Lesson study: an inter-professional approach for Educational Psychologists to improve teaching and learning

Abstract

Educational psychologists’ (EP) involvement in collaborative problem solving to support teachers has mainly focussed on social behaviour with leading roles for outside professionals. This paper describes an innovative use of lesson study (LS), an internationally used collaborative approach in which teachers develop their teaching knowledge and practices. This study aimed to evaluate how EPs join teachers in LS teams using working memory and other knowledge to inform the teaching of pupils with learning difficulties. The study uses a case study methodology to evaluate LS teams (3 teachers and EP) in a primary, secondary and special school. The findings show how working memory knowledge is used in reviewing and planning research lessons, how the teams interact, including the perceived EP contribution to the lesson study process. The paper illustrates the potential of an inter-professional LS study to embody collaborative reflective practice to improve the teaching of pupils with learning difficulties.