The Nueva School's Innovative Learning Conference

This session is a part of the Spotlight Wednesday at Hillcrest Elementary School in San Francisco and will be based on the live research lesson with Hillcrest students immediately prior to this session.

When I was a novice teacher, I observed research lessons with experienced teachers. I worked so hard to observe the lessons carefully, but when experienced teachers shared their observations during the post-lesson discussions, I was always shocked. I had been in the same classroom, at the same time, with the same conditions. But how much those educators could see! I had never realized. It’s so important to develop one’s eye and hone the power of observation. 
— Dr. Akihko Takahashi, Associate Professor of Elementary Mathematics, DePaul University, Chicago, IL

Within the Lesson Study protocol, we reserve time at the end of the post-lesson discussion for a knowledgeable other. Today, Dr. Harold Asturias, will provide his reflection on the research lesson as it unfolded before us. The role of knowledgeable other has many aspects, including how to model the careful observation of students. The responsibility includes carefully building upon the post-lesson discussion to address the goals of the planning team, referencing relevant research and curriculum, and helping the teacher move to a new level of understanding in their inquiry. Expect to leave the Wednesday event energized about mathematics teaching and learning and observing your students in new ways!

Dr. Asturias' talk will lead participants to understand the lesson through the lens of the five dimensions of the Teaching for Robust Understanding framework (TRU), developed by Alan Schoenfled, UC Berkeley, and implemented in the Oakland Unified School District Lesson Study project, among others.

TRU is a framework for characterizing powerful learning environments in crisp and actionable ways. It provides a research-based response to the question “What are the attributes of equitable and robust learning environments — environments in which all students are supported in becoming knowledgeable, flexible, and resourceful disciplinary thinkers?”