Exploring the role of lesson study on educators′ pedagogical content knowledge in teaching mathematics

Abstract

Findings from local, sub-Saharan and international assessment conducted with South African learners at both primary and secondary levels indicate that South African learners perform poorly in mathematics. Although there are numerous explanations for learners′ poor performance, one of the most important explanations is that educators lack pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics. This study examines the role of lesson study in educators′ pedagogical content knowledge in teaching mathematics. Lesson study is a professional development method for educators that has been used in Japan for decades. In the current study, lesson study seeks to answer 3 research questions: i) What do educators need to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge of teaching numeric and geometric patterns? ii) How does educators′ participation in lesson study enhance their pedagogical content knowledge about teaching of numeric and geometric patterns? iii) What are the educators′ views about the lesson study when teaching numeric and geometric patterns? The investigation of the role of lesson study was conducted through a thematic analysis and a qualitative method. The study focused on 2 of 5 accessible Professional Learning Communities in the Ilembe District of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, to conduct this research. The reason for selecting these 2 Professional Learning Communities had a total of 7 schools, with Professional Learning Community 1 having 3 schools and 10 educators and Professional Learning Community 2 with 4 schools and 13 educators while other Professional Learning Communities have less number of educators. Participants in the 2 Professional Learning Communities participated in the lesson study process for 9 months. In each lesson study cycle, participants were required to plan, discuss, teach, observe and reflect on lessons together. Due to various constraints, both Professional Learning Communities completed 2 lesson study cycles at the end of this study. Multiple sources of data were collected through group discussions, observations, reflections, semi-structured interviews, and participants′ diary entries. The findings of this study highlight the role of lesson study in improving educators′ pedagogical content knowledge in teaching mathematics. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed that lesson study as a professional development activity provided educators with an encouraging opportunity. Moreover, lesson study became a vehicle for participants to collaborate, discuss and share their teaching knowledge and experiences. Consequently, participants expressed the view that their pedagogical content knowledge was enhanced by participating in the lesson study. However, the extent of enhancement depends on each participant′s attitude and commitment to the teaching profession. The findings underscore the need for lesson study as an educator-led and bottom-up approach to innovative professional development. It became clear that educators′ pedagogical content knowledge is critical to good mathematics teaching and learner understanding. The findings are consistent with the literature on lesson study that show educators need lesson study to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge for teaching numeric and geometric patterns: their mathematical pedagogical knowledge, mathematical content knowledge, and contextual knowledge. Subsequently lesson study offers an alternative, innovative and effective approach to educator professional development that ultimately impacts instruction, therefore, lesson study needs to be promoted in the South African educational context. Although lesson study is a model of educator-led professional development, the involvement of policy makers to promote lesson study in the early stages is still important and relevant. This research recommends collaboration with curriculum specialists to gain insight and expert ideas. Educators need more support from School Management Teams, who are a great help in managing and planning lesson study. All in all, there is a need to foster a culture of lesson study that helps generate enthusiasm and commitment to learning in the lesson study among educators.