John Paul Mynott and Stephanie Elizabeth Margaret O'Reilly
Lesson study (LS) is a collaborative form of action research. Collaboration is central to LS methodology, therefore exploring and expanding the understanding of the collaborative…
Abstract
Purpose
Lesson study (LS) is a collaborative form of action research. Collaboration is central to LS methodology, therefore exploring and expanding the understanding of the collaborative features that occur in LS is a priority. This paper explores the features of collaboration in existing publications on LS to consider if, as Quaresma (2020) notes, collaboration is simplistically referred to within LS research.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising a qualitative review of LS literature to explore LS collaboration through Mynott's (2019) outcome model and Huxham and Vangen's (2005) theory of collaborative advantage and inertia. 396 publications using “lesson study” and “collaboration” as key words were considered and reviewed, with 26 articles further analysed and coded, generating a collaborative feature matrix.
Findings
While collaboration in LS is referred to generically in the articles analysed, the authors found examples where collaboration is considered at a meta, meso and micro level (Lemon and Salmons, 2021), and a balance between collaborative advantage and inertia. However, only a small proportion of LS publications discuss collaboration in depth and, while the matrix will support future research, more focus needs to be given to how collaboration functions within LS.
Originality/value
Through answering Robutti et al.'s (2016) question about what can be learnt from the existing LS research studies on collaboration, this paper builds on Mynott's (2019) outcome model by providing a detailed matrix of collaborative features that can be found in LS work. This matrix has applications beyond the paper for use by facilitators, leaders of LS, and researchers to explore their LS collaborations through improved understanding of collaboration.
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Lesson study (LS) research is disadvantaged by a lack of clarity surrounding the potential outcomes an LS cycle can produce for participant learning. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Lesson study (LS) research is disadvantaged by a lack of clarity surrounding the potential outcomes an LS cycle can produce for participant learning. The purpose of this paper is to set out a model of the potential outcomes an LS cycle can achieve. The model identifies the limitations that can occur in LS groups and how these limitations impact on the overall outcomes for participants.
Design/methodology/approach
Case studies are used to exemplify the different outcomes in the model taken from five years of LS work in a primary school in England. The case studies shape the four different outcomes of the model, defining and contextualising the attributes and characteristics of each outcome.
Findings
The model presented indicates that there are four key outcomes for LS cycles, with the most common outcome being a form of limited learning. The paper explores the limitations of time, collaboration and expertise to articulate how each of these limiting factors has a bearing on the overall outcome for an LS cycle.
Research limitations/implications
The model is currently based on a singular educational setting. This means that each outcome needs further exploration through wider LS work in order to clarify and refine the outcome model.
Practical implications
The outcome model will support the development of a shared vocabulary for discussing LS cycles. By articulating where on the outcome model an LS is, it is possible for researchers to discuss how to reduce the impact of limitations and other challenges to LS, enabling research to develop a more evaluation-led approach to using LS.
Originality/value
The outcome model supports LS researchers in articulating the outcomes of their LS cycles with a shared vocabulary. It addresses understudied areas of LS research, namely failed and dysfunctional LS cycles and identifies that while an LS can bring the potential for participant learning, the cycle outcomes are the starting point for participant change.
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Sarah Leakey and John Paul Mynott
Translating lesson study (LS) into a new country comes with implementation challenges. Scotland is no exception to this. We explore how researchers have adapted and developed…
Abstract
Purpose
Translating lesson study (LS) into a new country comes with implementation challenges. Scotland is no exception to this. We explore how researchers have adapted and developed parts of the LS cycle to enhance collaborative advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
We present two LS cases: one exploring English lessons with 7–8-year-olds and the second exploring fractions with 8–9-year-olds. Both cases were mapped against an LS conceptual model. The cases were analysed using collaborative advantage theory to identify elements that supported collaboration or caused collaborative inertia.
Findings
Collaborations are impacted by input factors, such as planning and feedback tools, which influence the development of processes and emergent states. Shared cognition emerged as a dominant theme influencing collaborative advantage in LS and was related to the development of shared mental models, joint endeavour and psychological safety. It is hypothesised that additional adaptations, such as a mock lesson, may minimise collaborative inertia by revealing hidden differences in team members' interpretation of meaning.
Originality/value
A novel approach to combining collaborative advantage theory with advances in the conceptualisation of LS offers new insights into the features and complexities of collaboration within LS in Scotland.
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John Paul Mynott and Michaela Zimmatore
Productive friction (Ward et al., 2011) can exist as pracademics cross between boundaries of their different identities. Through an exploration of the self-perception of two…
Abstract
Purpose
Productive friction (Ward et al., 2011) can exist as pracademics cross between boundaries of their different identities. Through an exploration of the self-perception of two collaborating pracademics, this paper will consider that organisational and occupational (Evetts, 2009) elements exist that generate professional friction for pracademics.
Design/methodology/approach
Using two consecutive Lesson Study cycles as a boundary object, the authors will consider their pracademic identity through a spatial approach. Their perceptions are expressed through semi-structured qualitative interviews and subsequent thematic analysis. This analysis is then explored through Engeström's (2001) learning stages to consider how pracademics interact within the contradictions of their identities and within their context and their work.
Findings
Time, purpose, integration and collaboration are all elements that impact on pracademic identities. For each one of these themes, pracademics both experience friction and find resolutions. As these themes vary, there are also moments of unresolved friction, where the pracademics maintain their work based on their enthusiasm alone. Constraints on time and the visibility of pracademic emerge. Exploring these pressure points and their resolutions is key to understanding how pracademics can be further supported by other professionals.
Originality/value
While it is not possible to draw large conclusions from the experiences and perceptions of two primary-school-based pracademics, their experiences and understanding of contextual pressure points may facilitate the support of other pracademics and resonant with their experiences, particularly if they are using Lesson Study.
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Focuses on the year 2000, reviewing the periodical literature of information and library services management, and of the relevant literature from the field of management in…
Abstract
Focuses on the year 2000, reviewing the periodical literature of information and library services management, and of the relevant literature from the field of management in general. Notes the themes of major conferences in the field of information and library services management, and of reference tools for library managers.
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Badr Haque and Kulwant S. Pawar
Organisational issues present the main barriers to the implementation of concurrent engineering (CE) to new product development (NPD) processes in manufacturing organisations…
Abstract
Organisational issues present the main barriers to the implementation of concurrent engineering (CE) to new product development (NPD) processes in manufacturing organisations. Both research and practice have demonstrated that companies that invest in improving organisational development issues fare better than those that rely purely on tools and technology alone. The key issues are improving cross‐functional integration and developing social mechanisms that facilitate a collaborative environment. Organisational analysis represents the first step an organisation can take in order to improvement its effectiveness. Organisational analysis techniques have been a field of study for many years, resulting in the development of a number of different methodologies ranging from purely mathematical models of analysis to heuristic models using simulation. This paper presents a methodology that draws upon traditional organisational theory and combines it with the more recent business process re‐engineering approaches for the analysis of organisational issues in a CE environment. The methodology is based on the hierarchical modelling and analysis of the business process. A detailed case study of its application in industry is presented. The paper concludes by summarising the key features of the methodology and issues emerging from its implementation.