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Lesson Study for Learning Community A guide to sustainable school reform 1st Edition Eisuke Saito
Teachers possess a wealth of untapped wisdom and valuable experience. Be it educational policy, curriculum development or textbook selection, rare are the instances when teachers’ views are solicited. Traditionally, teacher development has been driven by administrators of schools, and it often takes the form of a ‘mentor’ teaching the staff of a school.
But what happens when teachers across different locations collaborateandlearntogether?
This volume documents such an initiative, sparked off by the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought people together online. It showcases the power of teachers debating, discussing and learning from each other. Based on an Indian experience, this book addresses a range of issues that teachers and educators across the world face– encompassing pedagogy, classroom management, school culture and teacher development. A unique story of community building and teacher education, this book also contains key outcomes and insights, while taking us through their action research projects. It showcases a model of teacher development that can be adopted by interested readers anywhere in the world.
Above all, it brings out the crying need forateacher’svoicetobe heard– for far too long, teachers have been mere implementers of decisions taken by policy-makers or managements of schools. By means of networking communities such as the one described in this
book, the transformation of teachers going from whispers to resonance is greatly amplified.
An important intervention in the domain of teacher development, this volume will be of great interest to students, researchers, educators, teacher educators and sociologists of education. It will also be useful for teacher trainees, academicians, policymakers, schoolteachers, curriculum developers, teacher training institutes and universities offering teacher education programmes.
Neeraja Raghavan is a teacher-educator and Founder-Director of Thinking Teacher, based in Bangalore, India. She is the author of several books, including Teaching TalesLearning Trails(co-authored with Vineeta Sood and Kamala Anilkumar, Notion Press 2018), The Reflective Teacher (Contributing Editor Vineeta Sood, Orient Blackswan, 2015), The Reflective Learner (Notion Press 2019) and co-editor (with Sarojini Vittachi) of Alternative Schooling in India (SAGE Publications, 2008). She enjoys music, philosophy, poetry, sketching, writing and embroidery.
A Learning Community of Reflective Teachers
From Whispers to Resonance
Edited by Neeraja Raghavan
First published 2024 by Routledge
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ISBN: 978-1-032-49510-1 (hbk)
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Contents
Listoffigures
Listoftables
Listofabbreviations
Listofcontributors
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
SECTION 1
From Teachers to Change Agents
1 Teacher Development
NEERAJA RAGHAVAN
2 Teachers as Change Agents
NEERAJA RAGHAVAN
SECTION 2
Change: Compilation of Research Papers by Members of LCoRPs
3 Re-designing the Learning Environment in Kindergarten through Reflection, Collaboration and Teacher Ownership
4 Turning Second Graders into Autonomous Learners – A Teacher’s Action Research
5 Aligning Teacher Development and Agency with School Vision: An Action Research Study
6 The Road Less Travelled: Developing Critical Thinking in Children from Marginalized Communities through Picture Books
7 Breaking Teacher Silos and Enabling Cross Pollination
8 A Storyteller’s Journey into the Teacher’s Mind and Heart
NANDASHREE NATARAJAN AND ANNE ISAAC
KRITHIKA BHARATH
VIDHYA NAGARAJ
NIVEDITA VIJAY BEDADUR AND ANITA BUTANI
MADHUSREE DUTTA MAJUMDAR
DEEPTHA VIVEKANAND
9 Turning Passive Middle Schoolers into SelfDriven Learners through Action Research
GANGA SUNDAR
10 Building an Ecosystem of Empathy between Students and Support Staff in School
SWATI GAUTAM
SECTION 3
A New Model of Teacher Development
11 A Pandemic of Pedagogical Transformation
NEERAJA RAGHAVAN
References
Index
Figures
0.1 Broad overview of research problems worked on by teachers in this initiative
1.1 The steps that led to building a community
1.2 Map showing locations of participants [Map drawn by Usha Kumar]
1.3 MIRO Board with sample entries from participants
1.4 Flow Chart depicting likely sequence of events for a teacher trying to think critically
2.1 Model of teacher development
3.1 Examples of CSQ Routines conducted in class
3.2 Comparison of Grading Criteria in Pre-AR and Post-AR Assessment in the English language
3.3 A Graphical Representation of the Teachers’ Evolution based on Table 3.3
4.1 Reading for autonomy
4.2 Writing for autonomy
4.3 A child’s contribution to the ‘Book Suggestions’ event
4.4 A child’s understanding of the wetland study done, expressed through writing
4.5 Student autonomy through wondering. Note: Since Level Three is an extension of Level Two, it includes some students of Level Two. Therefore, the total number exceeds 27
4.6 A student’s wonderment, post the study on the artist Claude Monet, inspired him to recreate a scene from his garden
4.7 The investigation table arranged by children in their secondgrade classroom
5.1 The four stages of Continuum of Self-Reflection (Reproduced with permission from Hall and Simeral (2008))
5.2 Picture of a sportsman’s shoe (drawn by a teacher)
6.1 Map of Maharashtra, India, showing the locations of the children and the researcher [Map drawn by Usha Kumar]
6.2 Arjun summarized ‘Anand’
6.3 Vishesh summarized the story of Rumniya
6.4 Vishesh describes his experience of cycling
6.5 Ashiyana connects to the story of Rumniya by sharing her experience
6.6 On 30 August, Yogita compares Rumniya and Kalpana
6.7 On 12 November, Vishesh compares Anand and Mahagiri
6.8 Ashiyana and Vishesh discuss man animal conflict
6.9 Yogita does Claim-Support-Question
6.10 Arjun questions the author’s intention
6.11 Arjun’s dream
6.12 Yogita’s dream
6.13 The Endline Journey
7.1 Response from a teacher of Commerce
7.2 Response from a teacher of Mathematics
7.3 Collaborating with Art, Chemistry and History
8.1 Snapshot of teacher diary
9.1 Class average test scores of Essential skills acquisition
9.2 Student planner sample
9.3 The various stages of ‘I wonder’ project
9.4 Why couldn’t I do “I wonder”?-Students’ reflections
10.1 Letter written by a male student to a support staff member
10.2 Letter written by a female student to a female support staff member
10.3 Group 1 showed the support staff working visibly outside the bio-bubble in the dining room
10.4 Group 2 depicted the various jobs the support staff
10.5 Group 3 outlined the details of all the indoor cleaning and upkeep by the support staff
10.6 Excerpts from articles that the students of Grade X wrote in the school magazine after the interviews
11.1 Configurations of meetings in LCoRPs from the start till TACA III
11.2 The four modes of engagement for a member of a learning community
11.3 The role played by trust and doubt (Y-Axis) in determining the manifestation of various facets of the community member who is a consumer or a contributor (X-Axis)
11.4 Three types of networks (Reproduced with permission from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM3420.html.
11.5b Knowledge OF and IN Practice: Decentralized Network
11.5c Knowledge IN and OF Practice: Distributed Network
Tables
2.1 A comparison of some Action Research Problems chosen by individual Action Researchers and members of this community who worked in collaboration
2.2 Schedule of the three cycles of the programme titled Teachers As Change Agents (TACA)
3.1 Reflections on the first Staff Meeting conducted on 21 March 2021
3.2 Learning the art of questioning
3.3 Journey of the teachers in making learning process-centric
5.1 Some questions that teachers came up with
5.2 Entries from the teachers’ journals
5.3 The areas of learning identified by the teachers
6.1 Events (questions) of 6 and 7 June 2021 during LCoRPs meeting and my reflections thereafter
6.2 The alignment of learning outcomes and pedagogical strategies
6.3 Baseline checklist assessment
6.4 Number and levels of books read by the children from June 2021 to February 2022
7.1 Collation of responses from teachers across departments on ways to bring about collaboration
8.1 Comparison of reflective questions
8.2 Reflection rubric
9.1 Planned stages of the AR
9.2 Students’ selection of ‘I wonder’ topics
9.3 The learning goals drawn by students vs. teacher intended learning objectives – A sample
9.4 Some of the students’ reflections on why they chose each of the features for their learning space
9.5 The student groups and their roles in creating their learning space
9.6 Students’ reflections on student autonomy
10.1 Table of strategies and expected outcomes
10.2 Analysis of students’ responses after making the poster (Grade VIII)
10.3 Action research extension plan
11.1 The principles of such a community of practice that emerged from different facets of the teacher that were seen
Abbreviations
APF
AR
CBSE
CFG
CISCE
CPD
CSQ
IDC
IDP
LCoRPs
LKG
UKG
VSA
Azim Premji Foundation
Action Research
Central Board of Secondary Education, India
Critical Friends Group
Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations
Continuous Professional Development
Claim, Support, Question (thinking routine from Project Zero, Harvard University)
Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Interdisciplinary Project
Learning Community of Reflective Practitioners
Lower Kindergarten
Learning Outcome
North America
National Education Policy
Professional
Learning Community
Principal Researcher
Teachers As Change Agents
Upper Kindergarten
Vidyashilp Academy, Bangalore
Contributors
LCoRPs MEMBER PROFILES
Lalitha Bai is a committed educator, who is keenly involved in childcentric learning and looks beyond the textbook to make the classroom experience interactive and engaging. She adds a creative touch to her classroom teaching by integrating several aspects so as to make learning fun. She loves sketching, cooking and reading. Currently, Lalitha is heading Poornaprajna Education Centre in Bangalore.
Nivedita Vijay Bedadur is currently engaged in designing curricula and supporting resource persons who work with marginalized children. She is a recipient of the incentive award for teachers during her career as an English teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. She has worked as a teacher-educator at Azim Premji University, Bangalore. She has authored Class VII English textbooks published by Encyclopaedia Britannica. She regularly writes on pedagogical matters and is interested in the development of critical thinking in children and teachers.
Krithika Bharath is a cheerful and passionate educator-learner at The Adyar Theosophical Academy in Chennai, India. She works with children in the vibrant age group of 6–11 years and creates fun, project-based learning engagements for them in subjects like English, Science, Social Studies and Nature Studies. Her focus is
on making students autonomous learners and co-creators of their learning journey. She enjoys Nature walks, reading fiction and eating cheesy pizzas!
Anita Butani is a school psychologist by qualification, and counsellor by profession. She currently lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She enjoys hearing different perspectives on all topics under the sun. She also loves to knit and crochet, along with reading and staying updated in her own field.
Madhusree Dutta Majumdar is a reflective educator who believes that knowledge should not be confined by boundaries. She loves to explore new ideas and methods to make learning experiential. Currently working as a lead educator (History & Political Science) at Vidyashilp Academy, Bangalore, she has curated projects and exhibitions engaging students to think beyond the confines of the textbook. When she is not teaching, she keeps her inquisitive mind happy with music, books and travel.
Swati Gautam is working in an alternative school called The Peepal Grove School in Andhra Pradesh. She loves to be around children. She is a Hindi language teacher and also a houseparent for Grade X to XII girls. She likes to write poetry and takes great interest in Nature. She wants to nurture kindness, empathy and compassion among her students. She also wants them to become aware future citizens of the world and have lots of gratitude to Life.
Anne Isaac has worked both as a teacher (of English and Biology) and as an administrator for over 24 years. She is at present a consultant with Education Mentoring India, an organization dedicated to mentoring schools. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating an excellent educational environment, with demonstrated results in student achievement and in collaborating with school communities.
Vidhya Nagaraj began her career as a teacher at a low-income private school that catered to first-generation learners. Over the past two decades, she has worked in different schools and has now moved into school leadership roles. At the time of writing this book, she was the founder-principal of Delhi World Public School, Bangalore. She is passionate about curriculum development and teacher development programmes. She is a self-proclaimed bibliophile and loves traveling.
Nandashree Natarajan is currently working as Headmistress of the Nursery Section at Sri Kumaran Children’s Home, Bangalore. She is a progressive educationist who has envisaged and implemented an innovative learning curriculum for pre-primary children. She runs Kathamrutha, where she conducts regular storytelling workshops. She is trained in Bharatanatyam and Indian folk dance forms. She loves gardening, hiking and traveling to new destinations.
Ratna Singamsetty is a homemaker-turned-teacher at The Peepal Grove School, Andhra Pradesh, where she began her teaching career with a very successful action research study that culminated in a paper that she presented in epiSTEME 6, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai. She taught middle school children science and social studies. Following her passion, she also taught needle work, handicraft and the regional language (Telugu). She loves music, drama and participating in group activities.
Ganga Sundar is a volunteer educator in Isha Home School in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Being a part of the school-wide curriculum team, she works mainly on designing the middle school curriculum, constantly reviving it to encapsulate the context of the current world and to incorporate inclusive education. As a certified storyteller, she loves listening to classical music, trekking and running marathons.
Prabha Sudarshan is a learner-educator who has worked in an educational institution for 14 years, where she helped create natural and holistic learning spaces from the Pre-Primary Section to High School. As she enjoys working in mixed-age group classes, she is currently volunteering at the local government schools. She is also presently involved in setting up a Social Emotional Learning curriculum in a government school in Bangalore, Karnataka.
Deeptha Vivekanand is an educator and professional storyteller. She currently works at St Kabir Public School, Chandigarh, where she enables teachers of all grades to use storytelling effectively in the classroom. She has co-created a 5-hour online teacher-training course titled ‘Storytelling as Pedagogy’ for the Central Board of Secondary Education, aimed at skilling in-service teachers across the country.
Foreword
“From whispers to resonance”: Nurturing teachers’ voices to make learning choices
“From Whispers to Resonance” – Afoundpoeminspired by the voices of the Learning Community of Reflective Practitioners
Communication is the first step …
Her biggest strength lay in listening, Giving teachers freedom to make learning choices, Discovering the joy of nurturing their voices.
Her biggest strength lay in listening … “What do you think we need to change?”
Discovering the joy of nurturing their voices,
A story can be told well only when it is truly felt.
“What do you think we need to change?”
To open unforeseen landscapes,
A story can be told well only when it is truly felt.
I now believe that I can realize my dream.
To open unforeseen landscapes,
Giving teachers freedom to make learning choices.
I now believe that I can realize my dream,
Communication is the first step!
A Learning Community of Reflective Teachers: From Whispers to Resonanceinvites us to experience a model for teacher development that can make dreams a reality by listening to and nurturing the voices of educators. This book reveals how teacher development can be rethought and revitalized as embodied and empowering action to open unexpected landscapes by inviting teachers to communicate their true feelings and what they think needs to change. In the opening and closing chapters, Neeraja Raghavan tells the heartfelt story of encouraging teachers from across India and different specialities to work together to effect positive change in and beyond classrooms and schools. The teachers tackled pressing educational and social justice issues with local and global resonance through their action research, presented in eight fascinating and in-depth chapters. As a whole, this book provides a nuanced, multiperspective look at how supporting educators’ voices and empowering them to make choices that feel right to them can lead to future-focused professional learning to realize our dreams of pedagogies of care and transformation.
Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, Professor of Education, University of Nottingham
Preface
In the early part of 2021, a Nursery School Headmistress of a mainstream school in Bangalore decided to alter her approach to hosting staff meetings. In the past, she had followed the norms that existed in her school, viz. announcing the meeting to her team of teachers, drawing up an agenda, running through the points one by one, doing almost all of the talking, and winding up as per schedule. This time, however, she decided to ask her teachers a question: ‘What do you think we need to change for the next academicyear?’This turnedaroundher entireapproach – as itdrew outofthe(thus far)silentteachers a whole hostofideas, newpractices and unbridled enthusiasm. That meeting left both the Headmistress as well as her teachers feeling elated. Said the Headmistress afterward: “I was worried that they were not contributing during our meetings, but I never thought that it was my approach that had to change! Also, I had noticed that teachers were more comfortable implementing ideas but not as free in articulating ideas. I now discovered that teachers had simply not been given the opportunity to present the ideas thatthey always had!”
In the three years of a Bengaluru school’s establishment, the principal had always been the one driving the teachers’professional development. She wondered: “How can we empower teachers to take charge of their own learning?” Having read articles by Deborah Meier and Michelle Stacy, she aspired to align with teachers’ expectations of being treated respectfully, being listened to and their viewpoints being taken seriously. In particular, one idea jumped out at her: ‘Teacher-Led Professional Development – Empowering teachers as self-advocates.’ It turned the tide, so to speak. Ifthis hadto happen in her school, she decidedthat teachers had to be in charge of their professional development, they had to drive it and they had to feel accountable. She realized the need to slow down, to think further. As the pieces of her mental jigsaw fell into place, she discovered that she had unconsciously still been driving the project. Her Action Researchproject resulted in heretofore unknown capabilities emerging from her team ofteachers.
It is because several such stories unfolded during a transformative journey undertaken by a group of teachers across India that I felt the need to write this book. Correction: compile this book, not write it. Because this is a compilation of the work carried out by a group of teachers, as they conferred with each other, argued, debated, questioned and floundered … in what (to the best of my knowledge)is the firstsuchcross-country collaboration ofschoolteachers in India.
Reading the above, one may well wonder: ‘But aren’t teachers just expected to teach? And teach in such a way that they satisfy their School Heads, students and the parents of their students?’
In fact, the demands on teachers are multiple: parents expect them to draw out the best from their children, school managements look to them for upholding the reputation of the school – and this means a whole host of things – ensuring good results in certifying examinations, helping students win trophies in inter-school competitions, engaging with parents so as to keep them up-to-date of their ward’s progress, and most importantly, stimulating the love for learning in their students. Students expect them to make learning fun and easy, examinations less intimidating and school life less burdensome, if not enjoyable. Another important aspect of the work of a teacher is the high degree of compliance that is expected of him/her. A prescribed curriculum is handed to the teacher; in most schools, even the textbook is not something that the teacher usually has any say in selecting. Assessment systems of students’ learning are also dictated by the school-leaving examinations, which percolate down to the expectations placed upon a teacher even in grades that do not call for an end-of-year Board Examination. Relying largely on the prescribed textbook, most teachers plough their way through transaction of its content so as to ‘cover the portions’ in time for the end-of-year examination.
If a teacher is dissatisfied with the textbook, syllabus or the examination system, is there any way in which the teacher’s voice can be heard? And acted upon?
Further, how can teachers keep alive theirownloveforlearning? What is the commonly adopted route for teacher professional development in most schools across India today?
Teacher Development: the road most travelled
Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) point out that methods adopted for teacher development are driven by underlying ideas and interpretations of what teachers ‘should know’ in order to teach better. In other words, the conception of all that entails ‘teacher learning’ determines the mode that is adopted. In Cochran-Smith & Lytle’s (1999) categorization, there is knowledge forpractice, ofpractice and inpractice. Knowledge forpractice is formal knowledge or theory that is usually gained by a teacher during graduation and pre-service teacher training programmes. It consists mainly of content that the teacher has to master before transacting lessons in a classroom. Knowledge inpractice, on the other hand, is more practical, as it is gained by observing expert teachers practising successful techniques or impactful pedagogy. However, the third category is neither theoretical nor drawn from another’s practice, but is instead generated by a teacher who investigates her own practice by using her classroom like a laboratory, with a potential for discovery.
When knowledge for practice overrides the other two kinds, the underlying assumption is that a teacher who knows more (i.e. who has acquired more formal knowledge) will teach better. Inevitably, this results in a top-down approach for teacher development – unless (and worse!) eventhisisdeemedhardlynecessary, as most of the ‘required knowledge for practice’ has already been gained in the short pre-service teacher education programme. Giroux (1988) cites Zeichner’s description of a prospective teacher as “a passive recipient of this professional knowledge” who “plays little part in determining the substance and direction of his or her preparation program.”
Sadly, school teachers in India are largely regarded as having equipped themselves with all that they need in their graduation years and/or the postgraduate education diploma/degree (which intends to give them the knowledge for practice). Thereafter, a new teacher simply dives into the deep end and learns on the job. In schools that do accord some importance to teacher development, a few annual workshops conducted by resource persons (mostly external) are organized for teachers. Usually, these are spread over two-to-three days in the beginning of the academic year (with attendance often being linked to increment in salary) and the themes are selected by the management. There is little or no input from the teachers themselves. If at all there is any peer-led teacher development, it happens in an informal manner. Thus, teachers inevitably look up to resource persons for guidance, and disregard their own
capability to come up with ways of capacity building. This is perhaps also aligned with their own overburdened schedule, for they have to gear themselves up each year to face the daily grind – who, then, would wish to take on an additional task: that of designing the trajectory of their own development? Time is almost always experienced as a crunch, for teachers in schools.
In this milieu, much of what a teacher learns on the job is lost – due to lack of articulation of it both to herself and to others. Simply ticking tasks off a loaded list is the preoccupation of a teacher working in such circumstances. That being so, it is pertinent to ask: How do teachers get that precious time with themselves, when they can unwind, relax and rejuvenate their tired brains? In addition, (how) can teachers brainstorm witheachotherabout ways of making their efforts more effective? And –if this isn’t too ambitious – can teachers across the country actuallyjoin togethertobringaboutsomechangeon theground? To begin with, are there teachers who are articulating their dissatisfaction with elements of the education system and working to find ways to address them? Contained in the pages of this book you will find a true account of precisely such an effort.
This is a story of connectedness, collaboration, deep exploration, sustained enquiry and unfolding of powerful insights – some of which emerged through the synergy of the group, and others as a result of the action research that members conducted. It is a unique initiative in teacher professional development in India: where teachers learn from each other, question each other, identify lacunae in their own capacities as well as the education system and set about addressing these together. The significant aspect of this initiative is that there were no expectations of any credentials (like a certificate, degree or diploma) if such an engagement was sustained. The educators who chose to stay engaged with this initiative did so purely out of their motivation and experience of palpable benefits as a consequence of staying in this group.
Further, although this programme culminated in the action research that was conducted by most of the members, the model of teacher development that this narrative enquiry proposes does not necessarily have to contain action research as its core element. This is brought out clearly in the concluding chapter of this book, which lays out the essential elements of building such a community of reflective teachers, and
suggests certain principles upon which the sustaining of such a community rests.
For the reader who likes a bird’s eye view of the contents of the action research, Figure 0.1 is an attempt to give a succinct picture of the issues that teachers explored.
Figure0.1Broad overview of research problems worked on by teachers in this initiative
Section 2 contains the research papers that detail out the unfolding of the above problems. Often, teachers started without knowing how wide and deep the domain that they had stepped into truly was!
Without exception, the members grew noticeably in self-confidence and gained new insights. Here are a few of them:
Most teachers work in isolation. They need to be listened to – by a supportive set of fellow teachers.
While teachers seem to be amongst the most listened to of all professionals (with a captive audience that sits and hears – perhaps even listens to! – all that they have to say), it is seldom that their opinions(on important matters in education) are sought out by more than a few.
Reading and sharing perspectives in a group enables listening and of course, widening of one’s thinking.
Writing opens up the mind. It brings clarity to one’s jumbled thoughts, and then, it even shapes one’s own thinking.
If we are to change our thinking, language offers the best entry point. A language teacher is therefore uniquely equipped to mould the thinking of her students.
When teachers are given the agency to effect changes, they willingly transfer that autonomy to their students too.
Lack of ownership in students manifests as mindlessness about their learning space and peers. Since learning is mostly teacher-driven, this robs students of agency.
The above is equally true of teachers: an absence of teacher agency (because it is all management-driven or policy-driven) and paucity of opportunities for teachers to actively create and maintain the learning space leaves them bereft of a sense of belonging.
A teacher’s bias towards a subject will definitely get transmitted to students: implicitly or explicitly. So it is important to question a teacher’s biases first.
When the Principal/Headmistress lets go of control and empowers her teachers to decide what (and how) they want to work on, it brings in a sense of ownership that can be sustained throughout the academic year. It can even have ripple effects to teachers outside the cohort.
It is possible to use a simple mobile phone to set four marginalized children in remote areas onto the path of thinking critically about issues around them.
In the concluding chapter, a model of teacher development that has emerged from this work is described against the backdrop of a few existing models.
The above overview may allow you, the reader, to select that portion of the book which is most appealing and start reading from there. If this book leaves you feeling hopeful about (or even inspired by) the teachers of India, it will have achieved its end. If it spurs in you an urge to form such a community of reflective practitioners yourself, it would have surpassed its intention. And if you put the book down, feeling something in between these two extremes, that, too, is a certificate of success that these teachers have elicited from you!
Read on, and join them in their reflective (and often transformative) journey.
Acknowledgements
If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes an entire community to bring out a book about a community.
It is therefore self-evident that the teachers who formed LCoRPs were central to the compilation of this book. My engagement with each member of the community only served to strengthen my faith in the teaching community and left me feeling very hopeful of the future. More importantly, the entire experience gave me rich learnings about community building, even as I learned more about specific aspects of teaching and learning through their action research projects.
I am indebted to Azim Premji University for remote access to their rich library.
Dr Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan responded to my request to write the Foreword with her characteristic enthusiasm and grace. The entire team of teachers (whose work is compiled here) and I are very grateful to her for her valuable views. Peter Lauenstein was as enthusiastic as he always is in reading through the entire manuscript and endorsing its contents. But for Peter, I would never have made the connection to Paul Baran’s digital networks. G Gautama read the manuscript and offered valuable tips. Padmini Nagaraja gave generously of her time to read and critique the raw manuscript. But for her incisive comments (which LCoRPs member Nivedita also articulated), Chapter 11 would not have taken the shape that it finally did. At one point, I was compelled to ask her if there was anything at all that she had notread, so pertinent were the readings
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The recoil system is of the hydro-spring type.
The two parallel steel tubes (the spring cylinders) are fitted into a frame surmounted by heavy steel rails which form the gun slides thus forming the cradle. The recoil cylinder is fitted between these two.
The recoil and counter-recoil piston rods are attached to the gun lug and recoil with the gun, while the spring cylinders and recoil cylinder remain stationary.
The recoil is constant, being 70 inches for all elevations. The recoil cylinder uses hydroline oil as the buffer medium. Throttling is obtained by three throttling bars running lengthwise of the cylinder which are of varying height to give a throttling effect with corresponding slots in the recoil piston. A counter-recoil buffer is fitted in the piston rod to take up the shock when the springs return the gun into battery.
The trunnions on the cradle are mounted in bearings formed by a yoke which swivels in a pintle bearing provided at the front of the trail.
Traverse is obtained by means of a handwheel and screw mounted on the left side of the trail which swings the yoke in traverse carrying the gun with it. A traverse of 70 mils on each side of center is possible.
The piece is elevated by a double screw type of mechanism. The upper end is attached to the cradle and so raises and lowers it. The screw is operated thru gearing by two handwheels one on each side of the trail from 5° elevation dep. to 15° elevation.
The trail is of the solid type made up of flasks of channel section. It has housings for the axle and carries the pintle bearing in which the top carriage or yoke swings. A tool box is provided in the trail. A seat is provided on each side of the trail for the cannoneers. The lunette
transom is fitted about 27 inches from the rear of the trail and carries a bearing that fits the limber pintle.
A trail prop is provided for supporting the trail when limbering.
The spade can be released and folded up on the trail when traveling.
A traveling lock is provided on the trail for locking the gun when traveling. The piston rod and spring rods must be disconnected before the gun can be drawn back far enough to lock.
The wheels are 61 × 6 inch with rubber tires and band brakes. Some older vehicles have steel tires and are fitted with tire brakes.
An armor plate shield is fitted to the carriage for the protection of the personnel.
The instruments for sighting and laying the piece included a line sight, a rear sight, a front sight, a panoramic sight and a range quadrant.
The line sight consists of a conical point as a front sight and a V notch as a rear sight. These are located on the Jacket of the gun, and are useful for giving a general direction to the gun.
The sighting is similar to the 3”, 1902.
The rear sight and front sight are used for direct aiming. The rear sight is a peep sight mounted on a range scale quadrant by a bracket on right side of the cradle. The front sight is a pair of cross wires mounted in a ring attached by a bracket on the cradle about 3 ft. ahead of the rear sight.
The range scale quadrant has a socket in which the Standard U. S. Panoramic sight may be mounted.
For indirect fire the gunner on the left of the carriage lays for direction only.
On the right side of the cradle is mounted the Range Quadrant which has in combination with it the Angle of Site Mechanism. For indirect fire the gunner on the right of the piece lays for range with this instrument.
4.7” Rifle
Fixed ammunition is used with this gun. Shrapnel and high explosive shell are used. The base fuzed steel shell and the shrapnel weigh 60 lbs. The point fuzed steel shell weighs 45 lbs. Gas shell are also issued identical with the 45 lb. steel shell.
CHAPTER X
THE 155-MM FILLOUX GUN.
WEIGHTS, DIMENSIONS, ETC.
Weight of Gun including breech mechanism 8,795 lbs.
Length 232.87 inches.
Caliber 155-mm (6.1042 inches.)
Muzzle velocity 2,380 ft.-sec.
Rifling, one turn in 2.989. Caliber, right hand uniform.
Weight of projectile 95 lbs.
Maximum range 16,200 meters.
Weight of maximum powder charge 25¼ lbs.
Weight of carriage 11,065 lbs.
Weight of gun and carriage, complete 19,860 lbs.
Diameter of wheels 1,160mm.
Width of track 2,250 mm.
Height of axis of gun 1,482 mm.
Elevation 0 to 35 degrees.
Maximum traverse 60 degrees.
Weight of limber complete 3,190 lbs.
Weight of gun carriage and limber 23,050 lbs.
The distance from center line of carriage axle to center line of limber axle, approximately 4,500 mm.
155
M.M. GUN MODEL OF 1918 (FILLOUX)
The gun is of the built-up type and consists of the tube strengthened by the following jackets and hoops beginning at the breech end: The breech ring, the jacket, the hoop A, the hoop B, the clip hoop, the clip hoop set on the hoop B and the muzzle bell. The length of the gun from the muzzle to the breech base is approximately 18½ feet.
A recoil lug on the underside of the breech ring provides means of attaching the recoil and recuperator rods. Hinge lugs for the breech are also formed on the breech ring. Bronze clips to serve as guides in the cradle are screwed to the sides of the jackets.
The breechblock is of the interrupted screw type, having four plain and four threaded sectors. The breech mechanism is of the plastic obturator type, having the forward mushroom-shaped head of the breechblock equipped with the asbestos ring, known as the obturator pad. Upon firing, this ring is compressed and acts as a gas check to prevent the leakage of powder gases back through the breech. It has sufficient resiliency to resume its original form after firing. The firing
mechanism is of the French percussion primer type which is described under “155-mm Schneider howitzer” and is interchangeable with the guns enumerated therein.
The cradle is a steel forging pivoted by trunnions in the trunnion bearings of the top carriage. It is bored with three parallel cylinders for housing the recoil and recuperator mechanism. On its upper side are slots for the gun slides and the elevating rack is bolted to the lower side.
The recoil mechanism is of the hydro-pneumatic variable recoil type. The larger of the three cylindrical bores in the cradle block contains the recoil mechanism; the two smaller ones, the parts of the recuperator mechanism.
LONGITUDINAL SECTION IN BATTERY
The recoil mechanism consists of a piston and piston rod and a counter rod. The piston rod is connected to the breech lug and,
155 MM GUN CARRIAGE MODEL OF 1918 (FILLOUX)
therefore, recoils with the gun. Grooves of variable depth are milled along the length of the counter rod, controlling the flow of oil through the ports of the piston during the recoil. This counter rod assembles within the bore of the piston rod. It does not move longitudinally, but rotates. The amount of this rotation changes the area of the orifices through which the oil can pass. Its rotation is accomplished as the gun is elevated by means of an arm and gear sectors in such a manner as to shorten the recoil as the gun elevates.
A replenisher or gravity tank is provided in connection with the recoil cylinder which assures the recoil cylinder being full at all times and also takes care of any expansion of the oil due to heating. Its capacity is about 17 quarts.
The recuperator mechanism consists of two connected cylinders, one containing the piston and piston rod which are attached to the breech lug, while the other contains a mushroom valve and a diaphragm. The diaphragm separates the oil contained in the first cylinder and part of the second cylinder from the high pressure air which compels the return of the gun into battery after recoil. Normally a small amount of oil must be between the valve and diaphragm. Oleonapth is the liquid used in this recoil mechanism. The amount of oil in the recoil and recuperator mechanism is shown by an indicator so that it can always be seen whether or not they need filling.
The top carriage is a large steel casting mounted on the bottom carriage on which it pivots to traverse the piece.
The handwheels and mechanism for both elevating and traversing, are mounted on the top carriage. The tipping parts are carried on the trunnions of the top carriage.
Belleville Springs carry the weight of the gun when traversing, but on firing the springs compress and the firing stresses are taken on the bearing surfaces between the top and bottom carriages.
The bottom carriage is a large steel casting suspended from the axle (in traveling position) by a heavy multiple leaf spring. It supports the top carriage, houses the axle and provides hinge connections for
the trail. When firing the axle is unshackled from the left spring and the bottom carriage bears directly on the axle.
Traversing is accomplished by turning the top carriage which pivots on the bottom carriage. This is done by means of a rack and train of gears which are operated by the handwheel on the left side of the carriage. A traverse of 60 degrees, 30 degrees right and 30 degrees left, is possible.
Elevating is accomplished by a rack on the cradle operated through gears by the handwheel located on the gear box at the left of the top carriage. Elevations from 0 degrees to 35 degrees can be obtained.
The trail is of the split type and consists of steel plate beams of box section. Locks are pivoted at the forward end of the trails for securing them in the open position. When closed together they are clamped and attached to the limber. A traveling lock is provided on the trail for retaining the gun in retracted position.
Two types of spade are pivoted, one for soft and one for hard ground. When traveling the spades are always removed from the trail.
The wheels are of cast steel, each wheel having two solid rubber tires.
Wheel shoes for traveling over soft ground are provided, which assemble over the rubber tires. They consist of twelve plates for each wheel which give a broad bearing surface under the wheel. The wheels are equipped with band brakes.
The sighting equipment is exactly the same as that described with the 155-mm Schneider howitzer.
The ammunition used is of the separate loading type. Either shrapnel or high explosive steel shell is used, as well as gas shells and other special ammunition. The projectile weighs 95 lbs. The propelling charge of smokeless powder is a sectionalized charge made up of two sections; a base charge and one smaller increment. The weight of the charge is 25 lbs.
The fuzes commonly used are the 31 sec. combination fuse for use with shrapnel and combining time and percussion elements: the point detonating fuse Mark IV used with the steel high explosive shell and the mark III point detonating fuze used with gas shell.
155-MM HOWITZER CARRIAGE, MODEL OF 1918 (SCHNEIDER) TRAVELING POSITION
155-MM. HOWITZER CARRIAGE, MODEL OF 1918 (SCHNEIDER). RIGHT SIDE VIEW.
Length of rifled portion of bore 737-mm.—68.4 inch.
Rifling
Number of grooves 48.
Width of grooves 7.145-mm.—0.2813 inch.
Depth of grooves 1-mm.—0.03937 inch.
Width of lands 3-mm.—0.1181 inch.
Twist, right hand, uniform, one turn in 25.586 cal.
Powder chamber:
Diameter 158.75-mm.—6.25 inch.
Length 339.85-mm.—13.38 inch.
Volume 6,965.75 cu. in.—425 cu. in.
Obturation Pad.
Firing mechanism Percussion.
General Description.
The 155-mm howitzer, Model of 1918 (Schneider) is of the hydropneumatic long recoil type, which may be used for direct fire, but was specially designed for siege fire. On account of its high trajectory it is able to direct shells on targets inaccessible to standard 6-inch howitzers of limited elevation.
This howitzer has given satisfactory results in service and has proven to be more superior than guns of similar caliber. It has a muzzle velocity of 1,480 foot-seconds and attains a maximum range of 12,600 yards, the projectile weighing about 95 pounds.
A maximum rate of fire of four or five rounds per minute may be attained, but heating as well as difficulty of preparing and transporting the ammunition by the gun crew renders such rate impossible for more than a few minutes. However, the normal rate of fire is two per minute and may be loaded at any degree of elevation.
The howitzer is mounted on a sleigh and rigidly secured by means of a breech key and the holding down band. The sleigh contains the recoil and recuperator mechanisms which permits long recoil and insures stability at low elevations. When the gun is fired the sleigh recoils on bronze slides on the cradle, which is a U-shaped steel plate and rests in the trunnion bearings of the trail.
This howitzer may be elevated from 0 degrees to 42 degrees by means of the elevating mechanism. The traverse is 52.2 mils right and left, the carriage sliding on the axle and pivoting on the spade, which prevents the carriage recoiling when the gun is fired. The customary shield protects the gunners from flying shrapnel and fragments.
155 M M HOWITZER MODEL
OF 1918 (SCHNEIDER)
In traveling position the howitzer is retracted and locked to the cradle, the cradle locked to the trail, the spade revolved and secured to the bottom of the trail. The lower end of trail rests on the carriage limber, which is used to carry the proportionate share of the load of the howitzer and carriage in traveling position. The limber is equipped with a connecting pole for motor traction. The carriage and limber wheels are rubber tired and considered able to negotiate any roads suitable for field artillery.
Howitzer Description.
The howitzer, consists of a tube and jacket. The jacket is shrunk over, approximately, the rear half of the tube and screwed to it by a short thread near the rear end of the tube. The rear end of the tube is prepared for the reception of the breechblock. On the right of the
jacket at its rear are two lugs which receive the hinge pintle of the operation lever. A flat seat with two transverse slots is machined on the top of the jacket at the rear end for receiving the counterweight. The counterweight is securely fastened to the jacket by six screws, and two lugs which engage the slots in the jacket. The bridle is fitted to the underside of the jacket near the rear end and held in place by four screws. The breech key passes through the bridle and holds the howitzer in its seat on the sleigh. On the underside of the jacket just forward of the bridle seat are seven square threads which engage corresponding threads on the sleigh. A holding-down band which encircles the jacket at its forward end also secures the howitzer to the sleigh.
On the top surface of the counterweight are two nickel silver leveling plates.
Vertical and horizontal axis lines are cut on the breech and muzzle faces. A line showing the actual center of gravity with the breech mechanism in place is cut on the upper side of the jacket marked C. of G. The name and model of the howitzer are stamped on the left side of the jacket just below the counterweight. The name of the manufacturer, year of manufacture, serial number of the howitzer and the weight of the howitzer, including the breech mechanism, are stamped on the muzzle face.
155 M M HOWITZER MODEL OF 1918 (SCHNEIDER)
BREECH MECHANISM ASSEMBLY
155 M.M. HOWITZER MODEL OF 1918 (SCHNEIDER)
BREECH MECHANISM ASSEMBLY
The breech mechanism is of the plastic obturator, interrupted screw type having four plain sectors and four threaded sectors. The block can be loaded with one-eighth of a turn. Two of the plain sectors are relieved to permit the breechblock to enter the breech recess. The breechblock is screwed into the block carrier and rides on the hub of the latter.
The block carrier is hinged to the right side of the jacket by means of the pintle hinge of the operating lever.
The pintle hinge is fitted at the lower end with an operating lever collar and detent. The dead weight of the breech is carried by the block carrier hinge plate.
The block is rotated by means of a rack which engages teeth cut in the upper surface of the block at its rear end. The rack is actuated by a lug on the under side of the operating lever which engages a slot in the rack. The rack is located in the inside face of the block
carrier When the breech is tightly closed this lock bears against the breech face of the howitzer and is forced back against the rack lock spring leaving the rack free to move. As the breech starts to open the rack lock is forced up by its spring and locks the rack, preventing further rotary motion of the breechblock.
The operating lever is provided with an operating lever handle which is kept in its raised position by the operating lever handle spring. When the breech is closed and locked the lower portion of the operating lever handle engages the block carrier lever catch. When the breech is fully open the operating lever latch which extends through the operating lever, engages the operating lever catch and holds the breech in that position.
155-MM HOWITZER MODEL OF 1918 (SCHNEIDER) FIRING MECHANISM
The obturator spindle is of the mushroom head type It passes through the center of the breechblock and is screwed into the front end of the firing mechanism housing, which fits into the hub of the block carrier. The obturator spindle is prevented from turning by the firing mechanism housing key spring. A vent for the passage of the primer flame is drilled through the center of the obturator spindle. The obturator spindle bushing is screwed into the front end of the obturator spindle and the obturator spindle plug into the rear end— the latter forming a chamber for the primer.
The obturator spindle spring bears against the firing mechanism housing and the breechblock, keeping the head of the obturator spindle tightly against the gas check pad. The gas check pad or plastic obturator is composed of a mixture of one part asbestos and three parts nonfluid oil, contained in a canvas covering. The pad is protected by the front, rear and small split rings. A steel filling-in disk is placed between the gas check pad and the breechblock.
The firing mechanism housing is provided with a firing mechanism safety plunger which is forced by the firing mechanism safety plunger spring against the inside circumference of a circular boss on the face of the breechblock. When the breechblock is rotated to its locked position, the plunger slips into a notch in the boss and permits the entrance of the firing mechanism block. When the breech is unlocked the lower end of the firing mechanism safety plunger extends into the firing mechanism housing and obstructs the entrance of the firing mechanism block. This safety device makes it impossible to unlock the breech while the firing mechanism block is in place or to insert the firing mechanism block while the breech is unlocked.
The firing mechanism block is provided with a handle, and screws into the firing mechanism housing. The primer seat plug is screwed into the front end of the firing mechanism block and is provided with a notch into which the primer is inserted. The firing pin guide is located just back of the primer seat plug and forms a guide for the firing pin as well as a bearing for the firing pin spring. The firing pin housing is screwed into the rear end of the firing mechanism block and held in place by the firing pin housing holding screw. The firing
pin passes through the firing pin housing and the firing pin guide and is forced to the rear by the firing pin spring. The firing mechanism block is provided with a flange at its outer edge in which a slot is cut to receive a projection on the front of the percussion hammer. This prevents the hammer from striking the firing pin when the firing mechanism block is not screwed home. The firing mechanism block latch is located on the outer face of the block carrier and prevents the firing mechanism block from being unscrewed accidentally.
The firing mechanism block is interchangeable with the firing mechanism blocks used on the following cannon:
155-mm. gun, model of 1918 (Filloux).
8-inch howitzer, model of 1917 (Vickers Mark VI and VIII½).
240-mm. howitzer, model of 1918 (Schneider).
The percussion hammer is carried by the percussion hammer operating shaft which is journaled in the percussion hammer operating shaft housing. This housing is secured to the breech face by means of a dove tail projection which fits into a slot, cut across the entire breech face just below the breech opening. The percussion hammer operating shaft is fitted with a lever at its right end which receives the blow of the firing mechanism striker when the lanyard is pulled. The percussion hammer shaft plunger and spring are located in the percussion hammer operating shaft housing to the left of the hammer. When the breech is open the plunger is forced up by its spring, thereby causing a projection on the plunger to engage in a recess in the operating shaft, locking the shaft so that the hammer cannot be operated. When the breech is closed the underside of the block carrier strikes on the beveled head of the shaft plunger, forcing it down and thus unlocking the mechanism.
The percussion hammer lock bolt is screwed to the face of the carrier to the left of the percussion hammer. Its function is to lock the hammer in the traveling position when the howitzer is not in use.
Operation
of
the Breech Mechanism.
When the breech is closed and locked, the threaded portions of the breechblock mesh with the threads in the breech recess. The operating lever is held by the
