Lesson study and teachers’ beliefs

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Mayrhofer
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Educational Beliefs ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Students ◽  
Theoretical Paper ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show, from a theoretical perspective, how lesson study (LS) can initiate processes that have an effect on most fundamental teachers’ (and teacher–students’) personal beliefs which are the basis of a teacher’ interactions. On the basis of research referring to educational beliefs and good practice, the paper’s approach is to bring underlying beliefs into relation to Pierre Bourdieu’s sociocultural concept of the habitus. Awareness of these unconscious fundamentals is a requirement for improvement. Developing a professional habitus will allow inappropriate beliefs to be changed by informed knowledge. LS can support that. Design/methodology/approach This is a theoretical paper aiming at illustrating the potential of LS to initiate learning and reflection among teachers, and challenge and ultimately affect deep ranging beliefs. Guided by the idea that beliefs are not only a random collection acquired in a biography, the paper applies the Bourdieuian idea of habitus and field, suggesting habitus as the origin and source of beliefs and, therefore, ultimately of classroom practice. The paper defines LS as a tool in teacher education that has the potential to make teachers change inappropriate concepts by reflecting on their habitus and develop a more professional habitus. Findings Research agrees that teachers’ decisions and actions are strongly rooted in their unconscious beliefs, which have accumulated during their biographies, especially during their own school days whereas informed knowledge is neglected. The Bourdieuian theory of habitus is a heuristic concept that provides an integrative social perspective on beliefs as both a part and a result of a teacher’s habitus. Reflection on practice and teacher cooperation is essential for teacher learning. LS is an ideal setting providing these essentials, and the paper finds that the negative effects of habitus-rooted unconscious beliefs and practices can be affected by developing awareness through LS. Originality/value This paper aims at bringing together Bourdieu’s sociocultural theory of habitus and field, and LS. Inappropriate beliefs guiding practice can hinder informed knowledge on education to be integrated. An analysis of the habitus as the foundation of beliefs can create awareness of the effects resulting from biographical and social sources in both pre- and in-service teacher training. Rather than changing single beliefs, developing a professional habitus allows to integrate informed knowledge and affect a lasting change. The Bourdieuian approach opens up a new perspective of the capacity of LS and makes a relevant contribution in developing a professional habitus.

Teachers’ educational beliefs change through lesson study: implications for school culture

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-331
Author(s):  
Olga Khokhotva ◽  
Iciar Elexpuru Albizuri
Keyword(s):  
School Culture ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Educational Beliefs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Literature

PurposeThe study aims at exploring the perspective of three English as a Foreign Language teachers after their year-long involvement in the Lesson Study project in the context of Kazakhstan in order to capture and list any perceived changes in teachers’ educational beliefs over the period of the Lesson Study intervention. The main argument of the study suggests that the school-based Lesson Study initiative is conducive to triggering changes in teachers’ educational beliefs, and thus, might lead to positive changes in school culture in Kazakhstani schools. Shaped following Hill et al., (1982) in Swales, 1990 hour-glass model of a research project (Swales, 1990), the article reflects the third concluding part of the Ph.D. thesis focusing on the implementation of the Lesson Study methodology in Kazakhstan.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts the qualitative research design and follows the narrative inquiry methodology. The three narrative interviews (Bauer, 1996) are utilized as the main method of data collection. The data were analyzed as text following a general inductive approach (Thomas, 2003), where emerging themes were identified employing data reduction and further sub-categorized through the conceptual and theoretical lenses of the study. The emerged categories reflecting the perceived shifts in teachers’ educational beliefs were dialectically linked to implications for school culture in Kazakhstani schools.FindingsAs data suggest, the respondents’ active engagement in the Lesson Study professional learning community and exercising leadership through implementing changes in their classroom practice has made a positive impact on teachers’ rethinking their teaching practice, attitudes to students and their learning, collegiality, and professional self-identification. We conclude that, if organized properly, Lesson Study has enormous potential to facilitate changes of teachers’ educational beliefs: from direct transmission beliefs toward constructivist beliefs, from restricted professionals’ beliefs toward reflective practitioner beliefs and attitudes, toward beliefs in the power of student’s voice, and collaboration. Those shifts are linked to establishing a more positive, child-friendly and rights-based school culture with teachers’ shared visions and capacity for innovation.Research limitations/implicationsWe acknowledge that the abundance of the reported positive changes or perceived shifts in teachers’ thinking might not be the indicators of actual changes in their beliefs. We emphasize that the study was carried in a controlled context, i.e. the three ELF teachers were constantly supported, and the teacher talk was systematically guided by a trained facilitator. Warned by Giroux et al. (1999), we are aware of the major challenge of the fundamental assumption of critical pedagogy that teachers are willing and able to undertake “the practice of analyzing their practice” (p. 27) voluntarily. Thus, the question remains open: if the facilitator’s support is eliminated, will the results point to the occurrence of the disruption and disorientation as a necessary condition for the beliefs change?Originality/valueCarried out in the largely overlooked by the academic literature context of the Reform at Scale (Wilson et al., 2013) in Kazakhstan and building on the original combination of conceptual and theoretical lenses, the research contributes to the academic literature by connecting teachers’ educational beliefs, Lesson Study and school culture. The findings might be of value for the school leaders, educators, teacher trainers, and policymakers to advocate Lesson Study as a systematic approach to the whole-school improvement, as a tool to facilitate positive changes in school culture, as well as give impetus to studies employing the school culture perspective in developing Lesson Study impact evaluation tools.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing the implementation of Lesson Study in Kazakhstan within a social theory framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-333
Author(s):  
Elaine Wilson ◽  
Assel Sharimova
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Perspective Drawing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of processes in operation during the implementation of a reform programme in Kazakhstan culminating in the widespread adoption of Lesson Study (LS). Design/methodology/approach The study is positioned within a critical realist theoretical perspective, drawing on Archer’s social theory to focus on the social world of the school while changes to classroom practice are being made. This is a case study using process tracing methods to analyse how school actions and interactions are used during the change process resulting in widespread implementation of LS. Findings Three key mechanisms for implementing the structural changes are identified; increasing teacher’s pedagogical knowledge, collaborative working structures and active collective inquiry. The capacity to change practice is underpinned by reflection on classroom interactions and in having the necessary skills and available time to analyse the effect on pupils’ learning. Engaging in reflexive deliberation is dependent on having access to new knowledge, together with the opportunity to collaborate in supportive groups. Originality/value This study provides an insight into what changes were made and why these support the spread of LS in Kazakhstan, drawing on Archer’s social theory and using theory building process tracing methods to delve deeper into the empirical fingerprints left during the intervention. LS is an important structural factor which is still supporting change in Kazakhstani classrooms.

Pedagogical and learning theories in lesson and learning studies – revisited

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla Runesson
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Variation Theory ◽  
Learning Study ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Point Of Departure

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss two theoretical frameworks, Pirie and Kieren’s work (Pirie and Kieren, 1994) and variation theory of learning (Marton, 2015) in relation to lesson/learning study and mathematics teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach The point of departure is the article: “Folding back and growing mathematical understanding: a longitudinal study of learning” (Martin and Towers, 2016) where it is demonstrated how Pirie and Kieren’s work (1994) and particularly the notion “folding-back” can be used as the theoretical framework in lesson/learning study. By dealing with similar arrangements and different theories, the two frameworks are contrasted. Findings It is suggested that the theory appropriated must be in resonance with the aim and focus of the study the theoretical perspective taken since it has implications for what becomes the focus of the process and subsequently the results of lesson/learning study. Originality/value This paper contributes to the discussion about how a more theory-informed lesson study and a broader theoretically framed learning study would improve and change the scope and progress of the two.

Bansho as part of lesson and lesson study: from the origins to the present

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Tan
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Know How ◽  
Vast Literature ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geographical Space

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an overview of the origins of bansho, how it has developed to be an indispensable practice in Japan and its influence on countries outside Japan. The integration of bansho into lesson study (LS) will also be presented.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on the vast literature on bansho from both in and outside Japan to illustrate the points mentioned above.FindingsRecapitulation on the history of chalkboard and bansho in different eras in Japan illustrated its endurance towards the test of time, geographical space and functions. While bansho remains a constant presence in LS research, there has not been any work that outlines how bansho is integrated into the LS cycle. Thus, a guideline on how bansho can be incorporated in the LS cycle is provided.Originality/valueA comprehensive overview of bansho allows educators and researchers outside Japan to move beyond the know-how and know-what of bansho; it would serve as an invaluable source to understand the core concepts underlying this classroom practice, thus avoiding the mere adaptation of bansho superficial aspects. This study also provides precise instruction on how bansho can be integrated into each step of the LS cycle, which will guide teachers and researchers in the future implementation of LS.

Competitive advantage in the new social care marketplace: a new theoretical perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-15
Author(s):  
Patricia Dearnaley
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – Changes in the UK social care sector over the past 20 years have effected a fundamental shift in commissioning and delivery relationships. This “quasi-market” challenges existing theory and models around competitive advantage. This study, as outlined in two earlier articles, addressed weaknesses in the defining framework for analysis and business planning in this new environment; the purpose of this concluding paper is to propose a new perspective for those interested in entering this market. Design/methodology/approach – The original research comprised a constructive research approach through a single holistic case study, using qualitative research methods including document analysis, interviews, secondary data, observations and facilitated meetings. Findings – This final paper offers a structured framework of analysis and response: the External Drivers Model. Research limitations/implications – The model was developed for a scenario impacting upon a social housing agency, with ambitions to enter this market as a new provider; it may require further research to establish its generalisability to other organisations and other sectors. Originality/value – This series of three papers adds to existing knowledge by critiquing current business models, and positing a potential development to existing contingency theory: the External Drivers Model. The study has resulted in a number of outputs including an outline of tools to assist in using the model.

Teachers' learning through an online lesson study: an analysis from the expansive learning perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingfeng Huang ◽  
Mun Yee Lai ◽  
Rongjin Huang
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Expansive Learning ◽  
Multiple Data Sets

PurposeThis study aimed to explore how a group of Chinese primary mathematics teachers learned through conducting an online cross-cultural lesson study between China and Australia.Design/methodology/approachAn expansive learning theory was adopted to examine teachers' learning through collective activities across different activity systems. Multiple data sets including videos of research lessons, debriefings and audios of interviews were collected. From the expansive learning perspective, based on a fine-grained qualitative data analysis, various contradictions (as driving forces of learning) were identified and the ways of resolving the contradictions (as enactment of learning) were located to feature teacher learning throughout the online lesson study process.FindingsTeachers' expansive learning includes enhancing teachers' MKT and Mathematics TPACK, developing instructional design skills and capabilities in addressing challenges occurring in the virtual environment were identified.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, the study illustrated how expansive learning theory could be utilized to examine teacher collaborative learning in the online cross-cultural lesson study. Practically, this study showed that reiterative cycles and experts' facilitation are crucial to expansive learning for linking research to classroom practice. However, this study did not focus on student learning in the virtual environment. Australian teachers' reciprocal learning through the online lesson study also requires further exploration.Originality/valueBoth online lesson study and cross-cultural collaboration are innovative. The expansive learning lens are creatively used to examine the complexity of teacher learning in such a novel environment.

Teachers' knowledge creation through “learning keeping” and reflective writing in lesson study: a case study in a Basque country school

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Khokhotva ◽  
Iciar Elexpuru-Albizuri
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Reflective Writing ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Record Keeping

PurposeThe paper describes two reflective instruments: a reflective diary (RD) and a joint learning protocol (JLP) for teachers' knowledge creation in lesson study (LS), reflects on teachers' reactions and encountered challenges and draws inferences on how teachers' learning and knowledge creation could be facilitated more effectively in LS through “learning keeping.”Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative case study of an action research project utilizes the data collected through the narrative inquiry within an LS initiative with four English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in a school in Spain.FindingsThe study suggests that the incorporation of reflective writing in LS as a method of keeping records of teachers' individual and collective reflections should be considered “a good practice” and yet another important mechanism facilitating teachers' learning in LS.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited by its scope since the applied LS model suggests carrying out three consecutive cycles rather than two.Originality/valueFirstly, the two proposed instruments could be of practical value to educators and facilitators employing LS as an approach to teachers' professional learning. Secondly, the study adds to the discussion on the mechanisms fostering teachers' learning in LS by emphasizing “learning keeping” as a form of record-keeping through reflective writing. Thirdly, the study is set in the new for the LS community context, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, Spain.

Student voice in Lesson Study as a space for EFL teachers’ learning: a case study in Kazakhstan

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Khokhotva ◽  
Iciar Elexpuru Albizuri
Keyword(s):  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Student Voice ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Educational Beliefs ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Literature

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a case study of an action research project in the context of a secondary school in Kazakhstan where, for the first time in their teaching practice, three English as a Foreign Language teachers introduced student voice (Flutter and Rudduck, 2004) into their practice within the Lesson Study (LS) framework. The research aimed at conceptualizing Student Voice Space in LS as one of the valuable factors capable of triggering situations of disjuncture (disorienting dilemma, disruption) for teachers which could potentially lead to teacher’s transformative learning, educational beliefs change and improved practice. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts the qualitative research design and follows narrative inquiry methodology (Lyons and LaBoskey, 2002) with a series of narrative interviews (Bauer, 1996) as the main method of data collection within a single case study (Bassey, 1999) of an action research project. The data were analyzed as text following a general inductive approach (Thomas, 2003) where emerging themes were identified by means of data reduction. Findings The findings suggest that listening to student voice triggers teachers’ going through certain stages of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory including critical assessment of own assumptions, testing new options for behavior and reflecting critically on the teaching practice. Therefore, the authors suggest that Student Voice Space in LS is one of the important factors capable of triggering the teacher’s transformative learning. Moreover, it has an enormous potential not only to bring about positive changes in teachers’ practice but also challenge the ossified teachers’ educational beliefs, and thus, potentially, pave the way for a gradual change from “inappropriate beliefs” (Mayrhofer, 2019), or subconscious assumptions that lie in the core of teachers’ folk pedagogies (Torff, 1999), or taken-for-granted frames of reference (Mezirow, 2000) into true, justified or informed educational beliefs. Research limitations/implications Further analysis of teachers’ narratives is required to elicit and categorize reported changes (shifts, transformations) concerning specific teachers’ educational beliefs, and draw a more clear line between student voice and its impact on the research lesson planning and its modification in LS. Finally, a supplementary study utilizing classroom observation methods is needed to explore if student voice intervention results in tangible (actual) changes in teachers’ classroom practice and educational beliefs, rather than potential transformations that are mainly reported in this study. Originality/value Carried out in the largely overlooked by the academic literature context of the Reform at Scale (Wilson et al., 2013) in Kazakhstan and building on the original combination of theoretical lenses, the research contributes to the academic literature aiming at illuminating “the black box of teachers’ learning” in Lesson Study (in Widjaja et al., 2017, p.358) since it is one of the rare studies attempting to connect teacher learning, student voice and Lesson Study (Warwick et al., 2019). Additionally, approaching teacher learning in Lesson Study from the transformative learning perspective combined with the literature on teachers’ educational beliefs and student voice, this study contributes to the further development of a shared vocabulary for discussing teacher learning in Lesson Study.

French Didactique des Mathématiques and Lesson Study: a profitable dialogue?

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Clivaz
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Study ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Didactical Engineering ◽  
Didactique Des Mathématiques ◽  
Double Approach ◽  
Theoretical Paper ◽  
Didactical Situations ◽  
Teaching Of Mathematics ◽  
Theory Of Didactical Situations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present French Didactique des Mathématiques (DM) to the Lesson Study (LS) community. Design/methodology/approach – This theoretical paper presents the origins of DM in the Theory of Didactical Situations (TDS) by Brousseau. It elaborates about didactical engineering, fundamental situation and other fundamental concepts. It briefly presents other Didactique theories: the theory of conceptual fields, the anthropological theory of the didactic, the joint action theory in didactics and the double approach. It considers importance of the (TDS) and influences over teaching of mathematics. This paper finishes by highlighting the ways Didactique and LS could contribute to each other in a profitable dialogue. Findings – The paper contrasts DM with some LS main features. It highlights the parallels despite fundamental differences in the initial goals of the perspectives. It shows that these differences could lead to productive dialogue by producing more practice-oriented forms of didactical engineering for the first and making teachers’ principles for lessons more explicit for the latter. Originality/value – The paper presents a very quick overview of the parallels between DM and LS. Additionally, this paper gives many accessible references in English for the reader to explore Didactique further.

Scaffolded lesson study

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Saye ◽  
Jada Kohlmeier ◽  
James B. Howell ◽  
Theresa M. McCormick ◽  
Robert C. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of scaffolded lesson study on the content knowledge, conceptions of curriculum, and classroom practice of 22 elementary and secondary history teachers in four school districts. Design/methodology/approach Teachers, teacher educators, and historians collaborated to design and test research lessons grounded in a theory-based framework for problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) practice. The authors sought to support consonance between the reform ideas of the formal, professional development, curriculum, and the curriculum as enacted in participants’ classrooms. Findings Project participation was associated with significant gains in content knowledge and the conceptualization and implementation of more challenging instruction consistent with the PBHI model and the standards of authentic intellectual work (AIW). Mean AIW instruction scores for research lessons were more than double the scores for participants’ non-lesson study lessons and indicated noteworthy progress in integrating the formal and enacted curricula. Evidence suggested that many teachers developed more nuanced understandings of historical phenomena, gained greater appreciation for the importance of authentic purpose in motivating student engagement in challenging learning, and began to reconsider what is required to facilitate complex learning and to refine their repertoire of learning strategies. Originality/value Evidence from the first year of this project offers hope for the potential of collaborative communities of practice to facilitate a shared professional knowledge base of wise practice that brings the formal, intended, and enacted curriculum into greater alignment. These results also emphasize the evolutionary process of conceptual change.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document