II.

Issues in Defining a Learning Goal

1. What factors need to be considered during
the selection of the student learning goal?

II. Issues in Defining a Learning Goal

2. What role should the California Content
Standards play in the selection of the learning
goal?

II. Issues in Defining a Learning Goal

3. What role should existing curriculum (and
its perceived strengths or weaknesses) play in
the selection of the learning goal?

IV. Incorporating Inquiry into Lesson Design

In an inquiry-based lesson, students are guided
through a process in which they each must
construct meaning.
Inquiry lessons often begin by having the students
evaluate their current understanding of a topic.
Students then have the opportunity to test and
experiment with their current ideas, carefully guided
by the teacher. The experimentation, if set-up
correctly, will often cause the students to re-evaluate
their understanding of a concept. After reflecting on
the experience, the students elaborate on how their
understanding has changed.
The goal of inquiry is to create a situation where
the students can explain the concepts to the
teacher, not for the teacher to simply give the
concepts to the student.
At the conclusion of this process, the students often
desperately want to know the correct or scientific
answer, and only at this point of cognitive
engagement would it be appropriate to explain the
scientific viewpoint.

V. Conclusion: The Potential for Superficial Lesson Study

There is a potential that lesson study could be

conducted at an entirely superficial level if:
1. Lesson study teams do not address the types
of deep questions we have discussed today.
2. Lesson study teams become distracted from a
single lesson and instead begin to develop whole
units of study.
To prevent superficial lesson study, the facilitator of
the lesson study team needs to fully understand the
deep nature of lesson study, and needs to constantly
push the lesson study team towards the deeper
questions.
The team itself needs to fully understand the goals of
the lesson study process before agreeing to
participate on a lesson study team.

Lesson study will only be successful, both in the short

term and in the long term, if it is conducted by
participants with the following qualities:
1. Willing teachers who have volunteered to
participate.
2. Reflective teachers willing to question and change
their teaching practices.
3. Teachers focused on improving student
understanding.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Rich Hedman
RHedman@natomas.k12.ca.us
Cristina McFadden
CMcFadden@natomas.k12.ca.us
Erik Nemer
ENemer@natomas.k12.ca.us