Lesson Study as a Professional Development Process

João Pedro da Ponte

FMH-ULisboa
IPL
IPSetúbal

This research project aims to explore the potential and working conditions of lesson study in continuing and initial teacher education in several subjects, from primary to secondary school, in the Portuguese context. The project develops from the undertaking of lesson studies, collecting data during the process, and, after its accomplishment, studying the perspectives of the participating teachers. More specifically, we seek to address the following research questions: 1) How is the development of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of the participants related to the characteristics of the design and activity carried out on a lesson study, in particular to the way it is facilitated? 2) How the institutional conditions and dispositions and previous PCK of teachers and prospective teachers that participate in a lesson study may be taken into account in the characteristics of the design and activity of the lesson study?
Object of particular interest is the development of teachers´ PCK, regarding 1) lesson planning, with special attention to the aims, structure and flow of the lesson; 2) design of tasks to promote student learning; 3) knowledge of the difficulties and strategies of students as they work on the tasks; 4) leading classroom communication, with emphasis on the moments of collective discussion; and 5) observation and evaluation of student learning.

The project will promote and analyze the development of lesson study in the subjects of Mathematics, Biology, Geology, Physics, Chemistry, and Physical Education, from primary to secondary education, in the development of PCK of in-service and prospective teachers. Teachers from all these subjects will engage in 40 lesson studies (20 in in-service and 20 in initial teacher education) organized as a four stage process: 1) studying the curriculum and student understanding in a chosen topic—a topic their students struggle with—and setting student learning goals; 2) developing a plan of a lesson that anticipates students´ possible responses and difficulties as well as appropriate teacher´s actions in response to them, 3) teaching the research lesson in a classroom of a teacher of the group while the other teachers gather data on students´ responses and thinking processes, and 4) discussing the effectiveness of the lesson in promoting student learning and possible ways to improve it.

The project involves four higher education institutions: IE-ULisboa (that prepares secondary school teachers of Mathematics, Biology, Geology, Physics, and Chemistry), FMH-ULisboa (that prepares Physical Education teachers for all school levels), ESE de Lisboa and ESE de Setúbal (both preparing teachers to teach Mathematics and Science at primary level). Besides researchers from these institutions, the project also involves PhD students, all with experience as Mathematics, Science or Physical Education teachers.

The project strives to study in depth the potential and conditions of conducting lesson study with different kinds of participants, as there are still few consistent research results in relation to its potential to develop PCK in different subjects and teaching levels as well as regarding the characteristics of the design of a lesson study and the type of facilitation that may be more effective (Larssen et al., 2018; Lewis, 2016; Ponte, 2017).

This is an innovative project, both nationally and internationally, because it contemplates a wide variety of subject areas and levels of education, both in continuing and initial teacher education, allowing a deepening of the issues concerning the results and adaptations to the Portuguese context, which are not likely to be satisfactorily answered from small-scale studies.

09/2020 – 08/2023

Baptista, M., Ponte, J. P., Velez, I., & Costa, E. (2014). Aprendizagens profissionais de professores dos primeiros anos participantes num estudo de aula. Educar em Revista, 30(4), 61-79.

Conceição, T., Baptista, M., & Ponte, J. P. (2019). Lesson study as a trigger for preservice physics and chemistry teachers’ learning about inquiry tasks and classroom communication. International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, 8(1), 79-96.

Huang, R., Takahashi, A., & Ponte, J. P. (Eds.) (2019). Theory and practice of lesson Study in mathematics: An international perspective. Cham: Springer Nature.

Ponte, J. P. (2017). Lesson studies in initial mathematics teacher education. International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, 6(2), 169-181.

Ponte, J. P., Quaresma, M., Mata-Pereira, J., & Baptista, M. (2018). Designing lesson studies to support teachers’ professional development. Educational Designer, 3(11).

Ponte, J. P., Quaresma, M., Mata-Pereira, J., & Baptista, M. (2018). Fitting lesson study to the Portuguese context. In M. Quaresma, C. Winsløw, S. Clivaz, J. P. Ponte, A. N. Shúilleabháin & A. Takahashi (Eds.), Mathematics lesson study around the world: Theoretical and methodological issues (pp. 87-103). New York, NY: Springer.

Quaresma, M., & Ponte, J. P. (2017). Participar num estudo de aula: A perspetiva dos professores. Boletim do GEPEM, 71.

Quaresma, M., & Ponte, J. P. (2017). Dinâmicas de aprendizagem de professores de Matemática no diagnóstico dos conhecimentos dos alunos num estudo de aula. Quadrante, 26(2), 43-68.

Quaresma, M., Winsløw, C., Clivaz, S., Ponte, J. P., Ní Shúilleabháin, A., Takahashi, A. (2018). Mathematics lesson study around the world: Theoretical and methodological issues. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Ramos-Rodriguez, E., Flores, P., & Ponte, J. P. (2017). Práctica y reflexión de profesores de matemáticas chilenos bajo la perspectiva del estudio de clases. Quadrante, 26(2).

Richit, A., & Ponte, J. P. (2017). Teachers’ perspectives about lesson study. Acta Scientiae, 19(1), 20-30.

Richit, A., & Ponte, J. P. (2017). A colaboração docente em estudos de aula na perspectiva de professores participantes. Revista Paradigma, 38(1), 330-351.