CLR is an ongoing, sustained and challenging mode of professional development. Working within a specific research theme the CLR group should aim to carry out cycles of research lessons that probe particular issues that all lie within that theme.
For example, in the CfEM research trials the overarching theme was Teaching for Mastery. The research lessons all investigated Teaching for Mastery, but they focused on different aspects of this. A number of initial meetings were held that identified five key principles and these helped the cycles focus on different ways of Teaching for Mastery in each of the research lessons. These principles guided thinking about what a lesson might look like and helped not only think about how students might work with the maths but also the lesson structure that we adopted for all of the research lessons. (This included sections of the lesson focussed on exploring, discussing and reviewing, for example).
An important aim of CLR is that ongoing cycles of research lessons help build individual teacher and community knowledge. After each research lesson the group needs to consider what has been learned in that particular lesson, in relation to the research theme, and what it will do next, building on this learning.
Make sure that your group consider this at the end of each cycle so that the next cycle can be as effective as possible. The input of an outside expert of knowledgeable other might help with this
Questions to consider:
§ How many Lesson Study cycles will you have in a year?
§ What are the key areas that you will explore in the theme that guides your work?
§ In what order should you work through your questions?
§ How will you draw your work together and communicate your findings?
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