Lesson Study Training Workshop

Presented by Bill Cerbin, UW-La Crosse

See workshop schedule below for dates, times and locations

Lesson study is a simple idea. If you want to improve instruction, what could be more obvious than collaborating with fellow teachers to plan, observe, and reflect on lessons? While it may be a simple idea, lesson study is a complex process, supported by collaborative goal setting, careful data collection on student learning, and protocols that enable productive discussion of difficult issues.

(Catherine Lewis, 2002)

Lesson study is a method for improving teaching and learning in which a small group of instructors jointly designs, teaches, observes, evaluates and refines individual class lessons. The practice which originated in Asia is now being used by college teachers in the UW System to examine and improve their teaching and student learning.

This workshop introduces you to the basic principles and practices of lesson study, and examines how you can use lesson study to improve your own teaching and also contribute to knowledge about teaching in your field.

The workshop is open to faculty, teaching staff, and graduate teaching assistants interested in exploring the lesson study approach. Participants can attend Part I without attending Part II. 2007 Lesson Study Training Grant recipients should attend the entire workshop.

PART I: Orientation to Lesson Study: Improving Teaching & Learning One Lesson at a Time (Approximately 60-90 minutes)

This session will introduce you to the lesson study process. We will observe video excerpts of a lesson study team at work, explore key practices, discuss potential benefits of lesson study, and discuss how lesson study is being adapted to the college classroom.

PART II: Learning to do Lesson Study in the College Classroom (Approximately 2 hours)

This part of the workshop focuses on learning to do lesson study. You will engage in several key lesson study exercises focused on: 1) developing goals for student learning, 2) designing lessons that make student thinking visible, 3) observing and gathering evidence of student learning and thinking, and 4) documenting your lesson study. We will also discuss practical aspects of lesson study such as IRB approval, videotaping the lesson, and ways to streamline your work.

Bill Cerbin is Professor of Psychology at UW-La Crosse, where he directs the UW-La Crosse Center for Advancing Teaching & Learning (www.uwlax.edu/catl) and serves as assistant to the Provost. Active in the scholarship of teaching and learning he has twice been a Carnegie Scholar with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. His work focuses on understanding the relationship between teaching and college student learning and thinking.

Bill directs the College Lesson Study Project (CLSP) which promotes the use of lesson study to improve college teaching and learning. The CLSP, www.uwlax.edu/sotl/lsp, trains and supports college teachers to use lesson study as a way to improve their own teaching and advance the practice of teaching in their respective fields.

Supported by funding from the UW System Office of Professional & Instructional Development (OPID), nearly 300 instructors at UW campuses have undertaken lesson studies in their own classes. The project was featured recently by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, http://www.aacu.org/aacu_news/AACUNews06/september06/feature.cfm and the Knowledge Media Laboratory at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/gallery_of_tl/college_lesson_study_project.html

Lesson Study Training Workshop Schedule

2007 Lesson Study Training Grant recipients are expected to participate in initial training prior to your lesson study. You can attend a training workshop or complete self-guided training modules.

You are invited to attend any one of the campus workshops listed below. It is best if you can attend with members of your lesson study team. For those who cannot attend a workshop, the Training Modules will be available in January 2007.

Campus / Date / Time / Location / To Register & for Additional Information / Registration Deadline
UW Madison / January 12, 2007 / 12:00-3:45 p.m. / 1360 Genetics / Non-Madison instructors contact
Bill Cerbin
608-785-6881

UW Whitewater / January 17, 2007 / 12:00-4:00 p.m. / 108 Esker Hall / Sally Lange,
UW-W LEARN Center, 262-472-5242 or / Registration Deadline:
January 8
Space limited
UW Stout / January 18, 2007 / 1:00-4:00 p.m. / Northwoods Room, Memorial Student Union / Bill Cerbin,
608-785-6881 / Space is limited register early
UW
La Crosse / January 19, 2007 / 12:30-4:00 p.m. / 337
Cartwright Center / Bill Cerbin,
608-785-6881 / Registration Deadline;
January 12
UW Milwaukee / January 26, 2007 / 9:30-2:00 p.m. / 327 & 348
Merrill / Susan Gifford. CIPD Program Assistant, , 414-229-6638