Advantages of Lesson Study

With schools returning this month following the summer break, it is a good time to be thinking about how to build on the great practice going on in our classrooms. Budgets remain tight and with that comes the pressure on school leaders to prioritise spending. Opportunities to attend courses and training can be limited and this can have a detrimental impact on the professional development of staff. Such barriers force us to think differently when looking for solutions and can bring about changes in the way we do things. By harnessing the experience and enthusiasm of teachers already in school we can build not only a more reflective approach to teaching and learning but also a more supportive and developmental culture. The use of Lesson Study is not new and I have written about it previously here and here reporting on the difference it can make to teachers’ practice and pupil outcomes. A move towards this collegiate and effective process is straightforward and won’t make a massive dent in already challenging school budgets. The benefits of Lesson Study are apparent to staff and classrooms very quickly and embedding this approach to teaching and learning development across a school or MAT will create an environment where all staff feel confident to openly and freely discuss practice with one another, working collectively to improve outcomes for children. When we introduced Lesson Study we witnessed increased dialogue around teaching and learning and more open conversations around professional development. We saw staff sharing new ideas and approaches, arranging times to support each other and observe thought out and mutually agreed solutions to specific aspects of classroom practice such as questioning, use of vocabulary, pre learning for key pupils and appropriate use of resources. An open culture of sharing and supporting gave rise to continuously improving teaching and learning, something that a more traditional observational (and judgemental) approach would struggle to secure.

In their book ‘The Teaching Gap’, Stigler and Hiebert describe the Lesson Study they witnessed in Japan as ‘the linchpin of the improvement process’ explaining that ‘if you want to improve teaching, the most effective place to do so is in the context of a classroom lesson.’ The collegiate nature of Lesson Study provides teachers with an opportunity to not only improve key aspects of their practice but also to research, discuss and share thoughts and ideas in order to improve outcomes for pupils. When reflecting on practice and looking at classroom goals for this academic year, the supportive and insightful nature of a Lesson Study approach can be a great way of meeting them.