Transcript Document 7114647

Changing a Culture
Growing Lesson Study
in the
Little Rock School District
Elizabeth Clifford
Professional Development Coordinator
Questions to Ask Ourselves
How do you
plant the
seeds to
interest
teachers in
lesson
study?
How do you sustain it
and grow the deep,
healthy roots necessary
to actually change a
culture?
What causes lesson study to grow,
blossom, and flourish?
How can we CAUSE lesson study to
become an integral part of
our (U.S. teachers) professional
practice?
What makes it die?
How do you change a culture?
History of Lesson Study in Little Rock
Lessons we have learned….. so far
History of how our work began
Lesson
The best recruiter is the passionate teacher.
Lesson
Talking about long-term
goals for students
“turns teachers on”
Lesson
Build a Community
And they will come
Ground Rules
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Make a time commitment
Share views willingly.
Respect each others’ opinions.
Communicate clearly and listen carefully.
Ask and welcome questions for clarification.
Be open to the ideas and views presented.
Stay on task.
Honor time limits during the meeting.
(Adhere to schedule- 3:15-4:30. Begin at 3:20.
End at 4:30)
Lesson
Support from others who have practiced
lesson study crucial to success
• Lesson Study Handbook, by Catherine Lewis
• Videos:
– Can You Lift 100 Kilograms?
– Three Perspectives
• Lesson Study List-serv
• Various research articles
First Attempt
• 2 research lessons in the morning
– One primary
– One intermediate
• Debriefings
UALR Conference Center is too formal. Our
chairs were too far away.
We spoke too much to the teacher instead
of the planning team. It stifled our conversation.
Cooperative group strategies are an area we want
to continue to investigate. We want to find ways
to get students to exchange and share
information more effectively.
Take Notes!!! How did we forget this?!
Since we didn’t keep notes at the first
debriefing, a misconception occurred again.
We took notes this time!!
By structuring our debriefing into the three
pieces of data we collected, the discussion was
more focused.
Writing the strategies observed and other data on
butcher paper for all to see helped with our
thought-processing.It also kept people from
repeating things already said.
Using the same facilitator for both sessions
was effective.
Having the debriefing session in a familiar
room helped teachers feel more at ease to
critique the learners’ responses to the lesson.
The protocol for the order of speaking about
the lesson engaged the planning team more
and kept the group from addressing just the
teacher.
Students need more time to grapple with
strategies.
Students need more time to discuss in depth
the strategies used.
The intermediate lesson could have been
more effective if students had made a key
chain so they could experience the situation
and the numbers involved.
Pay attention to student misconceptions. They
will show up again.
We now have a list of all strategies students
used to solve the problem.
Some students need to act-out the problem or
actually engage in something like it ahead of time.
Cooperative group interaction can be extremely
helpful if students engage each other in
meaningful ways.
Lesson
Celebrate!!
Lesson
Watching others who practice
lesson study will help improve your
process.
• San Francisco Lesson Study Conference
2003
• Lesson Study Immersion Program – 2003
• Annual Lesson Study Conference and the
Chicago Lesson Study Group
Recap of 2002-2003
Schools of
Participants
Participants
Lesson Content
Grade Level for
research
lesson/location
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Primary Group (K-1st Grades)
and specialists
Solving Contextual Word
problems using manipulatives (+)
Grade 1
Jefferson
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Primary Group (K-1st Grades)
and specialists
REVISED LESSON
Solving rigorous word problem
2 digit multiplication (watching
strategies used)
Grade 2
Cloverdale
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Booker
Intermediate Group
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Booker
Intermediate Group
Various elementary
schools
1st grade teachers/math
coaches (Facilitators for
replacement unit on “Money”
Modified Lesson Study
Money
Grade 1
Booker Arts
Various elementary
schools
Aspiring/Current Math
Coaches
Elementary
Modified Lesson Study
Algebra
Handshake Problem
Grade 5
Mitchell
REVISED LESSON
Grade 4
Cloverdale
Grade 4
Cloverdale
Lessons
•
•
•
•
•
It has to be fun!!
We’re watching students NOT EVALUATING THE TEACHER
Do NOT force anyone to do lesson study.
There have to be “ahas!” (the joy!)
Taking time to talk about “the whole child” reminds us of why
we became teachers
• We have “new eyes” to see children
• Teachers remark that their classroom practice is beginning to
change as they construct new understanding through
collaborative planning, observing students, debriefing, and
reflecting
• Learning together and making “break-throughs” in
understanding how children learn develops bonds between
teachers, deepens the community; energizes everyone for
more, therefore…..
Changing a Culture
• What did you learn from your first lesson
study -about the process?
• What made teachers want to continue or
not continue?
2003-2004
Schools
Participants
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Booker
Intermediate Group
DISTRICT LESSON
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Booker
Lesson Content
Grade Level for
Research lesson/location
Probability
Grade 4
Cloverdale
Intermediate Group
REVISED LESSON
Grade 4
Cloverdale
Bale Teachers
K teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Addition Story Problem
Kindergarten
Bale
Bale Teachers
1st Grade Teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Understanding 10 (dominoes)
Grade 1
Bale
Bale Teachers
2nd Grade Teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Area
Grade 2
Bale
Bale Teachers
3rd Grade Teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Tetronimoes (problemsolving)
Grade 3
Bale
Bale Teachers
4th Grade Teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Algebra
Growing geometrical patterns
Grade 4
Bale
Bale Teachers
5th Grade Teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Volume
Building Boxes
Grade 5
Bale
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Primary Group
Probability
Grade 1
Jefferson
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Primary Group
REVISED LESSON
Grade 1
Jefferson
Lessons
• Do not FORCE people to do lesson study
• Modified lesson study may or may not plant
seeds
• District lessons are a non-threatening way to
introduce teachers to the idea of lesson study
• Teachers love to watch a lesson with students
and discuss
• It’s not about a perfect lesson
• Practice lesson study with core lessons that are
challenging to get students to understand
• Keep reflecting on your process
2004-2005
Schools where
participants teach
Lesson Study
Participants’ Grade
Levels
Lesson Content
Grade Level for
Research Lesson
And Location
Various Elementary Schools
Coaches/Math Teachers
Modified Lesson Study
Number Sense
Broken Calculator
Grade 4
Bale
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Brady/King
Intermediate Group
Growing patterns
DISTRICT LESSON
Grade 3
Brady
Jefferson/Cloverdale
Brady/King
Intermediate Group
REVISED LESSON
Grade 3
King
Baseline
(SEDL)
Grade 3 and 4 teachers
Measurement
Grade 3
Baseline
Booker
(SEDL)
Grades K, 3, 4, Coaches
Fractions
Grade 4
Booker
Cloverdale
(SEDL)
Grades 2, 3, 4, 5
Number Sense
Grade 2
Cloverdale
Cloverdale Middle
(SEDL)
Grades 6,7,8 Math
Teachers
Discovering Pythagorean
Theorem
Grade 8
Cloverdale Middle
Bale
Grades 1, 4, Special Ed
Number Sense
Grade 1,Bale
Fulbright, Brady, Gibbs,
Washington,
Jefferson, King, Booker
Grades 1, 2, 4, Coaches
Number Sense – Dominoes
Grade 1
Wilson
Same
Grades 1, 2, 4, Coaches
Revised Lesson
Grade 1
Fulbright
*Brady, Otter Creek
Grade 5 , Coaches
Discovering Volume
Grade 5
Brady
Lessons
• Do NOT force teachers to do lesson study but DO keep
inviting them to observe
• Make sure to give professional development credit to
teachers for their work
• If interested, teachers can build it into the professional
growth plan
• Must take things off teachers’ plates so they have time
for lesson study
• Must have someone who is reading and understands the
latest research
• New groups need nurturing and support
• PATIENCE
• Sometimes modified lesson study does plant healthy
seeds
2005-2006
Schools where
participants teach
Participants
Job/Grade Levels of
Planning Team
Lesson Content
Grade Level for research
lesson/location
Wilson, Dodd, Bale,
Brady
4th grade teachers, coaches
Area and perimeter
DISTRICT LESSON
Grade 4
Wilson
same
4th grade teachers, coaches
REVISED LESSON
Grade 4
Wilson
Wilson, Dodd
Intermediate teachers and
coaches
Number Sense
Yahtzee Game
Grade 4
Wilson
same
Intermediate teachers and
coaches
REVISED LESSON
Grade 4
Wilson
Fulbright
Grade 1, 2 Teachers
Number Building
Grade 1
Fulbright/
Jefferson
Cloverdale
Primary Group
And specialists
Number Sense
Domino Lesson
Grade 1
Jefferson
Math Journeys
Summer School
Program
Math Journey Teachers
“Paper Estimator”
Rising 6th grade students
Dunbar Middle School
Lessons
• Bringing lesson study experts such as Makoto Yoshida to
help nourish and cultivate the lesson study roots
• Bring interested teachers/coaches to lesson study
conference
• Do NOT force people to do lesson study
• DO keep inviting people to observe research lessons
• Practicing the complete lesson study cycle grows the
strongest roots
• Identify effective facilitators for lesson study groups
(must build capacity)
• Our knowledge of how children learn mathematics
concepts deeply is growing steadily in the areas we are
studying
• Existing lessons can be used to launch a new study
• Modified lesson study can be effective (Math Journeys)
2006-2007
Schools where
participants
teach
Participants
Job/Grade Levels of
Planning Team
Lesson Content
Grade Level for research
lesson/location
*Bale, Brady,
Wakefield,
Jefferson
4th grade teachers, coaches
Data
DISTRICT LESSON
Grade 4
Bale
*same
4th grade teachers, coaches
REVISED LESSON
Grade 4
Jefferson
*Jefferson
K, 1, 2 teachers
(new members)
DISTRICT LESSON
Equal Shares
Kindergarten
Jefferson
*McDermott
2nd Grade teachers, Coach
Science Lesson on Soils
Grade 2
McDermott
*same
2nd grade teachers, coach
REVISED LESSON
Grade 2
McDermott
*Booker
Primary Group
And coaches
Number Sense
Domino Lesson
Grade 1
Booker
*King
3rd grade teachers, Coach
Number Sense/Ten Frames
Grade 3
King
*same
same
REVISED LESSON
Grade 3, King
*King
3rd grade teachers, Coach
Integrating Technology
Grade 3, King
*same
same
REVISED LESSON
Grade 3, King
*Bale,
Wakefield,
Jefferson
4th grade teachers, coaches
Transformations
Grade 4, Wakefield
Lessons
• The Japanese textbooks can help us
create a focused, coherent curriculum
• The passionate teacher is the best
recruiter
• Patience will grow healthy roots
• “Only if you want to”
• Teachers flock to study when there is time
to plan and reflect
Now
• Makoto consulted with our district lessons
this year and acted as a final commentator
• Makoto, Tad, and Akihiko came for a week
to help us develop a coherent curriculum
using the Japanese textbooks
• All lesson studies were conducted by
teachers or coaches
• Math Journeys this summer
• 2007-2008 - Karl
Questions to Ask Ourselves
How do you
plant the
seeds to
interest
teachers in
lesson
study?
How do you sustain it
and grow the deep,
healthy roots necessary
to actually change a
culture?
What causes lesson study to grow,
blossom, and flourish?
How can we CAUSE lesson study to
become an integral part of
our (U.S. teachers) professional
practice?
What makes it die?
How do you change a culture?