Lesson Study: Lost in Translation – PowerPoint

The PowerPoint supports Sarah Seleznyov's Webinar on Lesson Study.

Sarah Seleznyov explores the key elements of Japanese CPD phenomenon Lesson Study, and considers how it can be adapted to work in the English school setting.

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Professional Development

Lesson Study: Lost in Translation -Webinar

3 May 2017

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      string(5248) "to be apractical tool for students to create meaningful products that are bothpersonal and educational.5The potential for integrating Scratch into your own subject-specific curriculum is endless. A quick visit to the Scratch websitewill provide a window into the thousands of things that peopleare creating and learning. You’ll find young scientists makinginteractive cell models and animations of the water cycle.Readers are making word study apps to prepare themselvesfor vocabulary quizzes at school. Writers are making animatedsummaries of their favourite books, and even crafting projectsfunction, including categories for motion, sound, event-handling, data,mathematical operators, sensing and more.Users create Scratch projects by adding on-screen characters,called sprites, and then programming their actions by snappingtogether code blocks. The image below shows the code to activate asprite in a game much like ‘Whack-A-Mole’.More than just a digital authoring environment, Scratch alsoprovides an online platform for users to share their projects withthe community – creating a rich environment for peer learning anddigital citizenship skills. 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Artists are carefullycrafting tutorials for the community on how to draw, paint andcreate in the digital environment.More importantly you’ll find a community of educators and usersthat is ready to help you dive in and learn-as-you-go. The ScratchEdwebsite is a robust portal for Scratch educators to check-in, findresources such as sample lesson plans, project ideas, videos andtutorials, join discussion forums and support peers.I personally recommend downloading a free copy of theCreative Computing Scratch curriculum guide from theScratchEd team. The guide is a collection of activities, ideas, andassessment strategies for introducing Scratch into your curriculum– regardless of your educational context, background, skill-level orprevious experience with programming. Its most recent revision from2014 is outstanding, not only for the quality of its content, but alsobecause it is an open-source document and shared freely under aCreative Commons licence.To that end, I will leave you with three of my ownintroductory Scratch activities in the style of the Scratchcurriculum guide to try out with your pupils today.Each includes a lesson guide for educators andan activity handout for learners. The activities canbe completed in about 30 minutes each, and willgive children the opportunity to experience creativecomputing for themselves. So try it for yourself, andlet’s teach kids to code!Dylan Ryder is an Educational Technologist at The Schoolat Columbia University, an independent K-8 school inNew York City.Download allthree lessonplans and theirresources here!  references1. Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E.,Brennan, K., Millner, A., Rosenbaum, E., Silver, J., Silverman, B. and Kafai, Y. (2009)Scratch: Programming for All. Communications of the ACM, 52(11), pp 60-67.Available at: web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Scratch-CACM-final.pdf [Accessed 03/02/2015].2. Brennan, K., Balch, C. and Chung, M. (2014) Creative Computing: ScratchCurriculum Guide. Licensed Under CC BY SA 4.0. Available at: scratched.gse.harvard.edu/guide/ [Accessed 03/02/2015].3. Brennan, K. (2013) Learning Computing through Creating and Connecting.Computer, 46(9), pp 52-59.4. Malan, D.J. and Henry, H. (2007) Scratch for Budding Computer Scientists.ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 39(1), pp 223-227.5. Lamb, A. and Johnson, L. (2011). Scratch: Computer Programming for 21stCentury Learners. Teacher Librarian, 38(4), pp 64-68.resources for creative computing n Creative Computing: Scratch Curriculum Guide, by KarenBrennan, Christian Balch, and Michelle Chung. Free to download,and available as an educator’s guide (pdf), student workbook (pdf),and an editable powerpoint for remixing and translating. n Scratch Programming in Easy Steps, by Sean McManus. n Learn to Program with Scratch: A Visual Introductionto Programming with Games, Art, Science and Math, byMajed Marji. n Super Scratch Programming Adventure!, by the LEAD Project. n ScratchEd Website: scratched.gse.harvard.eduDownload allthree lessonplans and theirresources"
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Digital Learning

An introduction to teaching coding with Scratch

3 Aug 2015

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      string(5419) "orlocal university?5. What’s the best way to ensure complete separation between lesson study and performancemanagement lesson observation?In my next article…I will explore the most effective ways to capture the impact of your lesson study project. I will also lookat maximising the learning from your project, so that improvements to teaching and learning take placebeyond the research group, and benefit all staff and pupils.Sarah Seleznyov is Programme Leader at UCL Institute of Education. For more information onlesson study, to join the UCL Institute of Education Lesson Study Network or to purchase theLesson Study Handbook, contact Sarah at s.seleznyov@ucl.ac.uk.To find out about the UCL’s lesson study leadership programmes, visit:ucl.ac.uk/lifelearning/courses/leading-lesson-study-across-schools. For access to the IOE onlinejournal libraries (and a wealth of other useful resources), join the UCL Institute of EducationResearch and Development Network: ioe-rdnetwork.com.Figure 1: Tension between learning and performancemailto:s.seleznyov@ucl.ac.ukhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/lifelearning/courses/leading-lesson-study-across-schoolshttp://www.ioe-rdnetwork.com/57Vol 7.5School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comProfessionalDevelopmentLessonstudyKnowledge trails1. Lesson study: Towards collaboration – David Weston explains how lesson study is helpingschools move towards more teacher-led professional development.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/lesson-study-towards-collaborative-cpd2. Observing classrooms: A powerful shift in emphasis – How can we enhance the learninggoing on in our classrooms? Alison Peacock explains why so many schools across the UK areturning to lesson study to answer this fundamental question.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/observing-classroomsReferences1. Stigler, J.W. and Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world’s teachers for improving education in theclassroom. New York: Free Press.2. Lewis, C., Perry, R. and Murata, A. (2006). How should research contribute to instructional improvement? The case oflesson study. Educational Researcher, vol. 35(3), pp. 3-14.3. Lewis, C. (2000) Lesson Study: The Core of Japanese Professional Development. Paper presented at the Annual Meetingof the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, 24-28 April 2000. [online] Available at: eric.ed.gov/?id=ED444972 [Accessed 15 September 2016].4. Earley, P. and Porritt, V. (2010). Effective practices in continuing professional development. London: Institute of Education,University of London.5. Sharples, J. (2013). Evidence for the Frontline: A report for the Alliance for Useful Evidence. [online] Available at:alliance4usefulevidence.org/publication/evidence-for-the-frontline [Accessed 15 September 2016].6. Chokshi, S. and Fernandez, C. (2004). Challenges to importing Japanese lesson study: Concerns, misconceptions, andnuances. Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 85(7), pp. 520- 525.7. Isoda, M., Stephens, M., Ohara, Y. and Miyakawa, T. (2007). Japanese lesson study in mathematics: Its impact, diversityand potential for educational improvement. Singapore: World Scientific.8. Janis, I. (1972). Victims of groupthink: a psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. Chicago, IL:Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.9. Chokshi, S. and Fernandez, C. (2004). Op cit.10. Murata, A. (2011). Introduction: Conceptual overview of lesson study. In: Hart, L.C., Alston, A.S. and Murata, A. 2011.Lesson study research and practice in mathematics education. Houten, NL: Springer Netherlands.11. Fernandez, C. and Yoshida, M. (2012). Lesson study: A Japanese approach to improving mathematics teaching andlearning. London: Routledge.12. Brown, C. and Zhang, D. (2016). How can school leaders establish evidence-informed schools? An analysis of theeffectiveness of potential school policy levers. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, pp. 1-20.13. Watkins, C. (2010). Learning, Performance and Improvement. Research Matters (34), pp. 1-16.Lesson study is experiencing a significant boost inpopularity in the UK. However, the lack of English-language literature means it’s difficult to knowwhether we are really applying it to its full potential.Join Sarah Seleznyov on Thursday 20 October from16.00-17.30, as she explores the key elements oflesson study, and considers how it can be adapted towork in the English school setting while retaining allthat made it so successful in Japan.Places are limited, so book now to avoiddisappointment!How canyour schoolbenefit fromlesson study?Find out in Sarah’supcoming webinarBook your place today!http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/lesson-study-towards-collaborative-cpdhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/observing-classrooms.htmhttp://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED444972http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED444972http://www.alliance4usefulevidence.org/publication/evidence-for-the-frontline/http://teachingtimesbookshop.co.uk/product/cpd-webinars/webinar-lesson-study/"
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Leadership

Lesson study: Lost in translation?

4 Oct 2016

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      string(6201) "Lesson study is a collaborative approach to professional development that originated in Japan. Since 1999, when Stigler and Hiebert first wrote about lesson study as a model for improvement of classroom practice in the US, lesson study has enjoyed an enduring fascination for teachers around the world.  US and Japanese researchers have written extensively about the challenges of adopting the lesson study model in a US context. But very few researchers have focused on the nature of implementation in an English context.  What does this mean for English schools wanting to implement a lesson study approach?Over the last four years, as part of their broader work with schools in supporting a research approach to professional learning and leadership, the London Centre for Leadership in Learning have supported over fifty schools to explore lesson study. To bolster this work, I participated in a two-week visit to Japan to gain deeper understanding of lesson study in its original context and carried out an extensive review of the lesson study literature. This process has led us to believe that there is a need to explore the degree of fidelity with which the Japanese model of lesson study can be implemented in an English context. It has also prompted us to make rational and pragmatic decisions about necessary adaptations, based on the realities of school leadership in England.The importance of cultural contextJapanese  authors  recognise the appeal and power of lesson study for countries beyond Japan, but are  well  aware of the potential pitfalls. Isoda (2007) states that: …moving outside of its own historical and cultural context may entail the loss of some of the powerful influences that shape and give direction to lesson study in Japan.  He also recognises that in moving beyond Japan, lesson study may undergo  ’creative transformation’  as it is adapted to a different culture.  In other words, there is a recognition that the Japanese model of lesson study will not be so easy to translate into another cultural context and some kind of adaptation might be necessary to its successful translation.  Lewis et al (2006) describe the emergence of lesson study in the US as a ‘local proof route’: practitioners have adapted and spread the approach in the absence of funding, direction or research findings because they perceive it to be valuable.  In the last ten years, lesson study has also begun to gain momentum in England through a similar ‘local proof route’. This means that the implementation of the lesson study approach is very much a trial and error approach for many schools, and adaptations are likely to occur to meet local and national educational contexts.Complexities have been identified as lesson study has been implemented in US schools.  Chokshi and Fernandez (2004) state that ‘Lesson study is easy to learn, but difficult to master.’ They highlight that US educators do not have a deep knowledge of lesson study which potentially leads them to:…focus on structural aspects of the process…or…mimic its superficial features, while ignoring the underlying rationale for them.’ That this situation has arisen is not a surprise to anyone who has reviewed the literature on lesson study.  There is a dearth of material about lesson study by Japanese authors that is accessible to the English language reader.  Even Japanese authors admit that there is a need for a more explicit articulation of lesson study (Fujii, 2014).  For the Japanese, ‘lesson study is like air’ (eg Fuji, 2014): it is so much a part of the fabric of their educational system that there has never been a need to articulate what it is.  How can schools ensure that their models of lesson study remain true to the spirit of the approach and do not lose their  power in the process of  ‘creative transformation’? What is Japanese lesson study?At its simplest, we can describe lesson study as a joint practice development approach where teachers collaboratively plan a lesson, observe it being taught and then discuss what they have learnt about teaching and learning. The details of its process however are less simple to identify and frequently contested in the literature. Taking a research stanceThe literature on lesson study helps to illuminate what these elements of the approach entails. Fernandez (2002, 2005) describes how schools begin by identifying a research theme. The research theme emerges from a comparison of the ‘ideal’ and ‘actual’ qualities of their students and will often last for a year or more. Teachers then work in collaborative groups to plan a lesson to address the research theme (usually only one lesson per group, per year). Fujii (2014) describes how teachers initially carry out a close examination of material relevant to the research theme (called kyozai kenkyu): curricular material, manipulatives, relevant research material. This kyozai kenkyu stage is curiously absent from much lesson study literature in the US and England. Several authors stress the importance in the lesson plan of teachers attempting to anticipate student responses so that difficulties or misconceptions can be tackled with confidence by the teacher.One teacher teaches the lesson and all teachers in the school observe the students’ reactions to the lesson and participate in a post-lesson discussion. Saito (2012) has stressed the need for observers to take a ‘research"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Improvement through Lesson Study

25 Jan 2017