A Closer Look at the Impact of Lesson Study on Strengthening Teacher Knowledge of Mathematics and Classroom Instruction

• In Event: Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Understanding Lesson Study From Different Theoretical Perspectives (Part 1)

Abstract

Liping Ma's seminal research (Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, 1999) documented the gap in American elementary teachers' understanding of mathematics as a factor contributing to low student achievement. In 2018, almost two decades later, this disparity remains a major concern in public school mathematics instruction. The challenge is twofold: to offer more comprehensive preservice education for prospective graduating teachers and to provide more effective inservice for active classroom teachers.

The lesson study cycle provides a model of staff development which engages teachers in a collaborative process to formulate goals, plan a research lesson based on one or more of these goals, teach the lesson and gather evidence of student learning, and finally, debrief the lesson and make suggestions for improvement (Lewis, C., 2002). Research conducted within the last ten years documents that lesson study opportunities contribute to school-wide instructional improvement (Lewis, C., 2008). Most recently, a randomized lesson study trial of teachers using conceptually designed mathematical resources showed a significant on teachers' beliefs and the learning community (Lewis, C. & Perry, R., 2015).

This session will provide individual vignettes of teachers who participated in these site-based lesson study projects, with a close up look on how misconceptions in their own mathematical knowledge were uncovered while they were engaged in researching and designing a lesson on fractions. These teachers were experienced and felt quite confident of their understanding of fractions. Much to their surprise however, and despite years of practice, the process of planning a research lesson uncovered gaps in their conceptual understanding of fractions. They realized that these gaps had previously compromised their classroom instruction and interfered with their assessment of student achievement. Once they secured a more solid understanding of fractions, they were able to design a lesson with targeted probing questions and differentiated for a range of learners.The lesson study experience strengthened their mathematical knowledge, allowing them to be more flexible, creative, and effective teachers. Video clips from teacher interviews and examples of student work will illuminate this learning curve and and chronicle changes in classroom instruction and student achievement.

Author

• Anne Nesbitt, Westport Public Schools