Abstract:

This paper reports on how lesson study was used in teacher preparation courses to create a safe space for elementary teachers to experiment with the integration of computational thinking with mathematics instruction. This study is part of a broader research aiming to explore how a graduate program in childhood mathematics education in NYC is responding to the national and state standards for integrating computational thinking and computing in K-12 education.

The Lesson Study cycle is a collaborative professional development model that originated from Japan and has been implemented in various countries worldwide. The cycle involves a small group of teachers who work together to plan, observe, and reflect on lessons in order to improve student learning. The cycle consists of four stages: Study, Plan, Teach, and Reflect (Lewis et al., 2019).

We report here on how a group of teachers conducted a lesson study focusing on the integration of computational thinking in elementary mathematics. They selected the following research theme to guide their inquiry: How can students become independent learners and be able to solve real-world word problems through inquiry using computational thinking? After studying the topic and co-planning the unit, one teacher volunteered to teach the lesson to fourth graders while the others observed. The team debriefed and reflected on how to improve the lesson. They collected feedback from the fourth graders about their computational thinking experience and concluded with an overall reflection and presentation about the whole teaching experiment in which they attempted to integrate computational thinking while teaching elementary multiplication and word problems.

Video and audio data were analyzed by determining critical events (Powell et al., 2003) that revealed how the modified Lesson Study activities facilitated the teachers' integration of computational thinking in elementary mathematics. These events were then transcribed. Transcriptions and reflection journals were coded. In line with methods from grounded theory, the transcripts and journal data were sorted, resorted, and analyzed, moving from descriptive information to constructing explanatory schemes. We will present examples of artifacts generated during the lesson study and share our results. Based on the findings, we will discuss ideas and examples of how teacher educators can utilize the lesson study process to promote the integration of computational thinking in K-12 instruction.

Keywords:

Elementary Mathematics Education, Computational Thinking, Strategic Use of Technology, Teacher Preparation, Lesson Study.