Lesson Study Is Much More than the Lesson Being Studied

How do I get my teams beyond Lesson Study being about the lesson?

“The funny thing about participating in Lesson Study all last year, is that I haven’t learned what makes the perfect lesson.”  This comment came from one educator who worked through three year-one cycles of Lesson Study with me and embarked on the first cycle in year two this week. As soon the words escaped his lips, I wanted to run for the hills! I should say that this educator was answering questions for observers who are considering bringing Lesson Study to their school, and they were the ones who prompted him to question what is a perfect lesson. What struck me about the comment is that this is the number one comment I as a facilitator hear. I wonder if it will ever end?

What does it take for us to help teachers move forward in Lesson Study—to become so personally introspective—that the lesson is merely the vehicle where the discussion begins? What do I need to focus more attention on when introducing Lesson Study to a new group of educators? How can we embrace the lesson, without making it the central focus of our work?

I wonder what other facilitators are doing that lacks in my questioning or if this statement continues to wander its way through cycle after cycle, year after year—where the statement itself becomes the question we explore.

I am forced to think about what the teachers I work with have found to be qualities of a good lesson:

• Activation of prior knowledge
• Clear goals
• Student talk time
• Open-ended questioning
• Materials match the lesson
• Some form of assessment

What might happen if I used their strategies to work through my own problem?

Activation of Prior Knowledge: Let’s think back to our previous professional learning experiences: which of them was most effective for you and why was it effective?

Clear Goal: The teachers will be able to understand that developing a lesson together is the vehicle to an open exchange of ideas, learning new content, and meeting student needs most effectively.

Student Talk Time: Turn and talk to your team about the conversation that ensued while planning the lesson that would or would not have occurred had we not had a common purpose or common thread of discussion.

Open-ended Questioning: What issues of teaching and learning came up for your during this lesson-study cycle?  What is the one thing you want to continue to think about in your teaching between now and our next lesson-study cycle?  What did this lesson experience reveal about the qualities of a good lesson? What did this lesson experience reveal about you and your team?

Materials Match the Lesson: Provide the team with a well-crafted lesson that is timely and meaningful for their students and grade level.

Assessment: I struggle with this. I'd love some ideas from others on what to address.

I would love to hear from you fellow facilitators. How do we assess the effectiveness of this Lesson Study process? How will we know that the process is not about the lesson? When will the conversation that evolves through studying the lesson be enough?

Christine Paul holds a M. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction. She has been an educator for 11 years and currently works as the lead Lesson Study facilitator at Sunrise Valley Elementary School in Fairfax County, VA. In an effort to expand the Lesson Study program in Fairfax County, she partners with DSC to develop the Lesson Study facilitator’s role at the school, county, and state level.