Understanding a Positive Outlier: How Lesson Study and Problem-solving Shape Students’ Experiences in Learning Math

• In Event: Transforming through Lesson Study: Building Collaborative Communities for Equitable and Engaging Learning

Abstract

This work examines how, over a 10-year span, School-wide Lesson Study (SLS) and Teaching Through Problem Solving (TTP) helped transform School T, a historically underperforming, underserved elementary school, into a positive outlier in mathematics achievement. Using a mixed-methods design, we analyzed student achievement and perception data and qualitative evidence from Lesson Study cycles, exploring connections among instructional practices, student experiences, and outcomes. Artifacts from Years 1 and 4 reveal TTP-aligned changes in teacher knowledge, goals, and classroom routines. The sustained improvement in math scores is echoed by an upward trajectory in students’ self-efficacy, both gains unique to School T compared to district trends. Most students reported high comfort sharing math ideas and believed their peers learn from their thinking.

Authors

• Catherine C. Lewis, Mills College at Northeastern University

• Diana Marcela Galvez Bohorquez, San Francisco Unified School District

• Norma Ming, Socos Labs