Japanese observation method makes lessons better
Lesson observations of the Japanese improvement method 'Lesson Study' are aimed at the student, not the teacher. This leads to surprising insights.
Picture: Fred van Diem
Toon this lesson is mine. In the class of maths teacher Coen Witberg I focus my attention on these 5 VWO pupils. That's how it should be according to the improvement method Lesson study with which mathematics teachers at Leidsche Rijn College have been working for over a year now.
Six adults are present in the narrow room of Witberg, adorned with a few math posters. Just like me, two math colleagues and two researchers from the Hogeschool Utrecht keep an eye on one student for a lesson. Thus we indirectly see the effect of Witberg's lesson. This leads to surprising insights.
But how difficult that tone is to gauge. He stares intensely at the IWB for seconds. Is he focused? Or is he dreaming? He takes his graphing calculator and puts it down in a flash. Did he not understand? Or is he ready yet? Toon tickles his nose. Strokes his hair. Not the body language of a student that is above the material. Still, two classmates follow Toon closely as he shows what he wrote on a post-it towards the end of the lesson. Is he still a beacon for his fellow students? But unfortunately, afterwards Toon helps me out of the dream with a broad grin: "I didn't understand anything at all." What about those post-its? "I was the only one who had at least filled in something, that's why they looked at me."
Strangers
Afterwards, the six of us sit together in a square of white teaching tables. We discuss Witberg's lesson, but we don't focus on what he did during this lesson. It is about the behavior of the students.
The focus in this lesson observation is on the student
“If you observe the teacher and not the student, you will have a completely different conversation afterwards,” says maths colleague Sylvia Noestheden. Witberg was nervous anyway. “The focus in this lesson observation is on the student. That's nice, but on the other hand, there were a lot of strangers in my class now. ”
The judgment of colleagues is also less confronting with Lesson Study, because those same colleagues are partly responsible for the design of the lesson. The mathematics department met four times for an hour and a half in preparation for this session.
Hundred year
Lesson Study is originally Japanese and more than a hundred years old, says Felix van Vugt, project leader Lesson Study at the Hogeschool Utrecht. He visited the country last year to understand this approach. The idea came to the West when scientists started looking for an explanation for the excellent math performance of Japanese students thirty years ago, says Van Vugt. The Japanese teachers were problem-based and their students thought more deeply about mathematics than students here.
The Japanese teachers were problem-based and their students thought more deeply about mathematics than students here
Teaching the same lessons several times and making improvements over and over again, teachers start talking about minute lesson details, such as how questions should be formulated in order to maximize student involvement. That is in line with the Japanese idea of Kaizen: improve step by step.
According to Van Vugt, it is surprising that this system of mutual, constructive criticism originated in a society where we believe that people should not be openly critical. The indirect feedback on the reactions of the student and not on the actions of the teacher does fit the stereotypes in which we may think about Japanese culture.
After a hesitant start, Lesson Study in the Netherlands is rapidly gaining in popularity. Research projects are ongoing at numerous universities (Groningen, Twente, VU Amsterdam, Eindhoven) and colleges (Windesheim, Fontys, Utrecht). Not very strange, because the method works, according to a recent scientific review by the University of Groningen and a controlled randomized study by Catherine Lewis of the Mills College School of Education in the US.
Lesson design
Witberg and his math colleagues designed this lesson, with the aim of learning to differentiate between harmonic and non-harmonic vibrations, with an extra focus on reflection and student activation. That is why the math teacher asks his students at the beginning of the lesson to generate sine shapes on their graphing calculator that fit different vibrations. That is why they write examples of vibrations on post-its afterwards. And that's why Witberg puts two iPhones next to each other to let them hear how the sound floats when tones interfere. "I wouldn't have done that otherwise," says Witberg. “But the most important thing is that you take a critical look at your own lesson together with colleagues.”
Thorough planning is good, but education remains education. The technology is not cooperating. The non-calibratable IWB turns the flowing sine wave shapes of Witberg into rough scribbles. There is one more problem. The meticulously prepared lesson is meant to be the second in a block, but the first lesson after the holiday is canceled. In that lesson Witberg had wanted to explain what harmonic vibrations are at all. Now he has to compress two lessons into one and some of the students are lagging behind.
Fathom
Scientific research has shown that excellent teachers scan their class and respond to details in the behavior of students. But if this Lesson Study makes something clear, it is how much you as a teacher still miss and how difficult it is to fathom students.
Toon isn't the only elusive student. Mathematics teacher trainer Theo van den Bogaart (Hogeschool Utrecht) paid attention during his observation whether 'his' pupil William fits into predetermined boxes such as 'think carefully' (or not) and 'works hard' (or not). That turns out to be quite difficult.
At first glance, William managed to keep his attention. He had his eyes on the plate. But what was going on in him? Was he really thinking? It didn't seem like it. William has been messing around on his graphing calculator, but he has not been able to independently conjure up even one graph on it.
I had the feeling that he was doing math, but not very successful
Only when Witberg shows how it should be done, does he imitate him. William was also difficult to gauge when working independently. “He has not written anything in his notebook except the assignment number, but he has been looking in his notebook for a long time,” says Van den Boogaart. “He hasn't chatted with his neighbors either. I had the feeling that he was doing math, but not very successful. ”
The other observers have also found that students can mislead a teacher. The duo Rik and Nikki participated well at the beginning of the lesson, but when 'hard worker' Rik had to start, he suddenly lost his way. “He took a pair of scissors and the cap of his pen and fiddled with them for five minutes,” says Noestheden.
Petra van Beusekom (Hogeschool Utrecht) and teacher Geertruide Jonkman followed busy makers Luuc and Matthijs. The boys mess with a water bottle. They do not get around to making assignments. And at the end of class, one of them gets a post-it stuck to his forehead.
“These two, together with Jochem, are the busiest students in the class,” says Witberg. “That's why I regularly set them aside. Now I have let it go. ”
Still, the boys participated well at the start of class, and one of them raised his hand first when Witberg asked. The boys have screamed, but they also chatted about the material together. “I also have the feeling that they really listen to you,” says Jonkman.
Relaxation
Seeing everything, valuing everything that happens in the classroom, is an impossible task, the teacher team concludes. Jonkman does not get frustrated because of this, on the contrary. “There are a hundred million things you miss. In a way, it makes me more relaxed: you can't see everything. ”
The expectations a teacher has, so greatly influence what he sees. You can be quite mistaken
Project leader Felix van Vugt often experiences teachers being surprised when they are confronted with what they noticed during a lesson. “That's a strength of this approach,” he says. “Experienced teachers view their class through a filter, which is helpful because you have to focus on important signals. But it is also important to adjust that filter from time to time based on feedback from colleagues. The expectations a teacher has, so greatly influence what he sees. You can be quite wrong. ”
All in all, Witberg is satisfied with the answers that his students have pasted on post-its on the whiteboard. "I think 50 to 75 percent have achieved the lesson goal and now understand the difference between a harmonic and a non-harmonic vibration."
And Toon? He may have acted more stupid than he is in front of his classmates. Witberg recognizes his cock's feet on the post-it. The formula for a harmonic vibration? It makes sense.
