Lesson Study (Jugyo-Kenkyu), which developed in Japan, is attracting attention from around the world as a place for a professional development opportunity. In this article, I will introduce the Global Lesson Study, which is an attempt to gather people from all over the world to think about better game teaching. In the Global Lesson Study, the main activities are "watching research lessons" and "discussion about the lessons. Through these initiatives, we place importance on reflection to create better lessons.
Figure 1 Video Clip with Subtitles
A video clip with subtitles and Lesson plan were sent to the participants prior to the workshop. Then, after watching it, participants were encouraged to post their questions and opinions on Padlet for discussion before participating in the workshop.
Figure 2: Contents of the Padlet
In the workshop, the practitioner talked about the basic idea of the lesson and reflections on the practice, using slides. Based on this, small groups of 3-4 participants presented their opinions that they had prepared in advance, and then decided on a theme to discuss. We used Jamboard to organize these discussions. All team members should be able to explain what they had discussed in about two minutes using Jamboard. This was also a way to overcome the language barrier and encourage participation. After that, we gathered as a whole to confirm the discussion, and then divided into different groups from the group members we discussed earlier to discuss specific ways to improve the lesson. In conducting the discussion, each person made a presentation using Jamboard, discussed specific improvements based on the presentation, and wrote the contents in a Google Document shared by the whole group. Since all the groups' writings could be checked on a single sheet, the practitioner was encouraged to look at it and reflect again on their own teaching practices. At the end of the discussion, in the plenary session, practitioner reflected on the content of the previous discussions and presented his reflection and direction for improvement. The workshop then ended with the commentators summarizing and valuing the discussions.
Figure. 3 Example of Jamboard contents
Table 1: Contents of Google Document
In the May workshop, Mr. Fujimoto, a teacher at Masago Elementary School in Niigata City, proposed a ball game for first graders. This lesson was developed around a game, and the discussion centered on the pros and cons of game modification and questioning. Some of the participants from the U.S. mentioned that this was their first experience with tactical learning in the lower grades of elementary school, and they were surprised that it could be implemented in the lower grades with game modification. In addition, various suggestions were made on how to ask better questions that would lead to better understanding of tactics, and the commentator explained how to make questions based on lesson observations.
At the July workshop, Mr. Kikuchi, a teacher at Setagaya Junior High School attached to Tokyo Gakugei University, proposed a striking/fielding game for first graders. The discussion at this workshop centered on how to conduct warm-ups and group composition. Regarding the warm-up, there were various opinions that the preparatory exercise done mainly by students was static stretching, and that dynamic stretching would be better, or that teachers should intervene intentionally, or that physical activity should be done in small-sided games from the preparatory exercise. I felt that the cultural characteristics of the country were strongly expressed here. In response to these discussions, the participants eventually found a direction to use small-sided games for preparatory exercises.
In the proposed class, the students were divided into four teams, and the leaders of these teams were all boys. This was not specifically decided by the teacher, but as a result of the team's decision, but some of the participants pointed out that there were problems with physical education instruction that led to such a situation. They also pointed out that there were differences in the way the students interacted with each other during the activities between boys and girls. Just the fact that junior high schools are conducting games with both boys and girls learning together, instead of separately, seems to be an innovative lesson in Japan, but I was reminded of the fact that we have created a gender perspective through the way boys and girls interact and contribute to the lesson.
In addition, this class was taught using a hybrid model of Game-Centered Approaches and sports education models, and various opinions were expressed about how to play the role of the learner. The discussion also touched on moral education in Japan, which led to a rethinking of the concept of responsible learning, which I feel was a valuable discussion.
In a questionnaire survey taken after the workshop, 100% of the participants answered that they had gained a lot from both workshops. In addition, 100% of the participants answered that they had the opportunity to participate in the 2nd workshop and 90% in the 3rd workshop. These results and the results of the free comments show that the attempt to collaborate on better physical education classes across countries is worthwhile. There are also many positive comments in the free text. A few participants mentioned the difficulty of verbal communication, and we will continue to take measures to solve this problem by making good use of technology.
At the July workshop, Mr. Kikuchi, a teacher at Setagaya Junior High School attached to Tokyo Gakugei University, proposed a striking/fielding game for first graders. The discussion at this workshop centered on how to conduct warm-ups and group composition. Regarding the warm-up, there were various opinions that the preparatory exercise done mainly by students was static stretching, and that dynamic stretching would be better, or that teachers should intervene intentionally, or that physical activity should be done in small-sided games from the preparatory exercise. I felt that the cultural characteristics of the country were strongly expressed here. In response to these discussions, the participants eventually found a direction to use small-sided games for preparatory exercises.
In the proposed class, the students were divided into four teams, and the leaders of these teams were all boys. This was not specifically decided by the teacher, but as a result of the team's decision, but some of the participants pointed out that there were problems with physical education instruction that led to such a situation. They also pointed out that there were differences in the way the students interacted with each other during the activities between boys and girls. Just the fact that junior high schools are conducting games with both boys and girls learning together, instead of separately, seems to be an innovative lesson in Japan, but I was reminded of the fact that we have created a gender perspective through the way boys and girls interact and contribute to the lesson.
In addition, this class was taught using a hybrid model of Game-Centered Approaches and sports education models, and various opinions were expressed about how to play the role of the learner. The discussion also touched on moral education in Japan, which led to a rethinking of the concept of responsible learning, which I feel was a valuable discussion.
In a questionnaire survey taken after the workshop, 100% of the participants answered that they had gained a lot from both workshops. In addition, 100% of the participants answered that they had the opportunity to participate in the 2nd workshop and 90% in the 3rd workshop. These results and the results of the free comments show that the attempt to collaborate on better physical education classes across countries is worthwhile. There are also many positive comments in the free text. A few participants mentioned the difficulty of verbal communication, and we will continue to take measures to solve this problem by making good use of technology.
Figure.4 Commemorative photo (May,2021)
We are planning to hold another Global Lesson study in October or November. Next time, we will propose a lesson on games for elementary school. If you are interested in participating, please contact me “[email protected]”.
Resources
Global Lesson Study in May
Mr.Fujimoto’s Lesson (Elementary PE):
<Lesson Plan>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/epjfan1wzac7r3s/Lesson%20Plan%20%28Shooting%20Game%29_Mr.Fujimoto.pdf?dl=0
<Video Clip of the Lesson >
https://youtu.be/OpzUDggM1jQ
Global Lesson Study in July
Mr.Kikuchi’s Lesson (Junior High PE):
<Lesson Plan>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0joaxbovd1vfcbw/Lesson%20Plan%20%28Mr.Kikuchi%29.pdf?dl=0
<Video Clip of the Lesson >
https://youtu.be/j53iTSJnUW0
Mr.Fujimoto’s Lesson (Elementary PE):
<Lesson Plan>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/epjfan1wzac7r3s/Lesson%20Plan%20%28Shooting%20Game%29_Mr.Fujimoto.pdf?dl=0
<Video Clip of the Lesson >
https://youtu.be/OpzUDggM1jQ
Global Lesson Study in July
Mr.Kikuchi’s Lesson (Junior High PE):
<Lesson Plan>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0joaxbovd1vfcbw/Lesson%20Plan%20%28Mr.Kikuchi%29.pdf?dl=0
<Video Clip of the Lesson >
https://youtu.be/j53iTSJnUW0
