LS as a Means for PLC

Lesson Study as a Means for Professional Learning Community

Mohammed Alkhamali

2014

@Alkhamali_M

To cite this article in APA style:

 In-text: (Alkhamali, 2014)

Bibliography: Alkhamali, M. 2014. Lesson Study as a Means of Professional Learning Community. Lifelong Learner, [blog] 13 Feb 2014, Available at: http://www.alkhamali-m.blogspot.com/p/lesson-study-as-means-of-professional.html [Accessed: 13 Feb 2014].

     Teachers gain more development while working in a team due to the interactivity among members. In a team, an individual teacher would improve his teaching skills such as self-reflection, updating content & pedagogical knowledge, suggesting solutions, applying alternatives… etc. This development, after all, will result in enhancing students' achievement.

     This project is designed to apply collaborative teaching by using Lesson Study (LS) model. This Japanese teaching model requires forming a study group that consists of teachers of the same specialization in the same school in addition to some experts in the field. The study group in this project consists of three pre-service English teachers, a faculty member and the researcher. The project took place in an intermediate school from Nov 19 to Dec 19, 2013. Teachers chose teaching grammar as the focus of the study group. They performed three research lessons, one lesson for each teacher. They attended four focus group sessions. In these sessions, they shared and discussed ideas and issues about their classroom practice (the observations). Each session was divided into two parts. The first part is to reflect on the previous research lesson practice. The second part is to plan the next research lesson.

     During all of these processes, evidence was collected through observations and teachers' reflection forms. At the end of the second and third research lessons, some students were interviewed. At the end of the lesson study cycle, teachers were interviewed individually.

     Findings proved significant impact of lesson study on the participants' performance. For instance, teachers became more competent in planning lessons, using different teaching strategies, reflecting on their practice… etc. Findings highlighted the benefits of teachers' teamwork and peer coaching as providing in-school training for them. Teachers appreciated being provided with related literature as it helped them to be up-to-date with new approaches and strategies. They showed willingness to participate in other study groups and having longer lesson study cycle.

      In relation to students' achievement, findings asserted that positive changes in students' motivation toward grammar lessons. Students also showed evidence in using analytical and evaluative skills. The findings also asserted that cooperative learning helps students enhance their performance through peer interactions.

     In short, this project presents lesson study as a means for establishing professional learning community in schools.