Study Group Models
Student Work: It is a study group of people deeply involved in using processes for the careful and close examination of student work. That we have different purposes at the heart of our methods is not necessarily a problem. There is a focus on the intersection of these methods for looking at student work and explicit school reform efforts. To be sure, everyone involved longs to see improvement in our public schools.
Lesson Study “is a translation of the Japanese words jugyou (instruction, lessons or lesson) and kenkyuu (research or study). The term jugyou kenkyuu encompasses a large family of instructional improvement strategies, the shared feature of which is observation of live classroom lessons by a group of teachers who collect data on teaching and learning and collaboratively analyze it.”
Lesson study is professional development model that develops these practices:
- Educators involved in collaborative planning
- Educators discussing goals for students and content
- Educators researching available units, lessons and resources
- Educators building and implementing lessons together
- Educators observe lesson together
- Educators reflect upon the lesson together
Action Research A strategy for learning more about the teaching and learning process, often in collaboration with other educators. With this learning design, teachers decide what questions are important to examine in order for them to gain insight into what is happening in their classrooms. While the inquiry process is structured, it is not as formal as other forms of research and can provide teacher with valuable information in improving their practice.
Video Study A video study is a collection of educators who gather together to view and discuss taped excerpts or whole lessons of their own or colleagues’ by focusing on student performance in an environment of collegial support and curiosity, teachers arrive at insights into practice and at decisions to experiment that they might not achieve in more formal “feedback” settings.
Research A research study is a collection of educators who gather together to conduct research on school practices related to their school improvement goals. They will thoroughly investigate that other schools with similar demographics have done to deal with the same types of issues. This will be accomplished by contacting other schools, and by reading and discussing scientifically based research and articles related to the school’s improvement goals.
Book Study A book study is a collection of educators who gather together to read and discuss an agreed book selection. The selection will create a focus for learning together. For our purposes and design for this website, a book study would be combined with collaborative approaches that would look directly at student work and teacher practice.
An Article An article study group is similar to a book study.
A report on a conference, workshop, school visitation etc. A person or small group of educators who attend(s) a conference, workshop or school visitation with a specific focus that is related to furthering knowledge in best practices. A school would create collaborative professional development practices for staff who attends conferences and workshops.
The bottom line for any model is that educators in a school need to be working together collaboratively to improve instructional practice and increase student learning. If the models do not focus on those two areas, then a true authentic professional learning community does not exist.
Resources:
ASCD Professional Inquiry Kit
- Murphy, C (1995) Whole-Faculty Study Groups: Doing the seemingly undoable. Journal of Staff Development
- Murphy, C.(1997) Finding time for Faculties to study together. Journal of Staff Development
- Murphy, C (1998) Whole-faculty Study Groups: A powerful way to change schools and enhance learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin
- Murphy, C (1999). Use of time for faculty study. Journal of Staff Development