Implementing Lesson Study in Lausanne, Switzerland: What Common and What Particular Transformations for What Effects?

• In Event: Lesson Study: The Challenges of International Implementation

Abstract

Objectives and perspectives
As Stigler and Hiebert (2016) state, “the importing of cultural routine” like LS is a challenge and also an occasion to learn for both research and practice. This presentation aims to contribute to the discussion about this importation from the point of view of a practitioner and mathematics education researcher who contributed to importing this Japanese cultural routine to Swiss practice and to European mathematics education research.

Perspective and theoretical framework
Since 2007, LS was introduced in some Lausanne University of Teacher Education training programmes, independently in some departments. This led to the creation of the Lausanne Laboratory Lesson Study in 2015. The attempt to implement LS was not without its challenges that relate to the schools, the teachers, the school systems, and the facilitators. The paper explores three adaptations made along with some of their associated impacts.

Modes of enquiry and evidence
The paper explores qualitative evidence on the challenges of local LS implementation, and how local adaptations affected the quality of the LS process.

Results and conclusions
Most of the LS implemented in Lausanne involved two facilitators, one specialist in general pedagogy and one subject matter teaching specialist. This choice impacted the facilitators’ roles in the LS process (alternation of the facilitator's role and the knowledgeable other’s role and too strong involvement with the LS-team (see Clivaz & Clerc-Georgy, 2020), as well as the research culture of the university with the development of several inter-department research.

The choice to be able to teach two versions of a lesson led to the necessity to implement the research lesson at a moment and in a class that could not precisely be determined in advance. The unforeseen consequence was the focus on lessons independently of a teaching unit. This choice impacted the whole LS process, from the kyouzai kenkyuu phase to the discussion phase, probably in a negative way.

The difficulty in sustainably implementing LS in schools was one of the reasons for beginning with initial teacher training and professional development programs. The goal was to have teachers wanting to use LS in their schools and be LS leaders (Takahashi & McDougal, 2016). The presentation ends by exploring the extent to which this has begun.

Scholarly or scientific significance
LS in Switzerland is still in its infancy, and the biggest challenge remains implementation. Nevertheless, the question of sustainability is present, and the effect of the choices this project made are interesting to consider in the context of a fragmented school system like the Swiss one.

References
Clivaz, S., & Clerc-Georgy, A. (2020). Facilitators’ roles in lesson study: from leading the group to doing with the group. In A. Murata & C. Lee (Eds.), Stepping up Lesson Study: An educator’s guide to deeper learning (pp. 86-93). Routledge.
Stigler, J. W., & Hiebert, J. (2016). Lesson study, improvement, and the importing of cultural routines. ZDM, 48(4), 581-587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-016-0787-7
Takahashi, A., & McDougal, T. (2016). Collaborative lesson research: maximizing the impact of lesson study. ZDM, 48(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-015-0752-x

Author

• Stéphane Clivaz, Lausanne University of Teacher Education, Switzerland