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Abstract:
Purpose
Many Taiwanese teachers have begun implementing the activities of collaborative lesson preparation, open classroom
observation, and discussion on completed lessons, according to teacher collaborative practices in foreign schools. The
perceptions on the purposes of and concerns about these activities as well as their effectiveness in the professional
development of teachers warrant investigation. Therefore, this study compared Taiwanese teachers experienced in
collaborative lesson study and their inexperienced counterparts.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted to collect data from 2,374 secondary school teachers from 21 regions by using stratified random
cluster sampling. Of these teachers, 753 were experienced in collaborative lesson study, 741 were inexperienced, and the
remaining teachers were partly experienced. The independent-samples t test and Friedman rank analysis were used to
compare the ranking of various variables between the experienced and inexperienced teachers.
Findings
Significant differences were observed between the study groups in the perceptions on the purposes of and concerns
about collaborative activities and the effectiveness in professional development. Friedman rank analysis of the
experienced teachers revealed identical rankings on the purposes of collaborative activities, namely professional ability,
subject matter knowledge, and students’ learning effectiveness. However, students’ learning effectiveness was less
considered by inexperienced teachers in collaborative activities. Moreover, regardless of whether collaborative activities
were implemented, the teachers were more concerned about instructional strategies than subject matter and learner
abilities when collaborating.
Originality/value
Previously in Taiwan, classroom teaching demonstration was considered an administrative affair, in which the focus was
often on the demonstrating teachers’ behaviors rather than students’ learning performance. The present findings provide
a more comprehensive outlook on the experiences of Taiwanese secondary school teachers in collaborative lesson
preparation, open classroom observation, and discussion on completed lessons, thus enabling further improvements
in teacher collaborations for professional development.
Author:
Author Description:
Professor, Center for Teacher Education, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, Taiwan.
Keywords:
APA:
Liu, S.-H. (2017). Perceptions on the Purposes of and Concerns About Collaborative Lesson Study in the Professional Development of Taiwanese Secondary School Teachers. Contemporary Educational Research Quarterly, 25(2), 43-76.
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