Lesson Study
A Guide to Implementation
“The teacher is the one who gets the most out
of the lessons, and the true teacher is the
learner.”
Elbert Hubbard
Lesson Study
• Evolves from Professional Learning
Communities (PLCs) of teachers
• Provides opportunities to create a model for
high-quality instructional practices.
• Improves a lesson through teacher
collaboration.
Lesson Study
• Meets Florida Professional Development System
Evaluation Protocol Standards (1.2.1, 2.2.1, and
3.2.1)
• Promotes a cycle of continuous improvement to
achieve goals that align with individual, school
and district goals for student achievement.
Differentiated Accountability
• Requires full implementation of Lesson Study
Process for schools categorized as “F”,
Intervene, or part of the Lowest 5%.
Foci of Lesson Study
• To create structured occasions for teachers to
examine teaching and learning.
• To improve the lesson planning process.
• To refine instructional strategies and delivery.
• To evaluate the results.
• To evaluate student thinking.
• To increase student mastery.
Lesson Study is…
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Job-embedded
Ongoing
Comprehensive
Real classroom instructional challenges
Teacher-directed
Student-centered
Shared best practices and strategies
Collaborative
Lesson Study Allows Teachers to…
• Consider the objectives of a particular content
area, unit and/or lesson
• Plan lessons that bring to life both short-term and
long-term goals
• Deepen subject matter knowledge
Lesson Study Allows Teachers to…
• Develop pedagogy
• Share and design best practices
• Participate in job-embedded learning
• Explore problems that impede student learning
• Understand how students think and learn
Lesson Study Allows Teachers to…
• Learn successful teaching techniques and
behaviors from other teachers
• Develop peer coaching skills
• Participate in job-embedded learning
• Explore problems that impede student learning
Lesson Study Allows Teachers to…
• Understand how students think and learn
• Learn successful teaching techniques and
behaviors from other teachers
• Develop peer coaching skills
• Improve student learning based on
observations and assessments
Lesson Study Allows Teachers to…
• Think deeply about short-term and long-term
goals for students
• Anticipate student thinking
• Collect and analyze student learning and behavior
data
Lesson Study Allows Teachers to…
• Improve instruction based on careful
observation of students by understanding how
students learn
• Support beginning teachers
Lesson Study Relative to Other
Initiatives
• Florida’s Continuous
Improvement Model
(FCIM)
• Professional Learning
Communities (PLCs)
• Lesson Study is in “Act”
component as
professional
development
• More effective when
focus is on improving
instructional delivery
and increasing student
achievement
Lesson Study Relative to Other
Initiatives
• PS/RtI and Data Driven
Instruction
• Instructional Coaching
Cycles
• Data gathered from
student observations
allow teachers to redirect
the instructional focus on
students’ academic needs
• Develop a consistent
pattern of working
collaboratively with
teachers
Lesson Study and PS/RtI
• Each tier must be demonstrably effective for large
numbers of students.
• If the universally provided instruction is not
effective for most students, then large numbers
of students will unnecessarily require additional
resources and support.
• Lesson Study strengthens instructional
knowledge and student achievement, a direct
benefit to all levels of tiered continuum of
service.
Lesson Study and Florida Professional Development
System Evaluation Protocol Standards
• Meets Standards 1.2.1, 2.2.1 and 3.2.1
• Specifically requirements for educator
participation in collaborative learning
communities for continuous improvement to
achieve goals that align with individual, school,
and district goals for student achievement
• Associated student learning goals should be
reflected in TARGET.
Purpose of Lesson Study
• Provides districts, administrators, coaches, and
teachers with content and pedagogical learning
to strengthen their instructional knowledge and
increase student achievement.
• Assists all participants to deepen their knowledge
of content, pedagogy and student thinking.
Purpose of Lesson Study
• Presents an opportunity to:
– Think carefully about goals of a particular lesson,
unit, and/or subject area
– Read, listen and think, as well as express and
question ideas
– Study and improve the best available lessons
Purpose of Lesson Study
• Presents an opportunity to:
– Deepen subject-matter knowledge
– Build powerful instructional strategies and quality
lessons through collaboration
– Improve teaching through systematic collaborative
inquiry
Lesson Study Cycle
• Phase I: Scheduling and Planning
• Phase II: Teaching and Observing
• Phase III: Debriefing
• Phase IV: Re-Teaching and Reflecting
Length of Lesson Study Cycle
• No defined time period
• Ongoing process
• Implemented throughout the year
• More than one cycle can be completed
– One cycle during the first semester
– One cycle during the second semester
Lesson Study Implementation
• More time is spent on planning and improving
the lesson because the lesson plan is the
backbone of Lesson Study.
• Begin with a lesson that has already been
developed:
– Previous year lesson plan
– Textbook manual suggested lesson
– Pre-developed lessons from Internet, etc.
Lesson Study Funding
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School Improvement Grant
Title I
Title II
General Revenue
May be used to:
– hire substitutes for teachers who may be
observing the lessons
– Acquire additional resources to enhance Lesson
Study process
Essential Questions to Begin Lesson Study
• Is the lesson aligned to the Next Generation
Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)?
• What specific benchmark(s) does the lesson
include?
• Will the instruction result in student learning at
the level of complexity required for the
benchmark?
Essential Questions to Begin Lesson Study
• How can teachers enhance the teaching and
learning process to provide data-driven
instruction that will increase student
proficiency in all subject areas?
Essential Questions to Begin Lesson Study
• What do we want students to learn and be
able to do by the end of the unit of study and
by the end of the school year?
• What is the current rate of progress and level
of performance of students enrolled in this
course/class?
Intended Outcomes of Lesson Study
• Development and use of team-created lesson
plans as a part of the process
• Incorporation of reading and writing across the
curriculum for all subject areas by using “Three
Types of Essential Reading Activities” (prereading, during reading, and after reading
strategies) in daily instruction
Intended Outcomes of Lesson Study
• Teacher use of rigorous questions,
assignments, and assessments
• Development of an understanding of Lesson
Study as a collaborative process
• Understanding of how Lesson Study is a way
to strengthen teaching and learning in schools
Intended Outcomes of Lesson Study
• Application of Lesson Study in a variety of
ways, including lesson development and
testing through Lesson Study
• Examination of the role of the district and the
principal in implementing effective Lesson
Study teams
Intended Outcomes of Lesson Study
• Skill development in other professional
learning activities related to Lesson Study
• Support of fellow teachers in initiating and
building Professional Learning Communities
with a focus on Lesson Study