In the video recorded PEPS lesson study (LS) lesson, the teacher posed a series of non-standard tasks to the students. These tasks cannot be solved by simply identifying the correct mathematical operation and performing the subsequent computation. They require the students to consider the context and structure of the problem and engage in the process of problem solving. The students need to understand and then relate the summation of a series of consecutive numbers to the concept of area of a rectangle, and then make connections between the summation of the square of consecutive numbers with the concept of area of rectangle.
Clearly, the teacher was implementing a planned lesson. She assessed the students’ thinking by questioning them and crafted her questions to guide the students to think, reason and progress towards the target solution which the LS group had prepared. The progression in student learning was facilitated with scaffolds in the form of visual prompts e.g. chess board, two-dimensional shapes and manipulative e.g. interlocking cubes.
Clearly, the teacher was implementing a planned lesson. She assessed the students’ thinking by questioning them and crafted her questions to guide the students to think, reason and progress towards the target solution which the LS group had prepared. The progression in student learning was facilitated with scaffolds in the form of visual prompts e.g. chess board, two-dimensional shapes and manipulative e.g. interlocking cubes.
As the students engaged in the problem solving, the teacher, herself, was modeling the problem solving process. She encouraged the students to understand the problem as she explained the tasks and clarified their expectation. She instructed the students to think of how they could solve the problem and think of a related problem. As the students discussed and worked on the problem, she encouraged them to communicate clearly and check their solution. After the students were given time to work on the problem, she demonstrated “looking back” in reviewing the solution process with the class.
Research Question
Do teachers change their instructional practice and focus more on mathematical problem solving as a result of their participation in lesson study? A study can be conducted to illuminate the observation and help define expectations. The research question for a future research study can be:
Do teachers change their instructional practice and focus more on mathematical problem solving as a result of their participation in lesson study? A study can be conducted to illuminate the observation and help define expectations. The research question for a future research study can be:
Are instructional practices in the classroom more focused on mathematical problem solving as a result of teachers participating in lesson study?
Research to examine the effect of LS on instructional practice is timely as this powerful pedagogical tool is increasingly practised in Singapore schools. This mode of professional development is greatly encouraged as it boosts professional sharing and learning and provides teachers the opportunity to implement what they have learnt to benefit student learning. In addition, the research themes of school LS teams tend to be aligned with school needs and educational initiatives and priorities. Lewis (2000)’s study on Japanese school LS teams supported this observation. So, LS is very much relevant nowadays.
Methodology
I propose to do a study on in-school LS groups. Ideally, the study should be on two LS groups so that a comparative study can be made to examine both similarities and differences. Participation in the study should be voluntary to ensure that teachers are comfortable and willing to talk about their own change process. Some Singapore schools are already conducting their LS meetings during curriculum hours and carrying at least two cycles of LS in a semester. Permission can be sought from the school to capitalize on existing school LS programs. It is important that each LS group identify the desired learning outcomes for the teachers in the team and affirm the objective of the LS cycle which is to achieve the identified learning outcomes.
Research to examine the effect of LS on instructional practice is timely as this powerful pedagogical tool is increasingly practised in Singapore schools. This mode of professional development is greatly encouraged as it boosts professional sharing and learning and provides teachers the opportunity to implement what they have learnt to benefit student learning. In addition, the research themes of school LS teams tend to be aligned with school needs and educational initiatives and priorities. Lewis (2000)’s study on Japanese school LS teams supported this observation. So, LS is very much relevant nowadays.
Methodology
I propose to do a study on in-school LS groups. Ideally, the study should be on two LS groups so that a comparative study can be made to examine both similarities and differences. Participation in the study should be voluntary to ensure that teachers are comfortable and willing to talk about their own change process. Some Singapore schools are already conducting their LS meetings during curriculum hours and carrying at least two cycles of LS in a semester. Permission can be sought from the school to capitalize on existing school LS programs. It is important that each LS group identify the desired learning outcomes for the teachers in the team and affirm the objective of the LS cycle which is to achieve the identified learning outcomes.
Each volunteer teacher would be observed at least once teaching a lesson. The lesson would be video recorded, transcribed and coded. Field notes during the LS meetings and the lessons would be made to focus on tasks and teacher actions, especially on how teachers set up and implemented the tasks during lessons. The teachers would be interviewed about the tasks used and the questions they asked during the lesson as these are external representations of teachers’ views about teaching and learning. Each lesson would be segmented into parts that correspond to the main stages in Polya’s problem solving: understanding the problem, making a plan, carrying out a plan and looking back. In each segment, instances when the teachers emphasized the importance of context would be noted and described.
Using the data collected from the lesson observation and interviews, a case was constructed for each teacher to represent the nature of classroom tasks, and the ways these tasks were set up and implemented during the lessons. The 4-1 model described in Yeap and Ho (2009) could be used to measure the degree of achievement of the learning outcomes by examining each type of teacher change with respect to the stated learning outcomes.
Conclusion
The proposed study would be an attempt to collect evidences to concretize teacher learning and monitor teacher growth. It would also be appropriate to use the findings of the study to assess teachers on their instructional practice.
The results could also serve as justification or otherwise for the time and resources invested by the teachers and the school in LS. LS has the potential to impact teaching practice and benefit students learning and the proposed study seeks to examine the actualized benefits of LS as well as provide a means to monitor teacher learning.
Useful Websites
Lederman, E. (2009). Journey into Problem Solving: A Gift from Polya. The Physics Teacher, 47(2), 94-97.
http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=PHTEAH000047000002000094000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal
Lewis, C. (2000). Lesson Study: The Core of Japanese Professional Development. American Educational Research Association Meetings, New Orleans, April 28, 2000.
http://www.csudh.edu/math/syoshinobu/107web/aera2000.pdf
Summary of Problem Solving Process taken from G. Polya, "How to Solve It", 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, 1957.
http://www.math.utah.edu/~pa/math/polya.html
References
Yeap, B. H., & Ho, S. Y. (2009). Teacher Change in an Informal Professional Development Programme: The 4-1 Model. In K. Y. Wong, P. Y. Lee, B. Kaur, P. Y. Foong & S. F. Ng (Eds). Mathematics Education: The Singapore Journey.
Using the data collected from the lesson observation and interviews, a case was constructed for each teacher to represent the nature of classroom tasks, and the ways these tasks were set up and implemented during the lessons. The 4-1 model described in Yeap and Ho (2009) could be used to measure the degree of achievement of the learning outcomes by examining each type of teacher change with respect to the stated learning outcomes.
Conclusion
The proposed study would be an attempt to collect evidences to concretize teacher learning and monitor teacher growth. It would also be appropriate to use the findings of the study to assess teachers on their instructional practice.
The results could also serve as justification or otherwise for the time and resources invested by the teachers and the school in LS. LS has the potential to impact teaching practice and benefit students learning and the proposed study seeks to examine the actualized benefits of LS as well as provide a means to monitor teacher learning.
Useful Websites
Lederman, E. (2009). Journey into Problem Solving: A Gift from Polya. The Physics Teacher, 47(2), 94-97.
http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=PHTEAH000047000002000094000001&idtype=cvips&prog=normal
Lewis, C. (2000). Lesson Study: The Core of Japanese Professional Development. American Educational Research Association Meetings, New Orleans, April 28, 2000.
http://www.csudh.edu/math/syoshinobu/107web/aera2000.pdf
Summary of Problem Solving Process taken from G. Polya, "How to Solve It", 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, 1957.
http://www.math.utah.edu/~pa/math/polya.html
References
Yeap, B. H., & Ho, S. Y. (2009). Teacher Change in an Informal Professional Development Programme: The 4-1 Model. In K. Y. Wong, P. Y. Lee, B. Kaur, P. Y. Foong & S. F. Ng (Eds). Mathematics Education: The Singapore Journey.
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