Using Lesson Study as collaborative professional development for high performing Early Career Teachers

Using Lesson Study as collaborative professional development for high performing primary Early Career teachers With the recruitment and retention of teachers in crisis and growing numbers leaving the profession within the first five years, this dissertation looks at ways in which to help early career teachers (ECTs) cultivate their craft in an increasingly challenging profession. Lesson Study (LS) is widely recognised for its potential to not only help teachers learn and develop through collaboration, but also for its power to promote teachers’ professional subject knowledge and professional growth. This study therefore explores how best to i) support the professional growth of ECTs, ii) capture their perceptions regarding their expert teaching of mathematics, and iii) establish the value of lesson study as a professional development model to support already expert novice teachers. The research focuses on the professional growth of four high performing ECTs and their teaching of mathematics in one UK primary school setting. Semi-structured interviews and lesson study field notes including the lesson study discussions were used to elicit data on the participants’ experiences. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was applied to identify patterns of meaning for each of the participants and to understand how they make sense of the LS process, including to what extent the experience impacted on their own teaching and learning and professional growth. This results in three main overarching themes, namely: pedagogy, collaboration and teacher confidence. Teacher self-efficacy and identity are also explored, with interpretations drawn by the researcher. The evidence suggests that LS has the potential to positively affect teacher self-efficacy in mathematics through changes in pedagogy, whilst also being a catalyst for shifts in teacher confidence, both at an individual and collective level, whilst also reducing feelings of teacher isolation. In the long term, the collaborative working of lesson study and its impact of teacher self-confidence was seen to create a sense of sponsorship which led to increased teacher resilience and the ability to manage change throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The insights of this work will be useful to those wishing to use lesson study for teacher development, specifically to establish a collective self-belief and mind-set, enabling ECTs to flourish and thrive even in the most challenging circumstances. The study suggests that the benefits of LS are wide-reaching beyond its well-known attributes to facilitate teacher learning and pupil progress; that it could be a driver for retention with a focus on teacher well-being.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Griffiths, Kelly

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Marschall, Gosia

• Collaborative professional development
• Early Career Teachers
• high performing teachers
• Lesson Study

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/1d57186c-48c4-49b7-9744-b44ded692182/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.130097

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/402889