Luận văn thạc sĩ an investigation into the usage of english teacher professional development through lesson study in lower secondary schools in thai nguyen city

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN BAO NGOC AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USAGE OF ENGLISH TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH LESSON STUDY IN LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THAI NGUYEN CITY (Đánh giá việc sử dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu học phát triển nghề nghiệp giáo viên Tiếng Anh trường THCS thuộc TP Thái Nguyên) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN - 2019 Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN BAO NGOC AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USAGE OF ENGLISH TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH LESSON STUDY IN LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THAI NGUYEN CITY (Đánh giá việc sử dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu học phát triển nghề nghiệp giáo viên Tiếng Anh trường THCS thuộc TP Thái Nguyên) M.A THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION) Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Hong Minh Ph.D THAI NGUYEN – 2019 Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn DECLARATION I certify that this minor thesis entitled “An Investigation into the Usage of English Teacher Professional Development through Lesson Study in Lower Secondary Schools in Thai Nguyen City” is the study of my own research and the substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution Thai Nguyen, September 2019 Nguyen Bao Ngoc ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Nguyen Thi Hong Minh PhD for assisting me in the process of implementing this study This paper would not have Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn been completed without her constant support and encouragement Her patience and helpful criticism helped me confidently express my ideas into this paper I regard myself extremely fortunate in having her as my dissertation supervisor I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University for their valuable lectures which have helped to enrich my theorical knowledge as well as my practical skills Finally, I would also like to express my deep gratitude and love to my devoted parents and sisters who gave me time and encouraged me to complete this study Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Cơng nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn TABLE CONTENT DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i TABLE CONTENT iii LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS v LISTS OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS vi ABSTRACT viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Design of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Current trend of innovation of teaching methods 2.2 Professional Development (PD) 2.2.1 Definition 2.2.2 Types of Professional Development 2.2.3 The importance 2.3 Lesson study 2.3.1 Definitions 2.3.2 Lesson Study Cycle 2.3.3 Origin 10 2.3.4 Benefits 11 2.3.5 Objectives and methods of lesson study 15 2.3.6 Distinguish ‘Lesson study’ with current teacher training 19 2.4 Previous studies 22 2.5 Determine the value and results of professional development 25 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Research questions 27 3.2 Context of the study 27 3.3 Methods of the study 28 3.3.1 Quantitative method 28 Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn 3.3.2 Experimental method 28 3.4 Data collection instruments 29 3.4.1 Questionnaires 29 3.4.2 Tests 31 3.5 Procedures of data collection 33 3.6 Procedures of data analysis 38 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 39 I Findings 39 4.1 The reality of English teacher’s professional development activities in lower secondary schools in Thai Nguyen City 39 4.1.1 The importance of professional development 39 4.1.2 The professional development activities 40 4.2 The reality of using Lesson Study at lower secondary schools in Thai Nguyen City 43 4.3 Relationship between Lesson study and professional development 47 4.3.1 Results of the pre-test about teaching period 47 4.3.2 Results of the post-test about teaching period 49 4.3.3 The influence of Lesson study on teachers’ professional development 50 4.4 Results of the questionnaire about the teacher’s self-assessment in professional development 51 4.5 Difficulties in professional development activities 54 II Discussion of all findings 55 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 57 5.1 Conclusion 57 5.2 Recommendations 57 5.3 Limitations 59 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 60 APPENDIX A I APPENDIX B VII APPENDIX C VIII REFERENCES IX Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS PD : Professional development LS : Lesson study WALS : World Lesson Research Association UNICEF : United Nations Children's Fund VNEN : The Vietnam Escuela Nueva AFT : American Federation of Teachers CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference for Languages BA : Bachelor's degree Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Cơng nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn LISTS OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figure 1: Lesson Study Cycle (adapted from Baba (2007)) 10 Figure 2: Determine the value and results of professional development (Hayes – 2010) 26 Table 1: Contrast between lesson study and traditional 20 Table 2: A time frame for data collection procedure 34 Table 3: Workshop schedule 37 Table 4: Frequency of professional development activities 41 Table 5: Meaningfulness of professional development activities 42 Table 6: The teachers’ use of Lesson study 44 Table 7: Frequency of using lesson study 45 Table 8: Feedback of students in the lesson which using lesson study methods 46 Table 9: Results of the pre-test about teaching periods 47 Table 10: Results of the post-survey test about teaching periods 49 Table 11: Pair differences between pre-test and post-test 50 Table 12: Reliability of the pre-test and post-test results 51 Table 13: Results of the questionnaire about the teacher’s self-assessment in professional development 51 Chart 1: The importance of professional development 39 Chart 2: Professional development activities 40 Chart 3: The best definition of lesson study 44 Chart 4: Efficiency level of lesson study 46 Chart 5: The teacher’s difficulties in professional development activities 54 Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn ABSTRACT The study intends to exam the usage lesson study in teacher professional development among teachers in six lower secondary schools located in south center Thai Nguyen City To the end, 18 teachers of English in the mentioned schools were selected to participate in the study Initially, a survey was carried out to collect the data by introducing a questionnaire; next teachers were invited to a two -day workshop on lesson study knowledge and practicing this method After workshop, another questionnaire was conducted the second time for the changes and improvement in the teachers’ teaching The result of the two surveys were compared and analyzed, and the outcome of this process was the result of teachers' professional development before and after using lesson study in teaching The data showed the alteration in positive way of teacher professional development among teachers Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn 5.4 Suggestions for further studies Basing on the limitation mentioned in the previous part, there are some recommendations for researchers in the future The study should be conducted in a large scale in a various English teachers from primary to higher education level In addition, some more research instruments should be employed to reduce the subjective of the self-evaluation Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn APPENDIX A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For 18 teachers) Dear participants: This survey questionnaire is used to investigate the reality of English teacher’s professional development activities in lower secondary schools and using Lesson Study at lower secondary schools in Thai Nguyen City The survey is entirely anonymous The results will be presented in the form of collated data and will not contain any personal or institutional details This data may be used for publications, conferences, reports, etc Completion of this survey implies participant consent Thank you for your participation I General information - Name: ……………………………………….……………Gender: F / M - School: …………………………………… ……… Age: ……………… - Degree: …………………………………………… English level: ……… - How long have you worked as an English teacher? o Less than years o From to 10 years o More than 10 years II Teacher professional development How important is the professional development of teachers? Not important (1) Slightly important (2) Important (3) Fairly Very important (4) important (5) Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Did you participate in any of the following kinds of professional development activities, and how often of these activities on your development as a teacher? For each question below, please mark one choice in part (A) If you answer ‘Yes’ in part (A) then please mark one choice in part (B) to indicate how often it had upon your development as a teacher Participa Frequency (B) tion (A) Professional development activities Yes No Wee Month Per kly ly semester Courses/workshops (e.g on subject matter or methods and/or other education-related topics) Education conferences or seminars (where teachers and/or researchers present their research results and discuss educational problems) Qualification programme (e.g a degree programme) Observation visits to other schools Participation in a network of teachers formed specifically for the professional development of teachers Individual or collaborative research on a topic of interest to you professionally Mentoring and/or peer observation and coaching, as part of a formal school arrangement Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Yearly How is the meaning of professional development activities that you have been involved in? Meaningfulness Not Professional development Not at all very Somewhat Meani Very activities meaningf meani meaningful ngful meaning ul (1) ngful (3) (4) ful (5) (2) Courses/workshops Education conferences or seminars Qualification program me Observation visits to other schools Participation in a network of teachers formed specifically for the professional development of teachers Individual or collaborative research on a topic of interest to you professionally Mentoring and/or peer observation and coaching, as part of a formal school arrangement III Lesson study Have you ever used “Lesson study”? Yes No Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Cơng nghệ thơng tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn In your opinion, what is the best definition of lesson study? A In lesson study teachers work to plan, teach, observe, analyze, and define individual class lessons, called research lessons B In lesson study teachers work in small teams to plan, teach, observe, analyze, and define individual class lessons, called research lessons C In lesson study teachers work in pairs to plan, teach, observe, analyze, and define individual class lessons, called research lessons Number the stages in doing lesson study in your school?  Discussion  Planning  Observation  Meeting  Teaching How often you use Lesson Study in Teacher professional development? Weekly Monthly About month – month Once per year Other…………………………………… How is the efficiency level of lesson study that you have been used? Not useful (1) Slightly useful (2) Useful(3) Fairly useful Very useful (4) (5) Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Feedback of students in the lesson which using lesson study methods? Not Slightly interested interested (2) Interested(3) Fairly Very interested (4) interested(5) (1) What are the difficulties you face when developing your career? Difficulties Recommendations  Finance  Time  Health  Knowledge  Knowledge  Others…………………… Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Cơng nghệ thơng tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn APPENDIX B TEACHER’S SELF ASSESSMENT (For teachers) Worse No change Improved Much improved Very much improved IMPROVEMENT LEVEL Content Criteria 1.1 The relevance of the learning sequence with the objectives, content and teaching methods used Plan (lesson plan) and teaching materials 1.2 The relevance of clarity of the goals, content, organization and products to be achieved for each learning task 1.3 The relevance of teaching equipment and learning materials is used to organize student learning activities 1.4 The reasonableness of the inspection and assessment plan in the process of organizing students' learning activities 2.1 Methods and forms of transferring learning tasks 2.2 Ability to monitor, observe and timely detect Organize difficulties of students learning 2.3 The relevance and effectiveness of the measures to activities support and encourage students to cooperate and help each for students other when performing learning tasks 2.4 Ability to synthesize, analyze, evaluate student performance and discussion process Student activities 3.1 Ability to receive and be ready to perform the learning tasks of all students in the class 3.2 Positive, proactive, creative, cooperative activities of students in implementing learning tasks Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Level 3.3 Students' ability to actively participate in presenting, exchanging and discussing the results of implementing learning tasks 3.4 The correctness, accuracy and relevance of the results of implementing students' learning tasks APPENDIX C Lower secondary schools teaching lesson evaluation guide Evaluation criteria for teaching lesson Content Plan (lesson plan) and teaching materials (20 points) Organize learning activities for students (35 points) Student activities (45 points) Criteria Points The relevance of the learning sequence with the objectives, content and teaching methods used The relevance of clarity of the goals, content, organization and products to be achieved for each learning task The relevance of teaching equipment and learning materials is used to organize student learning activities The reasonableness of the inspection and assessment plan in the process of organizing students' learning activities Methods and forms of transferring learning tasks 10 Ability to monitor, observe and timely detect difficulties of students 10 The relevance and effectiveness of the measures to support and encourage students to cooperate and help each other when performing learning tasks Ability to synthesize, analyze, evaluate student performance and discussion process 10 Ability to receive and be ready to perform the learning tasks of all students in the class Positive, proactive, creative, cooperative activities of students in implementing learning tasks 15 Students' ability to actively participate in presenting, exchanging and discussing the results of implementing learning tasks 15 The correctness, accuracy and relevance of the results of implementing students' learning tasks 10 Số hóa Trung tâm Học liệu Công nghệ thông tin – ĐHTN http://lrc.tnu.edu.vn Total score 100 Ranking teaching lesson + Very good: from 80 points to 100 points; + Good: from 65 points to less than 80 points; + Average: from 50 points to under 65 points; + Weak: less than 50 points REFERENCES A.Takahashi et al (2006) Deloping good mathematics practice through lesson study: A U.S perspective APEC-Tsukuba International Conference Japan Baba, T (2007) is Lesson Study Implemented? 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