Barking and Dagenham LSEF Project

A group of nine schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is using Lesson Study in a project aimed at improving mathematics education over transition from KS2 to KS3.  Co-funded by the host LA and the London Schools Excellence Fund, itself funded by the DfE and supported by the Mayor of London, the High Challenge for High Achievement project brings together primary and secondary teachers and external experts to work in clusters.  Over the next two years, these clusters will collaboratively plan and host a series of Research Lessons with a focus on mathematical problem solving.   This project seeks to improve and sustainably embed teachers’ understanding of the pedagogy, curriculum and expectations of students in mathematics across both the primary and secondary phase, to improve student progression in mathematics across transition.

The project builds on the successful Bowland Lesson Study project in 2012/13, and it is hoped and anticipated that the project will again be able to welcome visitors from Tokyo Gakugei University’s IMPULS team [Improving Mathteacher Professionalization through the use of Lesson Study].  It will also be associated with the University of Nottingham LeMaPS project [Lessons for Mathematical Problem Solving], which is researching the sustainability and scaleability of new models of partnerships that support professional learning in school mathematics with the involvement of Higher Education.

Research Lessons will be taking place in Barking and Dagenham schools after half-term in Summer and Autumn term 2014 and Spring term 2015.  Anyone interested in participating in this project is invited to contact Matt Lewis at matt.lewis@lbbd.gov.uk .