School of Education Virtual Speaker Series
December 7 @ 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm
Professional Development for Human Flourishing:The Case of Lesson Study
Jennifer Lewis & Chris Nazelli
In this session, we will present “lesson study,” a model of teacher professional development that reliably produces significant gains in teacher learning and student learning. Lesson study is both simple and radical. Simple, because in lesson study teachers follow repeated cycles of studying together, planning a shared lesson, observing one another teach the lesson, and analyzing student learning from the shared lesson. But lesson study is also radical, because it is driven by teachers’ interests and choices, and led not by experts with slide decks, but by teachers themselves, in a form of inquiry-based learning about teaching.
We will present three different contexts where we have worked using lesson study: with inservice teachers, with pre-service teachers, and with university instructors. Ultimately, we
argue that lesson study and other forms of professional development can lead not only to improved teaching and learning in our schools, but also to human flourishing for teachers and students alike.
Dr. Jennifer Lewis is a Professor of Mathematics Education and Teacher Education at Wayne State University. Jennifer was an elementary and middle school teacher for 10 years before her doctoral studies at the University of Michigan. Jennifer has been deeply influenced by teacher education methods in other countries, and she brings these methods to schools in Detroit. Her research focuses on how teachers use mathematical and pedagogical knowledge in the interactive work of teaching, and how teachers are prepared to work in high-poverty schools for children of color.
Dr. Chris Nazelli is a Professor of Teaching in Wayne State University’s Department of Mathematics and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for its Center for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics. For over 30 years, Chris has served the students of Wayne State and the surrounding communities through the Emerging Scholars Program and the nationally recognized Math Corps. Chris studies, facilitates, and participates in lesson study cycles with preservice and in-service K–12 teachers and his university colleagues.
Questions? Contact Vicki Jacobs (vrjacobs@uncg.edu) or Ye He (y_he@uncg.edu)
Free
& open to the community