London Mathematics Lesson Study Hub

The hub uses the East Asian method of lesson study to help teachers develop their knowledge of the new National Curriculum for maths. This includes looking at effective ways of tailoring the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs. It works with primary and secondary schools, prioritising areas of maths that teachers commonly identify as the most difficult to teach and learn.

Participants take an evidence-based approach to developing their practice, using pupil observations during lessons and also post-lesson pupil interviews. This informs teachers’ planning by developing better understanding of pupils’ progress, challenges, misconceptions and needs. The hub’s long term aim is to help create self-sustaining and self-sufficient communities of practice for maths across London who share their lesson studies as a means of creating and sharing new knowledge about how pupils are learning mathematics. These communities will regularly share their new knowledge in order for teachers across schools to benefit from their classroom enquiry.

To get involved -

I have been teaching for 20 years and have undertaken a great deal of CPD but I was still amazed at how much could be learnt through the experience of a lesson study. The opportunity to plan, brainstorm and bounce ideas off each other helped us step out of our comfort zones to try new and innovative ways of teaching in our maths lessons. The experience of focusing in on a few children during a lesson gave us a much greater insight into the gaps, difficulties and misconceptions that children commonly held. Post lesson interviews with the children gave us immediate feedback about what really worked or didn’t work for them so that we could quickly adapt our research lessons to cater more effectively to their needs. What was learned from one lesson study cycle often led to school-wide efforts to address those similar issues across year groups and subject areas. In addition, being part of the Lesson Study Hub provided us with a chance to access excellent mathematics CPD along with the opportunity to meet with other schools involved in the project and share our findings and experiences. The feedback from each lesson study cycle, collated from all the schools involved by the hub leaders, enabled us to fine tune our lesson study practice to ensure we were getting the most from this learning experience. As a school we have benefited so much from it that we intend to roll out lesson study across our school next year.

- Jane Hull, Deputy Headteacher, SS Peter & Paul's Catholic Primary School