also helps your district retain quality educators.