Physics+Lesson+in+Energy+Transfers

=**Physics Lesson in Energy Transfers - Learning to Collect Focused Student Evidence**=

__Introduction to our Lesson Study:__
Beginning in the summer of 2005, we began our lesson study by simply stating that we would be focusing on “Energy”. After some discussion we narrowed the focus to energy transfers with a focus on conservative energy transfers. This eventually morphed into gravitational and elastic energy transfers in particular. The lesson study began by delving into the beginning of a typical Modeling energy unit. We focused primarily on Hooke’s Law and **how to better elicit understanding from the students** in terms of stored energy in a spring using graphical models and in turn deriving mathematical models:

F = kx and Eel = ½ kx^2

In the summer of 2006, we focused our goals in terms of **looking for and helping students uncover their own misconceptions regarding energy** in terms of springs in particular. We focused on how to ask questions properly, and **how we evaluate their understanding**. By the summer of 2008 we realized that we __gathered unnecessary evidence and could not see student understanding__. We decided to focus our evidence to more specific pieces and at this point entirely reformatted our lesson. This is when the lesson study changed into a broader umbrella of the unit. Our lesson study became a problem based learning lab which included three main days throughout the unit. To fully understand this process we have provided the following links:

**__Links to our documents:__**
Details of our lesson study Worksheets: 1) Egg Drop Project Worksheet 2) Bear Video Worksheet

If you are curious: 1) Original plan for our lesson study 2) Final Documentation for Lesson Study

**What we learned from our Lesson Study:**
** During this process we learned some valuable lessons. After three years of gathering data through video, student work, student assessments, and anecdotal evidence we had our first of many epiphanies. **


 * Data gathered during a lesson study needs to be consistent between members and concise so as to allow for deeper analysis of student learning


 * Lesson study needs to be focused but not limited in scope.


 * Lesson study should avoid lessons that are "hoop-jumping" for students


 * Lesson study should include lessons that allow students to show their knowledge through open-ended questions, projects, or writing

In our fourth year we were able to fully implement these lessons and had more focused evidence which allowed us to have better analysis of student work and understanding.

We used the ideas that we learned, bulleted above, to hone in on three specific discussion questions,shared through video and specific student work that documents their progress throughout the unit.

1) with very focused and similar evidence, we can compare the learning occurring in different classrooms. 2) by sharing intentionally small, but vital, peices of evidence, we are able to focus our conversation on how we know what our students know. We can use the student work to support these conversations. 3) by focusing on student learning around a single concept we can inform our teaching practice for other ideas and the bigger picture
 * From this work we realized:**

**__Personal reflection:__**
The entire process of lesson study was overwhelming at first, and then just became more overwhelming as time went on. This is actually a good thing. Lesson study in and of itself helped me realize how hard teaching is and how in depth one must go to be an effective teacher.

Lesson Study forced me to reflect on my own teaching while learning from Mary Lee’s teaching style as well. Teaching can be such an isolating job. Lesson study was one way in which I always felt connected to another teacher, even if she was on the other side of the country. In collaborating with someone else, I had another pair of eyes on my own teaching. This helped me re-think certain ways I teach or informed me that my practice was effective and to continue in that mode.

Lesson study also helped me focus. Teaching is overwhelming as it is and in taking the time to focus on one aspect of my classroom and one unit of my year, I was allowed to just think about how or why I did something in that lesson. This focus spilled out into all of my lessons without me even being completely aware of the overlap. The focus is one of my favorite parts of lesson study.

If you have any questions for me, feel free to e-mail me! jeaninegrey@hotmail.com

 By going through the process of lesson study, I learned how to focus collection of evidence and build an argument for student learning or lack thereof based on the student work and video. This focused analysis of what students are thinking and learning has changed my outlook on designing lessons, teaching method, and assessment. This tool has helped me look deeply at my teaching and prepared me for many of the requirements of endeavors I have pursued. This work has also effected the way I plan other lessons and look for student understanding of other concepts in my everyday teaching. The most powerful aspect of lesson study has been the conversations with my lesson study partner, Jeanine, the resource teachers, and then also with other physics teachers I work with due to this work.

If you would like to know more or have questions about anything we have put here please email me at mcjimsey@gmail.com