Adapted from Pete Dudley (NCSL) report January 2004.
What we have learned from the first research lessons: a report on the outcomes of the first term’s work in the Research Lesson Study Programme
During the Autumn term 2003, groups of teachers in schools across the country participating in the NCSL CfBT project investigating Research Lesson Study, conducted a number of sequences of research lessons (research lesson studies) in order to:
- Try out and develop research methods whilst using and evaluating the research lesson process.
- To see whether co-designing a lesson study helps in addressing specific questions about learners, learning and teaching;
- To see if the process helps generate any new knowledge about teaching and learning for pupils and teachers.
- To identify what next steps need to be taken in the individual departments, schools and networks in order to further the learning opportunities across schools and networks.
- To identify what the next development and design issues are for Research Lesson Study at programme level.
In addition to telephone conversations and email/Talk2learn exchanges during the autumn term, the process was discussed at a residential meeting on 4th and 5th December 2003, when colleagues presented their work to the group.
‘They said it is creating opportunities to see their classrooms with new eyes, it is helping improve lesson design, it is encouraging innovation and risk taking, and is already making a difference to teaching and pupil learning.’
DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
1. The design template which was trialled, had provided a good basis for people to begin their research lessons. It helped focus the research question, the observation and analysis of what happened. It helped the identification of points for further study. However, for some it,
A) proved over complex and repetitive which could deter other users and
B) needed to become less rigid whist still maintaining the basic focal points.
2. The focus on a defined number of ‘case pupils’ enabled important incidents to be revealed with otherwise would not have been seen,
"Focusing down on case pupils had enabled a number of
really important things to be revealed" |
3. The identification of sharp enquiry questions and the use of jointly planned exploration, hypothesis-generation, re-design, retest and later attempted replication, took some colleagues work much further forward.
"Our experience of observation has been too open ended and
generic. With this approach we're trying to look
at the lessons through a filter" |
"More important.. To develop the learning from the first lesson. That was
very powerful for them and how we can take it into departmental meetings" |
"Just that little tweak was really important" |
4. There was strong testimony to the fact that the shared ownership and responsibility for success or failure in the process promoted risk taking. This generated more learning and disciplined innovation than might have been the case in more conventional lesson observations.
5. The project provided a very useful vehicle for enabling people to reflect on their teaching within and during the lesson itself.
"What's very powerful is that people felt that because they'd
planned together, it made it okay if it went wrong" |
"We can do the performance lesson for performance management or the
demonstration lesson for Ofsted - but this was (my colleague) and
we trusted each other. We knew WHAT to teach, but it
was the unpicking of it and finding out HOW. " |
6. Capture and joint analysis using video was revealing. However there are issues about how we can plan for video-use which does not adversely affect pupil response.
7. Where colleagues had opportunities to share their work more widely with others, considerable interest was created. Others were keen to Volunteer for taking the work further.
"We found the change started when people started talking
in the staffroom very, very positively" |
<KEY CONTACTS: PETE GIBBON, LUCY SPARKS - WOODLANDS AND CORINA SEAL, CHRISTINE JARROLD - SPS>
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