Practicing lesson study with efl teachers: A social constructivist perspective for efl teacher professional development

There is an extensive agreement upon the idea that the professional development process based upon actual classroom practice is a highly powerful means of fostering effective teachers (Lieberman, 1996). However, the issue of how to design types of learning experiences for teachers which focus upon teachers in accordance with their classroom practice (Ball, 1996), and how to provide powerful ways for teachers to examine, discuss, and learn from their daily classroom work (Fernandez, 2002) has not been clarified. In this respect, Lesson Study, a well-established Japanese approach to examining classroom practice (Fernandez, 2002), has gained widespread popularity among educational contexts due to the fact that it holds great promise as a form of professional development. Based upon collegiality among teachers, reflection and actual classroom practice, Lesson Study promotes teacher learning and development by making teachers examine a student learning issue collaboratively; and then develop, implement and reflect critically on novel solutions to the issue by means of a research lesson taught to their students (Tasker, 2014). The present study aims to provide insights into how teachers' beliefs about the qualities of effective teachers are shaped when they take part in Lesson Study practice as a teacher-led, collaborative professional development activity and how teacher learning is structured through the social context and collaboration between colleagues, how that learning leads to perceptual changes in teachers' views of themselves and in their views of Lesson Study model, and lastly how Lesson Study practice contributes to professional development of teachers. To achieve the research aims, the study was carried out for twenty weeks with five EFL teachers working at a School of Foreign Languages. The present study adopted qualitative research methodology and utilized from the qualitative data collection means in accordance with the research aims. The data collection instruments involve interviews with participant teachers (pre- and post), interview with the teacher trainer, teachers' reflective journal entries, field notes of the researcher, video recordings of the teacher workshops, video recordings of the research lessons, rep-grids (pre-and post), research lesson plan, minute papers from the participant students, and finally the lesson observation forms. The participant teachers' pre- and post- repertory grids were analysed through Rep Grid 5 PC-Compatible Computer Program. FOCUS and EXCHANGE analysis program of Rep-Grid Computer Program package were utilized specifically to illustrate the constructs obtained from the teachers. On the other hand, the data obtained through interviews (i.e. pre-, post-, follow-up interviews) were analysed by means of content analysis. The results from repertory grids reveal that the EFL teachers in the study context do not experience a great deal of change in their beliefs regarding the qualities of effective language teachers as a result of practicing Lesson Study model. Nevertheless, they can be claimed to step in the process of change since they are observed to cite constructs related to Teacher-Student relationships and add new constructs under the category of Professionalism in comparison to the constructs which are cited mostly under the category of Personal Qualities at the beginning of the study. Considering the changes in teachers' perceptions of Lesson Study model after practicing it in their own context, it is realized that the teachers had a positive attitude towards LS practice both at the beginning and at the end of the study. Despite the fact that the teachers had some concerns at the beginning of the study and they experienced such a practice for the first time, the practice is observed to meet their expectations; lead to improvements in teachers' knowledge, teaching practices and perspectives; benefit teachers in terms of personal and professional development; and lastly fostered students' enthusiasm and desire to participate actively in learning process. As for the effects of practicing Lesson Study model from teachers, students and the researcher's perspectives, the results indicate that the teachers benefitted from the practice in various aspects such as personal and professional growth, improvements in teachers' knowledge and teaching practices, an increase in teachers' confidence towards themselves, their students, and their teaching abilities, and development of positive attitude towards professional development, students, and teaching profession. Besides, the improvements and changes experienced during the process seem to affect the students in terms of fostering their self-confidence, triggering collaboration with peers, and encouraging active participation in the learning process. Key words: Professional development, lesson study, EFL teachers, repertory-grid, perceptions, teacher learning