Not-So-OrganAry: Using

Lesson Study to
Improve
Instruction

University of South Florida

Jeni Davis, Jack Fahle, Beth
Landy, Grace Madden, Joe
Ratasky, Brianna Sortino,
Shana Tirado, Sarah VanIngen,
and Michele Wiehagen
Spring 2016

What is STEM?

Integrated approach to learning

Removes barriers that separate science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics
Situated in a real-world context
HCPS
All STEM lessons contain an
engineering component
All STEM lessons utilize the design
process

Rationale
The purpose of our inquiry is to analyze the effects of lesson
study on our instruction. In February, a StEm lesson study
was conducted in three different 5th grade classrooms over
the course of a week. In order to assess our instruction over
the course of the lesson study, we collected a variety of data
to analyze the effectiveness of our instruction as teachers to
see if there were any changes in our instruction and how
those changes affected our instruction. Additionally, we
were interested to see if the changes in our instruction had
an effect on student achievement. Thus, we collected
additional data on student thinking to analyze the effect our
instruction had on student performance.

Research Question
In what ways does lesson study
affect the quality of instruction?

Literature
Takahashi and Yoshida explain in their article Ideas for Establishing LessonStudy Communities(2004) that in a lesson study, a research lesson is taught
in a regular classroom while participants observe the lesson. Immediately
after the lesson, participants hold a debriefing in which student data is
discussed and modifications can be made.
According to Sally Gutierez in her article Collaborative professional learning
through lesson study: Identifying the challenges of inquiry-based teaching
(2015), lesson study "helps teacher improve their instructional practices" by
improving student learning and providing an opportunity for teachers to work
with their peers.
Widdjaja discusses the benefits of conducting lesson studies in elementary
schools such as, improving teaching through reflection, increasing students
learning, and collaborating with peers in Creating Teacher Communities of
Inquiry through Lesson Study (2015).
Bjuland and Mosvold examine student teachers engaging in a lesson study
and analyze the challenging aspects of a lesson study, such as focusing on
observations and student learning, in Lesson Study in Teacher Education:

Conte
xt A
Classroom

Classroom B

Classroom C

Partnership School A, Title 1

Partnership School A, Title 1

Partnership School B, Title 1

5th Grade, Self-contained

5th Grade, Self-contained

5th Grade, Departmentalized

18 students (11 male; 7

19 students (7 male; 12

Math and Science

female)

female)

23 students (13 male; 10

Racial Breakdown:

Racial Breakdown:

female)

-White: 1 student

-White: 2 students

-African-American: 9

-African-American: 8

students

students

-Hispanic: 6 students

-Hispanic: 7 students

-Multi-racial: 2 students

-Asian: 2 students

Racial Breakdown:
-White: 4 students
-African-American: 10
students
-Hispanic: 6 students
-Multi-racial: 3 students

Data Collection
Video Evidence
Transcription of Debriefing
Lesson Plans
Reflective Blog Posts

Data Analysis- Qualitative

Transcription of Debrief
Debrief of
Classroom A and Bs
lesson
implementation
February 18, 2016
Residents
Inductive Reasoning
(Lichtman, 2013)
Lesson Plans
Classroom A,
February 16 and 17,
2016
Classroom B,
February 16 and 17,
2016
Classroom C,
February 19, 2016
Residents
Deductive

Video Evidence
Classroom A,
February 17, 2016
Classroom B,
February 17, 2016
Classroom C,
February 19, 2016
Residents, fifth
grade students, and
Jeni Davis
Deductive
Reasoning
Reflective
Blog Posts
(Lichtman,
2013)
Reflections of all
three lessons
Residents
Deductive
Reasoning
(Lichtman, 2013)

Codes
Engineering
Connections
Grouping Strategies
Teaching Strategies
Connections
Purpose
Student Thinking
Planning
Changes

Claim #1
The implementation of a lesson study was beneficial in
providing feedback to help make improvements to lessons
and instruction
Conducting a lesson study helped perfect our lesson, which helped increase student
understanding and achievement (Reflective blog post, Brianna, Classroom C)
Our group found that the time used to reflect on each lesson after its
implementation was vital to creating the most meaningful and beneficial experience
for everyone. (Reflective Blog Post; Beth, Classroom B)
We were able to find strengths in each lesson that we knew we needed to be carried
over to the third residents lesson. (Reflective Blog Post; Beth, Classroom B)
I think that there certainly was a progression of improvements from classroom to
classroom, and I liked having the opportunity to reflect and make improvements to
the lesson each time it was taught. (Reflective Blog Post; Grace, Classroom B &
Client)

Claim #2
Providing students with a visual representation or model
of what is expected can help increase student
understanding of the task
I liked that you incorporated, you showed what a medical page looks like so they
know what the report should be like... then I liked that you had a picture of what
biomedical engineers are actually doing so they got to see like have that visual and
have that discussion. (Transcription of 2/18 Debrief; Brianna, Classroom C)
I think it was a good idea because I even know when I was on day one in our lesson
as I was going over the RFP like it was I struggled with like getting them to know that
they were creating like a textbook page and like it would have been beneficial if they
had seen a model (Transcription of 2/18 Debrief; Grace, Classroom B & Client)
This helped guide them in their creation and provided for more concrete textbook
pages. (Reflective Blog Post; Beth, Classroom B)
They are using technology to help study the body (referring to pictures of
biomedical engineers) (Video evidence; 5th grade student; classroom C)

Claim #3
Providing students with more resources helped in supporting
their understanding of the different organs
...he was drawing the muscle just like this like the arm muscle well do we have any
information to support that that's just like what the muscle is well we don't really know too
much well let's stop let's go find some more information and that will help us plan..
(Transcription of 2/18 Debrief; Darryan, Classroom A)
Remind students of available resources, such as textbooks, articles, and organ flap and
encourage students to utilize such resources as they are investigating and planning.
(Lesson Plan; Brianna, Classroom C)
Quick review about human body and remind students that they will be able to use their
science notebooks and note sheets. (Lesson Plan; Beth, Classroom B)
Having articles or some type of reference for the students to use while brainstorming,
creating their blueprint, and textbook page was a major benefit to the first residents
lesson that we wanted to continue for the third. (Reflective blog post; Beth, Classroom B)
(After finding more information from textbook) Those are the muscle fibers...muscles
have muscle fibers. (Video Evidence; 5th Grade Student, Classroom B)
One group that had the heart created one idea that showed the outside of the heart and

Claim #4
Spending more time discussing the Request for Proposal
was beneficial in helping students understand the purpose
of the lesson
They were kind of unclear on who they were doing it for and who the request was for
because Brianna was like Oh something about the second graders and Aaliyah was
like what do you mean second graders? What are you talking about? (Transcription
of 2/18 Debrief; Brianna, Classroom C)
She didnt really know why or the purpose of this was so I feel like maybe like in
your group you guys went through like the request for proposal and you like had it on
the board and you like piece by piece almost like I feel like that would have been
beneficial for your group. (Transcription of 2/18 Debrief; Brianna, Classroom C)
One of the other residents then introduced the Request for Proposal and worked with
students to code the RFP by underlining important parts. (Reflective Blog Post;
Grace, Classroom B)
Refresh students memory of RFP and letter from 2 nd grade to remind students of
task. (Make sure to refer back to engineering practices we are practicing and refer to

Claim #5
Allowing students to work in engineering teams (groups)
provides for collaboration and exploration of the content.
Letting them work together was helpful because then they like had that other
person. (Transcription Debrief from 2/18; Beth, Classroom B)
I thought it was beneficial for the students to be able to discuss with one another
how they are going to create their model. Allowing the students to see and explore
their materials before creating their blueprints helped make for a more effective and
efficient discussion. (Reflective blog post, Brianna, Classroom C)
Scientists work in teams. (Video Evidence; Darryan, Classroom A)
We found that we liked using pairs or triads because it was more collaborative;
however, we also felt like only assigning them one organ would be less
overwhelming. (Reflective Blog Post; Beth, Classroom B)

Claim #6
Utilizing the presence of the client in the classroom helps
to motivate and set the purpose of the lesson.
The cool things about this lesson is like its tied to second grade, where there are
other students who are participating in it. (Transcription Debrief on 2/18; Grace,
Classroom B & Client)
my students are asking so when is second grade getting these things? When are
they getting these? (Transcription Debrief on 2/18; Beth, Classroom B)
Introduce the lesson by introducing the design challenge through the RFP and letter
from the second graders. (Lesson Plan; Beth, Classroom B)
It helped to create a real life connection as the students would know the second
graders at their school and be able to see their client, the second grade resident,
each day at the lesson. (Reflective Blog Post; Beth, Classroom B)
I am excited for the second graders! (video evidence; 5th grade student; Classroom
C)

Claim #7
Using a StEm lesson, provided opportunities for real world
connections and extended student thinking.
They were kind of unclear on who they were doing it for and who the request was for
because Brianna was like Oh something about the second graders and Aaliyah was
like what do you mean second graders? What are you talking about? (Transcription
Debrief on 2/18; Brianna, Classroom C)
I feel like an actual engineer! (Video Evidence; 5th Grade Student, Classroom C)
Additionally, as a result of the in depth breakdown of the RFP, design process and
engineering practices, students really had a strong sense of purpose for the lesson,
and the real world connection was very evident to students. (Reflective Blog Post;
Grace, Classroom B & Client)
Like engineers, we made our blueprint for um for our final piece and then modeled
our piece with clay. (Video Evidence; 5th Grade Student, Classroom B)
We communicated with each other telling each other what to add (through
suggestions for improvement on sticky notes). (Video Evidence; 5th Grade Student,

Conclusion
After holding lesson study during the
implementation of our StEm lessons, we can
conclude that the lesson study was beneficial in
improving our instruction in each classroom.
After teaching in each classroom, we were able to
use evidence of student thinking to discuss what
worked and what could be changed for the
following lessons. Implementing these changes
helped to improve our instruction and provide a
meaningful learning experience for our students.

Implications
When presenting the RFP, we need to be
more explicit with the purpose of the
lesson.
We need to be more consistent with
holding the debriefs after each lesson to
allow ample time for reflection and to
make modifications to the lesson plans.
Resources in the forms of books and
articles need to be available for student
use during the lesson to support their
content knowledge.

Future Wonderings
How do lesson studies affect student
academic achievement?
How can planning within lesson studies
increase student engagement?

Questions?

Beth Landy blandy@mail.usf.edu

Grace Madden gmadden1@mail.usf.edu
Brianna Sortino bms1@mail.usf.edu

References
Bjuland, R. & Mosvold, R. (2015). Lesson study in teacher education: learning from a challenging case.
Teaching and Teacher
Education, 52, 83-90.
Gutierez, S. s. (2015). Collaborative professional learning through lesson study: Identifying the
challenges of inquiry-based
teaching. Issues In Educational Research, 25(2), 118-134.
Takahashi, A. & Yoshida, M. (2004) Ideas for Establishing Lesson Study Communities
Van Ingen, S., Davis, J. R. Landy, B., Madden, G., Sathe, A. (2016, February). You look like my mom, but
you sound like a STEM
teacher! Session presentated at Hillsborough County Public Schools Parenty University. Tampa Bay,
Tampa.
Widdjaja, W. (2015). Creating Teacher Communities of Inquiry through Lesson Study. Retrieved