This document provides guidance for planning and analyzing effective mathematics lessons using the lesson study approach. It outlines key elements to consider when planning a lesson, including clear learning objectives, linking the content to the curriculum, providing meaningful tasks for students, anticipating difficulties, and assessing student understanding. After teaching the lesson, teachers should analyze whether the objectives were achieved, if the tasks were appropriately challenging, how teacher questioning supported learning, and how the lesson could be improved. The document also references additional resources on facilitating lesson study groups and examples of applying this process.

1. Analyzing Mathematics Lessons in
Lesson Study
Erlina R Ronda
erlinaronda@gmail.com
UPNISMED

2. Planning and Implementing Effective
Lessons
Lesson Study at Sta Lucia High School
(2010)
E.Ronda UPNISMED

3. 1. Set clear objectives that enhance
students’ learning
Not good:
Students will find the area of an L-shape polygon
Better:
Students will find the area of an L-shape polygon
using their knowledge for calculating the area of
rectangles and squares
Best:
Students will understand that they can find the
area of an L-shape polygon by changing it into
familiar ones
E.Ronda UPNISMED

4. 2. Link the lesson content to the
curriculum, the unit, prior lesson, and
future lessons
 What have my students studied previously that is
related to this topic?
 What will my students study in the future that will
build upon this topic?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

5. Example of links in the lesson Finding the area
of an L-shape figure
 Connection to prior knowledge about area of
squares and rectangles
 The area of a figure is equal to the sum of the area
of its parts
 Cutting and rearranging pieces of figure does not
change the area
These ideas are the foundation for approaching the area of
parallelograms, triangles and area of compound figures that students will
study later.
E.Ronda UPNISMED

6. 3. Provide meaningful tasks or
problems
 It must be accessible to students with their
current understanding
 It must have multiple entry points and multiple
solution paths
 It should capture students attention
 It must be meaningful to them (not necessarily
real-world problems)
 Students can generate their own questions from
the task.
E.Ronda UPNISMED

7. 4. Anticipate and plan for students’
difficulties
 The purpose is not always to avoid the
challenges.
 Explicit discussion of particular challenges may
be beneficial to students
 Having multiple contingency plans will allow
teachers to deal with those challenges more
effectively.
E.Ronda UPNISMED

8. 5. Provide necessary materials and
technology for all students to access
the task
 Plan for what materials to provide and when to
provide it.
 How will it generate and facilitate students
discussion in small groups, in the whole class?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

9. Key questions to support learning
 Questions that should help students reflect,
evaluate, and summarize their learning
 Questions that ask students to recall and connect
to prior experiences that may connect to the
current task to initiate thinking
 Questions that ask students to compare and
contrast various ideas that would deepen thinking
E.Ronda UPNISMED

10. 6. Group students to provide
opportunities for them to express
ideas
 Learning can be hindered by inappropriate
grouping of students
 Balance the students’ need to think and solve
independently and their need to exchange ideas
E.Ronda UPNISMED

11. 7. Identify additional tasks/problems
to help students solidify and extend
their understanding
E.Ronda UPNISMED

12. 8. Assess students’ understanding
 How will the students problem solving be different
if they have not been taught this lesson?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

13. Analyzing and revising the
lesson
Lesson Study at Ligao National High School
(2011)
E.Ronda UPNISMED

14. Attainment of objectives
 Did the students see the connection between the
topic that students previously learned and the one
they learned during the class?
 What seems to prompt students to make this
connection?
 What changes might promote students to make
connections more effectively?
 Did the lesson activities encourage students to learn
continuously after the lesson
 Did the students understand how and why the topic is
important?
 Did the students accomplish the learning obejectives?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

15. Learning tasks and materials
 Was the degree of challenge appropriate for the
students at the time?
 If not, what seems to be missing?
 Was there any unanticipated response?
 Did the lesson provide opportunities for students to
express math ideas and thinking process in individual
writing and the class/group discussion
 Did the lesson incorporate use of visualization and
communication tools that include board writing?
 Did the lesson provide students to extend/secure their
knowledge/understanding/skills (extension problems
and/or exercises during the lesson outside the class)?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

16. Teacher questioning and support for
students learning
 Did the teacher’s questions and guidance
enhance students learning?
 Which questions seem to enhance students’
learning?
 Did teacher provide appropriate support for
students to overcome misconceptions and
misunderstanding? What was the misconception
and was support promoted overcoming it?
 Was grouping (individual, pairs, small groups,
whole class) used appropriately to maximize
students learning?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

17. Effective integration of assessment
 Did the teacher use formative assessments to
make decisions to modify/adjust the plan to
maximize students learning?
 Were the methods for evaluation appropriate?
E.Ronda UPNISMED

18. Reference: Guide for Planning and
Analyzing Mathematics Lessons in
Lesson Study published by APEC
More pages on Lesson Study
1. What is Lesson Study?
2. Lesson Study Readings
3. How to facilitate a lesson study group
4. Lesson study on teaching subtraction of
integers
E.Ronda UPNISMED