Week 5- Lesson Study

My co-teaching partner and I had the chance to teach our first lesson with other teachers and administrative personnel observing us. I think this lesson was much more successful than our first because we got the chance to see how students would react to the content, way that we experimented, and gauge some common misconceptions that they might associate with the content (gravity). It is amazing how much can be improved from teaching a lesson from a first time to a second. 

For instance, we cut out a large portion of the lesson completely because the “parachutes” we wanted to use were distracting and consumed a lot of valuable learning time during the lesson. Also, we realized that our terminology within the lesson could create some misconceptions itself, such as the word “drop”. We were able to consider more aspects of the lesson as a whole and the best way to teach the content based on a starting point from the first lesson that was taught.

When I first discovered we were doing a lesson study, I have to admit that I felt a little uneasy and worried about trying to plan lessons with four other people. And, so far, I was right. Working with four other individual people who imagine a lesson going a certain way but having to make compromises or considerations for things that they hadn’t thought of can be frustrating and complicated at times. However, I am finding it to be beneficial, especially for a person like me, because I am forced to speak up more for myself and try to make my opinions and ideas heard as well. Another beneficial aspect of the lesson study is that I get to heard things from others that I would not have considered on my own if they did not bring it to my attention. For example, I thought we should use a bouncy ball in the lesson to demonstrate the concept of gravity (“what goes up must come down”). But, my teammates brought to my attention that this could create a misconception or be too advanced for first introducing the concept of gravity since the ball would be going back up again. 

The lesson study is giving me the chance to work with others who have the same goals as I do (for student learning) while hearing ideas that are new or that I would never have thought about. It opens my eyes to other pedagogical and engaging methods for teaching the lesson. It is also teaching me the ups and downs of working with others and all that needs to be taken into consideration, such as meeting times, differences in methods, and reflecting on the lesson’s success, not focusing on the teachers. I thought this lesson study would be frustrating but I am now realizing that I am learning much more than I thought I would. 

Finally, meeting together for a de-brief session is one of the most beneficial aspects of the lesson study because we have the opportunity to reflect on our teaching and the lesson and figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what we can do better for the next time; all qualities of a truly effective teacher. Having input from older, experienced educators and administration encourages higher-order thinking during the de-brief, pushing us to think about parts of the lesson we may be missing or need to focus on. I am very grateful for this learning experience.