Over 300 teachers, school administrators, educators, and research students from all over the country attended the first national convention on lesson study in the Philippines on 11-12 April 2019 at the UP NISMED auditorium. UP NISMED co-hosted the convention with the Philippine Association of Lesson and Learning Studies, Inc. (PALS), a non-profit association of stakeholders in education. In its effort to promote and develop lesson study not only for teachers of science and mathematics but for those of other subject areas as well, UP NISMED, together with some educators from other schools and colleges, organized PALS in 2014.
With the theme “Lesson Study: Collaboratively Improving Practice One Lesson at a Time,” the convention provided a forum for participants to share their Lesson Study (LS) experiences and outputs and to learn from those of others. The event also sought to inspire more teachers and schools to conduct LS, to publish their research lessons to contribute to the country’s teaching and learning resources, and to encourage research on LS that is adaptive and responsive to Philippine school settings.
The convention featured plenary talks, symposia, panel discussions, and poster presentations. Dr. Christine Kim-Eng Lee of the National Institute of Education in Singapore and Immediate Past President of WALS gave the keynote address titled “Moving Beyond the Surface Features of Lesson Studies: The Experience of Singapore Schools.” Dr. Masami Isoda of the University of Tsukuba, who also serves as adviser to PALS, gave the talk “School Curriculum Management for the Establishment of Learning Community on SEAMEO Curriculum and Teacher Standards.”
Dr. Manabu Sumida of Ehime University spoke about collaborating in LS beyond the classroom and presented a web-based app that he developed which enables collaborative analysis of video lessons. Dr. Wataru Hanai of Fukui University spoke about reflective LS and professional learning communities. Dr. Arif Hidayat of Indonesia University of Education shared LS experiences and classroom teaching research in Indonesia. Dr. Dory Salubayba and Dr. Marlon Ebaeguin of the University of the Philippines encouraged the conduct of local research during their talks on action research and design-based research approach, respectively.
The three symposia organized by local researchers, educators, and teachers focused on the following topics: Lesson Study as vehicle for teacher leadership development in the public schools; Fostering collaborative professionalism; and From tensions to institutionalization: Lesson Study in higher education institutions. The eight poster presentations provided participants with a glimpse of LS activities around the country.
The convention is an initial undertaking of PALS. Plans are now underway for the second convention. It will be held in Quirino Province in the summer of next year.
