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RUNNING HEAD: REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY
Reflection of a Lesson Study:
Seven Teachers and the Distributive Property
A. Conway
E. De La Cueva
L. Gomez
B. Holguin
M. Price
C. Rodriguez
J. Trantham
LIFT Institute, 2013
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 2
Abstract
This paper outlines the collaboration of seven teachers from different grade levels who
participated in a process oflesson studyover the course of several weeks. Lesson study, for the
purpose of this paper, is defined as the in-depth focus of a team of teachers to create and present
a lesson around a particular concept. The team then presents the lesson in two separate settings,
making adjustments for the second lesson based on feedback from the observing members of the
team and from the participation of the students themselves. The concept which was tackled for
this particular study had to do with distributive property and the setting was two different fifth
grade classrooms. Two of the seven teachers had previously participated in lesson study and the
other five were new to the process. The paper is organized with an introduction to lesson study
and its organization, the focus of the mathematics learning, instructional strategies, and
individual teacher reflections after the process was complete.
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 3
Section 1: Introduction
Lesson Study Outline
As we have progressed in our LIFT journey this semester, we have focused a majority of
our time on the idea of equity in the classroom. One way we were asked to address this was
through the strategy of lesson study. Lesson Study allows a group of teacher/colleagues to design
a lesson based on specific guidelines and components, teach it, make adjustments, and re-teach
it. The lesson is taught by one randomly selected participant while being videotaped and
observed by the rest of the group. Each observer looks for specific pieces of the lesson and
records his/her observations. At the end of the lesson, the group meets for a videotaped debrief.
There, the components of the lesson are discussed as a team, and adjustments are made to ensure
that the next lesson meets all of the necessary requirements. After the adjustments are made, the
lesson is re-taught by another randomly selected participant to another class of similar
demographics. Again, the rest of the group acts as observers recording new data and the lesson is
videotaped. Then another debrief occurs. Each participant again shares out observations and
learning from the activity.
Since we have been working on math progressions and the distributive property in the
Math portion of LIFT this semester, we decided to focus on the distributive property for our
lesson study topic. The distributive property can be used to demonstrate to students the
relationship between multiplication and addition. It states that multiplying a sum to get a product
is equivalent to multiplying the each addend and then adding the products together. As a
formula, it is most commonly noted as this:
a (b+c) = (ab) + (ac)
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 4
It can also be understood through the concept of decomposing by breaking a number into two
addends and multiplying those addends by a multiplicand and adding the products. The second
understanding of distribution was the understanding of the teachers in the lesson study and
therefore, the focus of the lesson around the distributive property.
The group of participant teachers consisted of seven members, each of whom taught a
range of levels from 4th through 6th grade and one interventionist who works specifically with
grade 3-5 students for math. Although the distributive property isnt explicitly outlined as a
standard for fifth grade, after some debate, it was decided that we would focus our lesson
planning for a fifth grade classroom. For the lesson, the team chose the 5 th grade Common Core
State Standards [CCSS] 5.OA.1, which reads:
Write and interpret numerical expressions. 1. Use parentheses, brackets or braces
in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols.Again, the mathematical focus was on the concept of evaluating an expression that was written
using parenthesis or brackets in which a number was distributed to two additional factors.
We began by determining our research theme, then set upon searching for resources and
ideas for the best way to address our goals, and completed the MC2
LIFT Research Lesson
Template. Our research theme, or overarching goal, (see Appendix A) was as follows:
We would like our students to demonstrate critical thinking by asking questions
(of the teacher and peers), constructing viable arguments, and critiquing thereasoning of others while persevering in solving math problems.
The purpose of this overarching goal was to encourage our students to be critical thinkers who
actively evaluate problems and express their thinking using mathematical language. The team
felt that it was important for the students to deepen their understanding of operations and
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 5
algebraic thinking in fifth grade by writing and evaluating simple expressions and interpreting
numerical expressions in order to prepare them for applying more purposefully the distributive
property in sixth and seventh grades. We used this information to create a learning target and the
criteria for success (See Appendix B). Then we dug through the lesson and developed a list of
target vocabulary (See Appendix C).
After several weeks of collaboration, the team was ready to present their lesson. Several
artifacts were created for the first lesson presentation and were outlined for the team and teacher
participant who would teach the lesson (See Appendix D and E). The basic lesson followed a
launch, explore, and summary and included an activity in which students would roll three dice to
create a two digit and one digit number. The students would then use these numbers to create an
expression which they could evaluate using the distributive property, an array model, and also
the traditional or standard algorithm for multiplication on a recording sheet created by the team
(See Appendix F). Two fifth grade inclusion classrooms were chosen at two different schools of
similar low socioeconomic status and demographics with a high ELL population. The lessons
were presented with a day apart between each lesson study.
These themes of the CCSS and distributive property, our overarching goal, and the
impact of the lesson study on the individual teachers who participated in the study will be further
developed in the following sections. The paper is organized under the headings of Mathematics
Learning, Instructional Strategies, and Lesson Study Process, which present the individual
reflections of the some of the teacher participants, and finally, the teams Conclusion of the
lesson study.
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 6
Section 2: Mathematics Learning
This section will focus on the mathematic concepts of the lesson presented, some of the
strategies used by the team, and the learning involved of the teacher and student participants.
Differentiated Student Learning
When conducting the lesson study over the distributive property, our goal was to
incorporate different tools for students to use. Not every student learns the same and we needed
to make sure we differentiated our instruction to meet the needs of all students. The first part of
the lesson study activity began with a launch of key vocabulary. The participating teacher
launched the lesson by reviewing/introducing vocabulary words that the teacher and students
would be using that day for the lesson. In addition to building student understanding of math
vocabulary around the distributive property, the team was also hoping to analyze whether this
process of reviewing vocabulary would encourage students to use math language in the
classroom throughout the lesson and thus one of the teacher observers during the lesson recorded
student usage of key vocabulary throughout the presentation of the lesson. Ultimately, however,
introducing the vocabulary was purposeful to try and help students who may have forgotten what
some words meant or introduced new words to students so that they would be able to use the
same vocabulary as their partners and other students around them. This established a more solid
foundation and the confidence of the teacher that all students were starting the lesson with the
same information.
During the exploration, or student-focused hands-on section of the lesson, some students
needed extra clarification on the directions, for which they had to rely on the teacher. Some
students were able to discuss with their partner and decide together what they were going to do.
While the students were working together, some of them were able to verbalize their reasoning
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 7
right away where as other students needed some time and were able to explain after discussion
and questioning within their group and with the teacher. The robust understanding of this
learning was when individual students were able to explain to their classmates one-on-one why
they broke the multiplication apart the way they did. It was also when students explained to the
whole group and were able to defend their reasoning when others questioned them.
Prior Student Knowledge and Misconceptions
Prior to the presentation of the lesson study activity, students in both classrooms had
worked on multiplication of two digit by two digit numbers and multiplication of two digit by
three digit numbers. At the beginning of the year, students were shown how to break apart these
numbers into tens and ones, or hundreds, tens, and ones to simplify the multiplication. Students
are given a choice of whether to use the standard algorithm or to use the array model to multiply.
In both of the participating classrooms, neither students nor teachers had explicitly used the
vocabulary term distribute to name when students were breaking these numbers apart and then
multiplying them. Also before to the lesson in the two classrooms, students had been introduced
to math concept of order of operations. Both participating teachers shared that they had
previously talked about the order of operations and what you do first in order to solve a problem
a multi-operational math problem and what to do when encountering parenthesis in a math
problem. This background helped when they were presented with the lesson because the
participating students were able to distinguish where to put parenthesis in an expression and how
to solve equations with parenthesis.
We tried to insure that we had a strong conceptual understanding of our topic by thinking
of misconceptions the students may have had prior to teaching the lesson and thinking of
different ways to be able to explain or demonstrate them to a struggling student. This involved
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 8
working with the concepts and materials ourselves to strengthen our own conceptual
understanding. Misconceptions that appeared during the lesson study cycle were:
1. Students would get the addition and multiplication signs mixed up when writing theirequation. Students would break down a number into the distributive property but thensolve what is in the parenthesis first instead of multiplying. Example: 7 x 34.. 7
(30+4)..students would solve 30+4 which is 34 then multiply it by 7. Instead they
should have done (7 x 30) + (7 x 4).
2. Some students would also confuse where to put the addition or multiplication signs. Suchas (7+30)x(7+4) instead of (7x30)+(7x4). This was able to be cleared up in some cases
when the students compared their work at one of the reflection breaks.
3. While planning the lesson we thought giving students graph paper would help themcreate their array models. However, some students used the graph paper to draw, create
pictures with the squares, and did not use the math tools in an effective way when
showing their expressions.
Ensuring Mathematical Gains
Throughout the lesson many different strategies were used to try and insure students
understanding. The first strategy was to introduce and focus student attention to the learning
goals of the lesson and how they could meet these goals through student-friendly criteria for
success. In order to insure student success and understanding of the math goals and reasoning
behind the lesson, there was to be constant revisiting of these goals throughout the lesson. By
sharing these goals with students at the beginning of the lesson, they know exactly what they are
going to be learning about and what they should know by the end of the lesson.
An additional strategy was the review of the vocabulary through student share out. This
allows students to review any vocabulary they already know and also helps to clarify any words
students are struggling with. The next strategy was having students work cooperatively in team
groups. Again, this insured that students had multiple resources beyond the teacher and brought
the lesson back to the overarching goal which was for students to construct viable arguments and
ask questions of the teacher but also of their peers. The final strategy to culminate the learning
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 9
was the individual sharing. This was where students were able to show and explain their own
process and understanding of the math concepts involved in the lesson.
Conclusion of Mathematics Learning
As a result of this research lesson there are some interesting understandings to be developed
regarding students mathematical learning. The first is that students have a good foundation for
the reasoning that they were doing, specifically with multiplication. When students were not sure
what to do they used background knowledge to check themselves such as using the traditional
method to work out the multiplication problem and make sure that their answers were correct.
Students also demonstrated the fact that once they believe they had correctly solved a problem
they would continue to defend their reasoning even when another student challenged them. They
were able to discuss and see other views, which then sometimes resulted in a change of their
initial response due to a clearer understanding. The team took this into account when revising
the recording sheet to change the organization of the where and when the students see the
expression, distributive property, the area model, and the standard algorithm. By changing the
order, students focused their work moving from left to right on the new math concepts and used
their background knowledge to check for understanding and build their arguments.
What did we learn about the math content presented in this lesson? The content relies on
students having an understanding of the fact that they are able to manipulate the numbers to
simpler versions or decompose numbers. Additionally, the students were more successful if they
applied their knowledge of arrays and how they are arranged, a concept that taught in the fourth
grade curriculum used in the district in which the participating classrooms were located. The
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 10
students also needed to be able to use their problem solving skills to evolve their thinking about
what happens when they used larger multiplicands.
One of the greatest lessons learned about the math content by the team of participating
teachers was that it wasnt as easy for students to grasp as we originally perceived. While
developing the lesson, the participating teacher whose classroom was used in the first lesson
study felt certain her students would understand the concept of the distributive property easily
and be able to complete the activity with very little misconceptions and mistakes. One of the
major teacher misconceptions of the team was the amount of time needed for deep student
understanding of the math content that went beyond a surface level breaking apart numbers to a
stronger foundational application of the distributive property.
Some of the ways that students learning and misconceptions informed instructional strategies
as well as changes from one lesson study to the next will be highlighted in the following section.
Section 3: Instructional Strategies
Instructional Strategies for Mathematical Concepts
One of the target goals was for students to use precise vocabulary when discussing their
thinking, and to engage in meaningful conversations among each other in order to build their
common understanding, or schema. To encourage students to use the math vocabulary, the
teacher reviewed the vocabulary terms using a quick self-pre assessment of wherein the students
showed thumbs up, thumbs in the middle, or thumbs down for their own individual
understanding of the math term; from this quick-check with the students the teacher reviewed the
terms according to student need, directed the students to the clear examples displayed on a chart,
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 11
and marked the words that were new or challenging with post-its as a cue to help them remember
to refer back to the chart. The teacher continued promoting the use of the terms by referring back
to the chart throughout the lesson.
The lessons learning goals were written on a chart and the teacher and students read the
goals in the beginning of the lesson, a quick formative pre-assessment of the students
understanding of the distributive property was utilized once again using a thumbs up, middle,
and down which gave the teacher input about their schema. During the summary, the teacher and
students quickly reviewed the goals, and a quick post-assessment allowed the teacher and
students to see how their understanding of the distributive property had been affected by this
lesson.
An additional strategy to meet mathematical concepts included a visual cue through the
use of the distributive property video during the launch. This brief animation helped the students
conceptualize what it meant to distribute numbers according to place value in order to multiply.
The teacher used the images but muted the sound in order to lead the discussion and have more
interaction during the launch, using what the students knew or were not sure about as a guide to
what she reviewed with the students. This was effective in allowing the teacher to immediately
address misconceptions.
Another instructional strategy was modeling the exploration dice activity with a student
volunteer using an overhead projector in order to encourage a better understanding of the activity
and eliminate misunderstanding of the directions.
Table tents with sample questions were used to promote the use of questioning and
dialogue between the students, specific space was set aside throughout the lesson to stop,
discuss, and reflect about the concepts being covered where students were reminded that the
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 12
tents were available to help guide their conversations. The students then had an opportunity to
record their thinking to the questions they chose to answer in an organizing sheet.
Furthermore, anticipating that many students would grasp the concept quickly, the
teacher used a challenge dice with numbers 7-12 in order to create more difficult expressions,
therefore eliminating the disengagement of those students.
Changes Made from First Presentation to Next and Why
In the original incantation of the lesson, the team planned for four reflection questions in
the first lesson (See Appendix G). In the debrief it was realized that one question was asking
them to simply rewrite one of the expressions they had already solved, so we eliminated that
question and settled for three cognitively challenging questions in the second lesson. This also
lightened some of the time constraints we experienced in the first lesson.
In the first lesson, the team observed a lot of misunderstanding from the students about
how to actually play the dice activity in the first lesson; the students were not clear about how to
come up with their expressions with the three dice. To address this, in the revised lesson, the
teacher participant called a volunteer to the front and played a round with him, using a real-life
example to review the rules and steps to complete the activity addressing student misconceptions
in real time in front of the class.
We changed the final reflection question, the students in the first class quickly noted that
it contained a 7 as one of the numbers rolled, for the second lesson, the 7 was changed to a 3
(Appendix H).
Student Engagement, Assessment, and Summary
The students were engaged by launching the lesson with a video, by participating during
the vocabulary review, they were eager to raise their thumbs to show their understanding of
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 13
familiar terms. Throughout the exploration activity involved the random generation of numbers;
they had a choice about the expressions they developed based on those numbers. The reflection
questions allowed them to talk to their partners or small groups about the ideas they were
developing. Those students who were provided with challenge dice became excited to meet the
challenge. The students were partnered statistically according to personality and opportunities for
peer support. As a final assessment, the teacher participant shared a final exit question which
included an example of a fictional student who had used the distributive property incorrectly;
asking students to analyze why a problem is wrong is a high yield strategy that would give us
great insight on their understanding of the concepts we had targeted. The students were asked to
help this fictional student by explaining what she did wrong and helping her to use the
distributive property correctly. This final assessment came, however, after student collaborative
exploration of the distributive property. modeled talk and questioning through the use of table
tents, a small group discussion of strategies, and student work voluntarily shown to the class on
the through the projector.
Summary of Instructional Strategies
This lesson study project has reinforced and shined new light on the importance of using
proper mathematical communication in all forms in the classroom, during the semester, we read
about the difference in student achievement between a classroom where the teacher is an
exemplary model of communicating precisely, and a teacher who is not. This lesson really
helped support that notion; we were able to witness first-hand how powerful it is when students
have the tools to reflect, clarify, and expand their ideas and understanding of mathematical
relationships. The lesson reinforced the importance of vocabulary, by emphasizing it at the
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 14
beginning of the lesson; the level of vocabulary the students used to describe and communicate
their understanding throughout the lesson was impressive.
The development of students mathematical communication shifts in precision and
sophistication throughout the primary, junior and intermediate grades, yet the underlying
characteristics remain applicable across all grades. During whole-class discussion, teachers can
use these characteristics as a guide both for interpreting and assessing students presentations of
their mathematical thinking and for determining discussion points.
Section 4: Individual Reflections
The following section is formed directly from the teacher participant of this lesson study.
Each member of the lesson study theme was asked to reflect on their own participation in the
lesson study process through the lens of impact to their work and colleagues, a reflection on how
lesson study supported their growth as a teacher, and the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson
study process. The names of the participants as well as the names of the school sites at which
these teachers work have been omitted and the section is organized by the grade level the
participant teacher is currently instructing.
Reflection of Math Interventionist, Grades 3-5
My involvement in the lesson study has tremendously impacted the way I work with my
colleagues at my school. With the expert help of my school support team leader, we have
implemented two Lesson Studies at my school site. The process was amazing. Teachers
efficacy was greatly increased, and we worked together as a team to create two strong lessons
that aided in students math problem solving capabilities. The first lesson created was for a third
grade classroom, focusing on the use of the distributive property. The second lesson created was
for a first grade classroom focusing on decomposing numbers into tens and ones. We followed
the lesson planning guide which allowed us to use the LES (launch, explore, summary) structure.
Teachers were very accepting of the model and agreed that it enhanced students problem
solving capabilities. One objective I had during the planning and implementation of lesson study
was to show teachers the importance of the usage of learning targets and criteria for success.
This strategy gives students access to the curriculum that otherwise would not. If students are
clear from the get go as to what is going to be expected of them, they are more successful. This
is not far from what we have been doing for our PDSA cycles when identifying the plan for the
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 15
week; however the learning targets are more specific to daily use. Being that 75% of the
students in our school are ELL students this strategy of identifying learning targets and criteria
for success and reviewing them throughout the lesson, aids in focusing our lesson and students
attention to what the goals for the lesson are. Clearly defined goals and criteria for meeting the
goal prove to be a successful strategy that will be utilized at my site.
Lesson study also strengthened my growth as a teacher. Having the opportunity to sitback and watch a lesson that I helped developed, was an amazing opportunity. I was able to
have a birds eye view to see students misconceptions and success when dealing with the
distributive property. Delivering the lesson a second time gave us, as a team, an opportunity to
address these issues. I now have a solid lesson in my hip pocket that I can deliver at anytime to
address the distributive property at a fifth grade level. The CCSS introduce the distributive
property in third grade; the lesson can be easily modified for a fourth grade or even a third
grade classroom, just by changing the numbers students use when rolling the dice.
Having the opportunity to work with such a high caliber of teachers and pull together all
of our greatest assets was such an uplifting experience. Before participating in lesson study, I
was a little unclear of what the distributive property entailed, and now I feel that I have a clear
understanding of what the distributive property encompasses and how it can be effectively usedto aid in students understanding of multiplication.
One of our goals for lesson study was to have students participate in the questioning of others. I
feel that we came up with a strong strategy for helping students engage in effective questioning
strategies. By providing time during the explore, and question stems, students were engaged in
dialogue that promoted questioning and the use of precise language. We also identified a list of
vocabulary terms and made an anchor chart displaying the words along with a picture to
represent the words. This resulted in students using the words accurately and effectively when
engaging in dialogue.
I am not going to sugar coat it, it is not easy for seven teachers to come together and
agree on one lesson, and this process took a lot of time. There was a vast amount of time spent
negotiating the lesson. The conversations we had while planning the lesson were extremely
valuable. Misconceptions that I had were cleared up and a solid lesson was derived. The only
suggestion I would have would be to find a way to shorten the time, however I feel that it was
time well spent and necessary for the development of a strong lesson that met all of our criteria.
Reflection of a Fourth Grade TeacherCurrently the Lesson Study process has not impacted the way I collaborate with other teachers at
my school. We have so many new initiatives in our district at this point in time that I have not attempted it
yet. I would like to plan a lesson with them, however, that focuses on a skill that all of our students
struggle with. Perhaps by addressing the area with the Lesson Study process, we can discover the most
effective way to teach the content skill. I think that having a progression of a math skill from K-5, like we
have done in LIFT would give us an awesome visual of the importance of specific skills as a foundation
for the upper grades.I began this Lesson Study not completely understanding what we were supposed to be
doing. After the first lesson and debrief, I began to see the value of this process. Seeing the
results of our adjustments with the students from the second lesson really clinched it for me. I
was very intimidated by the process, thinking it was a teacher evaluation tool, but quickly
discovered that was not the purpose of this strategy. The point was to develop and improve a
lesson until it works perfectly to most effectively teach students. I have been tempted to try this
on my own, but it really needs some outside perspective to give the best evaluation of the lesson.
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 16
I cannot both teach and observe. I will strive to get my fellow teachers willing to try this out, as I
believe it will be a very effective for improving our instructional practices.
I discovered that the Lesson Study process was a challenging idea for increasing the
effectiveness of our lessons. It can be a powerful tool that revolutionizes how we look at our
instruction. However, a high level of trust among the teachers must be present in order for the
Lesson Study strategy to work, because there is always the possibility, or the fear, that someonecould use this process against you. I would love to see how to adjust it for my personal use, so I
could self-evaluate my instructional practices and effectiveness. I think I will consider video-
taping my instruction to allow me to look for specific things that I may or may not be doing well,
so I can make adjustments. However, that will not give me the whole perspective of the lesson.
As to improving the process, clarity on all the paperwork that must be filled out would
make the Lesson Study more accessible. I was unsure about what we were doing and why, and
sometimes the answers were rather ambiguous, which was not helpful. There were sample
questions available, but not with explanations. Im glad that we were working as a team to
complete the assignment, or it would have been quite a struggle to accomplish.
I am not sure how to adapt the process to fit within my school context. There would be
problems with class coverage for the three of us in my grade level while a lesson was taught, andthen time for adjustments and re-teaching. This would be somewhat facilitated by the fact that we
are at the same building, so we wouldnt have to be driving back and forth to other schools.
However, the primary obstacle would be buy-in on the part of my grade level colleagues to even
engage in this process. The second obstacle would be getting agreement on the topic. Perhaps if
there were videos from previous participants that they could watch to see how the process works,
they would be more likely to be willing to try it. Also, if the process just involved us in the grade
level with no administration or principal types observing, they would probably be more willing
to participate. It is something I will have to pursue further.
Reflection of a Fifth Grade Teacher
The lesson study process has allowed me to work with a group of teachers to ensure the
success of students. While the group of teachers did not originate from my school, the process
has allowed me insights of how other teachers feel and think about working with students and
math. This will help create a foundation of understanding to work successfully with the teachers
at my school and grade level.
Lesson study has supported my growth as a teacher by giving me exposure to new ways
to think and present math. Ways such as: working with math vocabulary, use of different media
during a launch and how the curriculum is delivered to the students. Even though it was the
same lesson, there was a difference in how each teacher handled the delivery due to our
debriefing. That debriefing helped us to really focus on the learning of the students based on
how we presented the material.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Lesson Study process?
Strengths Weaknesses (Room for Improvement)
a) Working collaboratively to plan alesson. Being able to brainstorm
with others about teaching math
effectively.
a) Having to get comfortable withteaching in front of a group, and a
camera.
b) As a non-cohort member, not
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 17
b) Seeing the different ways to presentthe same material.
c) Being thoroughly prepared to teachthe lesson and concretely thinking
about road blocks that might
hamper learning.d) Creates a lesson that could beusable for our non-cohort members.
e) Able to break up pieces that weobserve into manageable pieces so
that it will help with the fly-on-
the-wall gathering of information.
f) We concentrate primarily of thesubject area and not the teacher
because of the team effort.
having access to drop box.
c) There really needs to be a CD foreach member of the lesson study
team so that all are able to really
dissect the lesson.
How can the Lesson Study process be adapted to better fit within your school context? I dontreally think that it needs to be adapted. I think that with repeated times doing it we will feel
more comfortable doing it and implementing at our schools. There will always be a time issue,
but as long as there is administrator or district buy in, they can help provide time at our sites.
Reflection of a Fifth Grade Teacher
When we first started the process of conducting a lesson study with two fifth grade
classes, I had no idea what to expect or what I would learn from this process. But after planning
our lessons, implementing them, and analyzing the changes from one lesson to another I feel it
has opened my eyes to what lesson studies can do when you work with a group of teachers. This
is especially helpful when working with colleagues from your own school with whom you canplan multiple lesson studies and be able to focus on skills students are struggling with. My
involvement with the lesson study through the cohort has allowed me to become a resource to
other teachers at my school that want to conduct a lesson study. Being involved in a lesson study
allowed me to grow as a teacher and analyze my lessons to make them have a bigger impact on
my students. For example, I know how important vocabulary is when introducing a lesson and
having the vocabulary words up for students to see. This allows them to remember the words and
use them in throughout the lesson. Another thing I took away from this is time management.
Sometimes when I plan a lesson I want to incorporate so much, it takes too much time when I am
teaching it and I am rushed to get through it. The students are then rushed and are not given the
time they should have when exploring the lesson. I decided that it is ok to have a simpler lesson
as long as it is rich with vocabulary, student interactions, and allowing them time to talk with
other students about how/why they solved the problems the way they did. Also having the
objectives and criteria for success up for students to refer back to during the lesson will remind
them of what their learning responsibilities are for that day. All in all, I think the lesson study
process was beneficial to me, however it did take a lot of time to plan for just two, one hour long
lesson. I think time would be the biggest factor when planning a lesson study with my grade level
team because they do take a lot of time to plan. It would be easier if we planned to do a lesson
study three or four times a year and spread them out so that it wouldnt be so stressful. For
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 18
example if I did one with my partner teacher we could plan on doing a lesson study once every
nine weeks, and take a couple of days out of the week to plan and carry out the lesson, then a
couple more days to analyze the results. The whole thing I would estimate to take a week. After
completing our lesson study I was surprised by what I learned and hope that other teachers have
a chance to participate in one. I hope to use what Ive learned, and take it back to my school, to
help other teachers get started with a lesson study.
Reflection of a Sixth Grade Teacher
I was excited from the beginning to start the lesson study process, although I did not
realize the impact that it would have. One particular impact that the lesson study process has
had in how I work with my colleagues at my own site is that it has set a precedent of the
importance of working with colleagues across grade levels. The lesson study team was
comprised of teachers that taught all the way from third grade through sixth grade. This model
proved critical to my own site because we are a small school without grade level partners.
Often, teaming on site seems to focus on one grade level banded together, but experiencing the
impact of the vertical alignment with this group of amazing teachers solidified the potential forpositive, effective planning and design of curriculum based on core standards. The fact that we
chose to implement this particular activity that we created around distributive property in a fifth
grade classroom was almost insignificantas teachers what is significant is that we all walked
away with a deeper understanding of a critical math concept and how this concept builds in the
grade levels over time.
Personally, the process of lesson study has supported my growth as a teacher in several
ways, but I would like to focus on collaboration and reflection. The collaboration piece of this
process was challenging and rewarding. Just as all students have different learning styles, all
teachers have different teaching styles and marrying those styles and opinions to come to a
consensus on how a lesson should be taught or what the main objective of the lesson was to be
was at times trying to say the least. Regardless of my some of my frustration during the process,
as the participant randomly selected to teach the first presentation of the team lesson, I felt if I
strayed into my usual teaching style or adjusted the lesson to the needs of the students, I would
be betraying the process of lesson study and the team. In the debrief that followed the first
lesson, the anxiety was overwhelming for me because the lesson the first time around was,
despite all our work, a hot mess. Simply put, we had over planned. As an individual teacher
having presented that lesson for the first time, I might have given up on trying that lesson again
altogether. As a team member, part of an effort to create a cognitively demanding and
standards-based math lesson, however, we pushed through and worked at it so that it could be
taught again. That debrief was a much needed reflection in which teachers rarely get to engage.
Having teacher colleagues watch me present a lesson was challenging for me, but I was told
over and over that they were observing the lesson and not me as an individual. In the debrief that
followed, this was truly the case. The observation and opinions being shared were not of me a
teacher, as we are so used to in our field (classroom walk-throughs, evaluations, and merit pay
come to mind) but, rather, the focus was to the level of demand of the lesson and how we as a
team could make it better.
Therefore, the strengths of the lesson study process for me is the vertical alignment it can
demonstrate, the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on- or off-site, and the rare
opportunity for teacher reflection to occur. There would need to be some adjustments for sites if
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 19
they wanted to engage effectively in lesson study. Depending on the site, teacher buy-in could be
an issue or even getting classrooms covered so that teams can observe the lesson. These
adjustments, however, are not impossibilities. I think through the application of technology
(recording the lessons and getting together even for meetings over the Internet through Facetime
or GoToMeeting) that all sites have the potential to engage in the lesson study process if they
choose. This process has been, for me, very influential to my teaching and learning.
Reflection of a Sixth Grade Teacher
This is my first experience with Lesson Study, from the start I saw it was going to be
different than other development and professional opportunities in that seven teachers had to
come together with different ideas and perspectives, to develop one shared vision in a lesson.
The lesson became exactly that, one shared vision. By engaging in the development of our
overarching goal and learning targets, we were able to come together through the realization
that we were all committed to the same basic principles, effective teaching that promoted optimal
student learning. As a sixth grade teacher, I was especially interested in understanding what
students were learning in the grade before mine. I teach at a school where the teachers haveenvisioned the standards and have focused on vertical alignment as we prepare for full
implementation of the Common Core State Standards. However, rarely do we get to observe
another classroom. That missing component is crucial in that it offers insight about the students
conceptual development and progression. How many times do we plan what we believe is an
effective, solid lesson, only to realize halfway through the lesson that we didnt anticipate certain
issues that arise, such as student misconceptions, time restrains, or student engagement? The
lesson study process helps you anticipate and plan, implement, then rethink and revise the
lesson, a process that makes you very insightful about the way you plan future lessons. This
process has helped me rethink my instructional moves; it has made me cognizant about
vocabulary enhancement in the classroom. There are endless opportunities to develop
vocabulary and promote focused student communication; teachers can purposefully create
opportunities for students to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Lesson Study also helped me conceptualize the distributive property, not only as a
different way for students to multiply two digit by one or two digit numbers, we have also used it
to multiply mixed numbers and fractions, this has been especially beneficial to students who
struggle with simplifying fractions. Weve applied it to simplify algebraic expressions. By having
a clearer understanding of the distributive property, I can project that understanding to my
students and help them find multiple uses for the distributive property. Since everyone learns
differently, I need to expose them to a variety of strategies; the hope is that they can pull from
these resources to persevere through problems as they continue their math journeys. I hope to
participate in lesson study in my campus so that we make vertical alignment more purposeful
and applicable.
Section 5: Conclusion
Lesson study gives tremendous insight into how a team of teachers can collaborate to
design an effective lesson that allows students to actively engage in meaningful mathematics. It
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 20
is vital that all students have an entry point into a lesson that is able to support beginning learners
while providing a challenge to more advanced students. Since teachers are working as a team,
there is the ability to see multiple points of the lesson from various perspectives, which allows
for a more well-rounded lesson design and implementation. Throughout this process, the team of
teacher participants demonstrated and applied new and challenging mathematical instruction and
instructional strategies. Lesson studies represent a true collaboration of colleagues that
challenges us as teachers to be more aware of not only our teaching practices, but of the learning
students are engaged in as well.
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 21
Appendix A
MC2
LIFT Research Lesson Template
Grade Level: 5th
Grade Date: February 26, 2013Instructor: Allie # of Students: 23
Class Time: 9:50-11:00 Class Type (check one):Location: Regular SPEDBilingual/ESL Other
Booker T. Washington Elementary
School
I. Goals:A. Overarching Goal: (What kind of people do you want
your students tobe?)
We would like our students to demonstrate criticalthinking by asking questions (of the teachers andpeers), constructing viable arguments, and critiquing the reasoning of others whilepersevering in solving math problems.
B. Mathematics Process Goal: (What kind of mathematical thinkers do you want yourstudents to be?)
Critical thinkers who evaluate and express using mathematic language.
C. Math Content Goals: (Whatare your math goals for your students as a result of doingthis unit?)
CCSSM 5.OA.1Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Write and interpret numerical expressions. 1. Use
parentheses, brackets or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with
these symbols.Deepen their understanding of operations and algebraic thinking from fourthgrade by writing and evaluating simple expressions and interpreting numericalexpressions in order to prepare them for applying distributive property in sixth
and seventh grade.
Learning Target: How can I use the distributive property to solve equations?
Criteria for Success: I am able to break multiplication expressions into simpler numbers
so that I can multiply easily. I am able to make an expression into an array.
Vocabulary: equation, expression, sum, distributive property, precise, array, unmarked
array, parentheses, and value.
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D. Research Lesson Goal: (How does this research lesson fit with the other goals? Whatdo you want to learn about your students from this research lesson?)
II. Description of math content learning goal: (1 to 2 sentences)
Student will apply the distributive property and use parentheses accurately to solve
expressions.
B. What evidence will you collect to assess students learning of the target?
Reflection sheets that students are stopped periodically throughout the game to reflect on their
learning.
Exit slip where students are asked to evaluate a false statement and make it true.
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 23
Appendix B
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Appendix C
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Appendix D
III. Description of the Research Lesson CCSSM 5.OA.1
Operations and Algebraic Thinking. Write and interpret numerical expressions. 1. Useparentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with
these symbols.Launch: 15 minutes
1. Building a context for the lesson (Connecting to meaningfulthings or previous lesson):
Direct students to learning goals and criteria for success.Learning Target: How can I use the distributive property to solve
equations?
Criteria For Success: I was able to break expressions into simplernumbers so I can multiply easily.
I was able to make an expression into an array.
Take a minute to review the vocabulary using anchor chart. Have
students give thumbs up, down, middle to represent their ownunderstanding of the vocabulary words.
2. Laying the framework for the learning experience (Introduceresearch lesson to students):
Present distributive property slide show from enVisions 3.5.Pause to shoulder talk during presentation
EssentialVocabulary
equation
expressionsum
product
distributiveproperty
precise
array
rowscolumns
unmarked array
parenthesesvalue
algorithm
Possible Student Questions or
Misconceptions
Possible Teacher Questions/
Strategies/ Responses
What do students need to know/be
doing to successfully engage in this
part of the lesson?
Observed Lesson Data
Why is that true?
Can you make amodel to show that?Do you think this
would work with
other numbers?
Actively listening and
participating duringpresentation.
Able to communicate
any misunderstandingswith teacher for
clarification.
Have prior knowledge of
distributive property.Know how to break
numbers apart.
Know how to use
parentheses.
Teacherquestion
Studentquestions
How trueteacher
stays to
the lesson(timing)
Studentmisconcepti
ons
Student
vocabulary usage
Studentengageme
nt
OLE2indicators
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Explore: Engaging students with concepts (Exploring, Investigating, Problem Solving): 40
minutes
Mulitply and ConquerTeacher will introduce Multiply and Conquer Game and model how to play it, using the
Fish Bowl technique.
Students will roll three dice and choose one 2-digit number and one 1-digit number.Students will use these two numbers to form a multiplication expression. Using theirrecording sheet, students will record: expression, distributive property, use an unmarked
array, and use the algorithm.
Students will play the game in groups of two or trio if necessary.During the game, teacher will ask students to reflect on their thinking (play for 5 minutes;
record their thinking for 3 minutes). They will record their reflection on a sheet of paper
folded into quarters. Students will play for five minutes and record their thinking.Reflection Question 1: Pick one of the equations from the game, write it down, explain why
you broke it up, or distributed it, the way you did?
Reflection Question 2: Partner asks a question (based on table tent stems), and writes a
reflection/answer.Possible Student Questions or
MisconceptionsPossible Teacher Questions/
Strategies/ Responses
What do students need to know/bedoing to successfully engage in this
part of the lesson?
Observed Lesson Data
Students may not be
comfortable using
the algorithm.Students might not
use landmark
numbers (tens andones) to break up
their 2-digit number.
Students may notknow how toaccurately label an
unmarked array.
Can you make a
model to show that?
Can you explainwhat you have done
so far? What else is
there to do?Why did you decide
to use this method?
Do you think thiswould work withother numbers?
Could you try it
with simplernumbers?
How did you get
your answer?What if you would
have started with
rather than ?
Students should be able
to break numbers apart
into tens and ones (uselandmark numbers).
Students need to use the
distributive property tobreak up an equation
into easier numbers to
work with.Know how to useunmarked arrays.
Students need to work
cooperatively and bechecking each others
answers.
Know how to useparentheses accurately.
Know how to apply the
distributive property in
an equation and using anunmarked array.
Teacherquestion
Studentquestions
How trueteacher
stays to
the lesson
(timing) Student
misconcepti
ons
Studentvocabular
y usage
Studentengagement
OLE2
indicators
Sharing ideas/solutions (Whole group, small group, written): 20 minutesRemind students of learning target and criteria for success.
Pairs will work with tablemates (4 students) to discuss reflection questions, can you think
of an example of how you were able to break an expression into simpler numbers tomultiply easily, or how you made an expression into an array.
Possible Student Questions or Possible Teacher Questions/ What do students need to know/be Observed Lesson Data
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 27
Misconceptions Strategies/ Responses doing to successfully engage in this
part of the lesson?
What strategies did
you use?
How would you
tackle similar
problems?
Students should be able
to listen, communicate
their own thinking to
others.
Students should be ableto ask clarifying
questions, if they do notunderstand.
Teacherquestion
Studentquestions
How trueteacher
stays to
the lesson(timing)
Studentmisconcepti
ons
Studentvocabular
y usage
Studentengageme
nt
OLE2indicators
Summarizing (Gathering Evidence How will you know students met the learning goal?): 10
minutes
Exit SlipTeacher will share with students a false example of the game just played, and ask students
to explain why it is incorrect and how they could fix it. Students will record their
thinking on their reflection sheet.
Possible Student Questions or
Misconceptions
Possible Teacher Questions/
Strategies/ Responses
What do students need to know/be
doing to successfully engage in this
part of the lesson?
Observed Lesson Data
What do you think
about what ___
said?Can you convince
the rest of us that
your answer makes
sense?What are the key
points or big ideas
in this lesson?
Students should be able
to identify a
misconception using thedistributive property and
defend their argument.
Teacherquestion
Studentquestions
How trueteacher
stays to
the lesson
(timing) Student
misconcepti
ons
Studentvocabular
y usage
Student
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engageme
nt
OLE2indicators
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Appendix E
Time Frame with Teacher Moves
Time Task Teacher Moves Notes Materials
10:00
-
10:10
~10
min.
Launch Introduce and thankyou
Present LearningGoals/Criteria for
Success
o Anchorchart or sentence
strip
Review Vocabularyo Thumbs up,
down, middle for
unknown words
o Anchorchart/mark with
sticky notesproblem words?
o Whenreviewing precise,
refer to table tents.
o Remindstudents that this is
their word bank to
use today when
discussing math
Present DistributiveProperty slideshow
from envision
o Gage classduring review
o Mute or usenarrator as
necessary
o Ask studentsto turn to shoulder
partner to discuss.
o Stopslideshow at
distributive
property definition
Learning Target: How can
I use the distributive
property to solve
equations?
Criteria For Success: I was
able to break expressions
into simpler numbers so I
can multiply easily.
I was able to make an
expression into an array.
expressions
equations
sumdifference
distributive property
precise
array
parentheses
value
Envision:
www.pearsonsuccessnet.co
mGrade 5
Topic 3
Lesson 3.5 DistributiveProperty
Anchor Chart
Learning Goals/Criteria for
Success
Computer
Projector
10:10
-10:45
~35
min.
Explore Explain activity
whole groupo Model for
the class how to
participate
o Emphasizethat they are
sharing dice and the
responsibility of
checking their
partners work
Can you make a model to
show that?Can you explain what you
have done so far? What
else is there to do?
Why did you decide to use
this method?
Do you think this would
work with other numbers?
Could you try it with
simpler numbers?
Elmo/Projector
Activity Materials:3 dice per pair
Each: student recording
sheet,
Blank copy paper for
reflection
Table Tents with Question
Stems for students
Reflection questions
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 30
before they take
their turn
o Share thatwe will be pausing
to reflect on
questions
throughout the
game
o Signal withhand clap that
means to pause and
reflect on the
question that will
be on the screen
Partner up withtablemate
Start activity andpause students after
every 5 minutes for a
three minute
reflection
How did you get your
answer?
What if you would have
started with rather than
?
Reflection Question 1: Pick
one of the equations from
the game, write it down,
explain why you broke it
up, or distributed it, the
way you did?
Reflection Question 2:
Partner asks a question
(based on table tent stems),
and writes a
reflection/answer.
Reflection Question 3: You
and your partner pick oneof the equations you did
and represent it with the
traditional algorithm, the
distributive property, and a
visual representation
10:45
-
11:00
Summar
ize Students will clean
up and reflect with all
tablemates and share
their thoughts on the
activity and discuss
their answers to the
questions they
recorded For groups that are
struggling to discuss
teacher can model
with the questions or
ask group to focus on
one question and dig
deeper
WITH TIME, shareout a few ideas whole
group
BUTMAKE SUREstudents have enough
time to independentlyrespond to the last
question as their
EXIT slip
Pick up exit slips
What strategies did you
use?
How would you tackle
similar problems?
What do you think about
what ___ said?
Can you convince the rest
of us that your answer
makes sense?
What are the key points or
big ideas in this lesson?
Display the last question
and have them explain the
students misconception.
Exit Slips/Reflection papers
(pick up)
Materials from activity
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Appendix F
Recording Sheet (Both versions)
Lesson 1:
Lesson 2:
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Appendix G
Reflection Questions
Annie rolled a 4, a 6, and a 7. She came up with the following expression
46 x 7She used the recording sheet and came up the following equations.
Help Annie by explaining the distributive property and telling her where she made a mistake,you may use words, pictures, or numbers to explain your thinking.
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REFLECTION OF A LESSON STUDY 33
Appendix H
Final Reflection Question
Annie rolled a 4, a 3, and a 6. She came up with the following expression
43 x 6She used the recording sheet and came up the following equations.
Help Annie by explaining the distributive property and telling her where she made a mistake,
you may use words, pictures, or numbers to explain your thinking.