When teachers study their own lessons In January, LJMU launched a new project for partner schools called Lesson Study. Originating in Japan, Lesson Study is where teachers collaboratively plan, teach and evaluate their lessons, with the help of pupils. Lesson Study UK guru himself, Dr Pete Dudley, talked school and university staff through the process (right) and many schools were inspired to try it for themselves! Here’s how they got on…
Netherton Moss Primary School has been using peer coaching for a few years but will ‘re-christen’ it Lesson Study next year as additions such as speaking to children has been a real eye-opener! The beauty of it is that rather than being focused upon teaching, it’s the learning you’re interested in. Deputy, David Hird, told of how student teachers and SLT have been involved.
Brookhurst Primary School focused upon pupil premium high, middle and low attainers. Head Teacher, Liz Davidson, told of how it was a way for teachers to discover the impact of new ideas. Just focusing upon a few pupils was really illuminating, she said. They found that lessons were ‘losing’ middle attainers. Studying the lesson allowed them to see not what they did but what they didn’t do, resulting in mixed ability groupings of four in the future. The project gave the opportunity to look at mixed ability teaching across the school with student teachers too.
Waterloo Primary School had been using co-coaching at first but felt it could be more strategic. They wanted research-based practice so this was the perfect opportunity for that. Ella, an outstanding practitioner in Year 1, piloted the project, picking her own research question about independence and resilience. Together with Maths Lead, Tanasha, and Deputy Head, Sarah, they devised a grouping strategy whereby mixed-ability pairs worked in groups of six. Ella said she felt redundant by the end because they were working so well together! The groupings had to be carefully crafted and it was felt that LS allows you to see your class from a different point of view.
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Irby Primary School grouped together based upon research questions: guided reading, brain breaks for ADHD, processing and memory. It has been a useful way to share good practice.
Archbishop Blanch Church of England High School trialled it in their English Department initially and now the Science Department are interested! The English team started teaching GCSE Literature to Year 9 using Mike Hughes’ Magenta Principles. In trios, each got a chance to teach and see group dynamics that wouldn’t ordinarily have been seen. Staff were a bit scared at first but soon realised that their colleagues are watching learning, not judging their teaching. It was actually really beneficial for wellbeing as planning together alleviated pressure and as the focus was on the creativity of lessons, it was really useful to bounce ideas off each other.
