From Standards to Success
While reading the book From Standards to Success, I had a real "aha" moment. I realized that Lesson Study is a key component in the "black box." The process is really a form of action research. You must look at school data to determine areas of need and then draw from state/national standards, frameworks used within the school/district, and aligned curriculum materials. Once the data is studied and the areas of need determined, then the team needs to study the issue. This can be through book study or articles. These should be directly related to the need—writing, nonfiction, surface structure, etc. Books that schools study need to relate to their needs. Teachers will be more prone to participate in book studies when they recognize the connection between the book and the school's identified needs. Then you have the black box; lesson study is one component. Lessons are designed using data, standards, frameworks. The team of teachers that designs the lesson also observes it. This is the action research part. Teachers observe students to determine if the practices they studied (in articles or book studies) are effective—Are the students learning the desired objective? The team that observes revises the lesson to increase its effectiveness. In feedback sessions, which could include later grade level meetings, the teachers can review student work samples related to the lesson observed. Again, the purpose is to determine the effectiveness of student learning. If the students work indicates students achieved the desired objective, then the last part of the diagram will occur-improved student achievement on standards-based lessons. The lessons are based on data, study of best practices, and standards. I see Lesson Study as the piece that connects everything we are required to do and desire to do. It will provide the vehicle to connect school, district, and state requirements. Notes: Remember what we saw at the Regional is a method for sharing the process with large numbers of people. The reality of lesson study is that a team of teachers, i.e. 3rd grade, design a lesson based on data, standards, etc. (Also, they should choose a topic that is hard to teach or hard to learn. For example, you would not chose a topic like transportation because it is easy to teach, has lots of resources, and children enjoy the subject.) The team of teachers that designs the lesson also are the ones who observe it, participate in the feedback, and the rewrite. There will not be 20 people observing the lesson. Also, remember that lesson study is a process used by a grade level at most 3 times a year. It is not done weekly or monthly. However, the learning that occurs from the process will impact the development of other lessons. At the Regional meetings, we talked about the first steps, before implementation, that need to be considered if you want to begin this process in your school. (Ideally, you could work through this stage between now and the Summer Institute.) During the summer session, we will talk about the next steps in the implementation: Before Implementation Planning-Review data and standards-identify an area of need/consider book studies, articles, etc. that would provide information on the identified areas of need Faculty Orientation-Think
about how you will introduce lesson study to your faculty—will you pull
articles (check Catherine Lewis' website;
she is the Lesson Study guru) and put them in their mailboxes, introduce
through a faculty meeting, etc. School Organization-How will you organize the work? Who will plan the process? Who will be on the team? What does the team need to consider? What structures need to be in place in your school? Structures for organizing time-Teachers will need time to plan lessons, observe lessons, and give feedback. For planning will you used embedded p.d. time, after-school time, banked time, common planning time? Time will also have to be provided during the school day to teach, observe, and give feedback. Substitute Teachers-Plan the lesson for times you know you can get subs. Remember that you have to cover all teachers involved on the day of the lesson study. Budget- How will you pay for the subs? Will the district cover this cost, the local school, or Title I ? Consider the costs of materials that the team may need. Scheduling-When is the best time to schedule the lesson study? What classes need to be covered? Do you have people in the building who can cover if you can't get subs? Recruiting and training facilitators- You will need someone who has skills to facilitate the lesson--to keep people on track and to protect them. The process should always focus on student learning. Because the lesson is designed by the team, it is everyone's responsibility. They may need some training in facilitation. Recruiting participants-After you have introduced the idea, see if you have a grade level that is interested. Coaches could assist them with the process. Don't start with teachers you want "to fix." You need those who are willing to do the work. This summer we will have a session on embedding this process into your school. Cycle
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