## **Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR)** Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity Number 1183454 **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** **FOR THE PERIOD ENDING AUGUST 2021** The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the period starting 1[st] September 2020 and ending 31 August 2021. ## **I. Objectives and Activities** CLR’s ultimate objective is to improve student learning through school-based action research into classroom teaching and subject knowledge. More specifically, our aim is to promote: (a) practical knowledge about how best to teach, how to build curricular coherence, and how to produce better textbooks; (b) professional development of teachers; (c) professional networks and communication channels through which new teaching-related knowledge can be shared. This is to be achieved through the implementation of a form of Japanese lesson study, adapted to the UK environment. We also strive to inform and influence the wider public and policy makers about teaching and learning processes with a view to improving the educational context. Our activity reported in this annual report has been severely affected by the ongoing Covid19 pandemic which has persisted during the entire period and been particularly disruptive in schools and badly affected our potential to work with teachers in pursuit of lesson study in schools. Consequently, most activity in this period has taken place online. To this end we worked closely with the CLR group led by Dr. Akihiko Takahashi in Chicago and colleagues working as IMPULS at Tokyo Gakugei University. This included facilitating online discussion groups of our growing online UK community. In shaping the objectives and planning our activities, the Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. Events that took place in this period included 1. **Online events for professional development and knowledge exchange.** Activities to share knowledge and information about Lesson Study and how to improve teaching and learning, targeting teachers and educators at large, but open to anyone with an interest. These events built on workshops that CLR had working with Akihiko Takahashi of CLR – USA about the role of the Koshi – or knowledgeable other – that had been held in late July 2021. In consultation with IMPULS and CLR – USA, CLR developed an online model of lesson study and held four courses over the period of 12 months with the first two of these taking place in this reporting period and the last two of these in the next reporting period. These were preceded by two online lesson study events that IMPULS developed with educators in Australia. In September 2020 IMPULS orchestrated the first of these CLR 1 arranged a pre-meeting amongst UK participants in these two events, which established an online CLR ‘discussion group’ and learning community. These were followed up by CLR with meetings with Professor Fujii of Tokyo Gakugei University and Akihiko Takahashi of CLR – USA which helped key members of CLR discuss new modes of working and learning as well as curriculum matters at a deeper level. CLR members of the online community then participated in IMPULS’s first online sessions working with teachers in Kenya. This transpired to be a key step for implementation of the first IMPULS/CLR online session in Spring 2021 (April 26[th] – 30[th] ), and our being invited to take active part - e.g. with Wake and Hatakenaka participating as observer/lecturers. The second such ‘course’ took place June 28[th] – July 2[nd] 2021. Important in support of these events has been the role of the UK CLR group in hosting daily sessions for UK (and South African) participants to follow up the online lesson study sessions hosted by the IMPULS group in Japan. 2. The Nuffield funded project _Lessons for Mathematical Problem Solving_ (LeMaps) formally reported outcomes in March 2021. This was hosted by the University of Nottingham team online and included contributions from IMPULS (Prof Keiichi Nishimura), CLR – USA (Dr. Akihiko Takhashi), the National centre for Excellence in Mathematics Teacher (Director, Charlie Stripp), as well as Chair of the World Alliance of Learning and Lesson Study (Dr. Pete Dudley). This was a well-attended event with over 100 participants and helped establish CLR as a key stakeholder in lesson study and teacher collaborative learning in the UK. 3. In January 2021 we submitted a bid to obtain funding to the Sasakawa Foundation to partly facilitate a project to showcase Japanese Lesson Study conducted by Japanese teachers in the UK. The project was to comprise of a short visit (2 working days over 3 nights) by three Japanese teachers from Tsukuba University Primary School to the UK between 13th and 16th October, 2021. (Tsukuba University Primary School is one of the leading ‘model’ schools i n Japan, well known for their innovative lesson design and their role in professional development of Japanese primary teachers, both of which are based on Japanese Lesson Study. Tsukuba teachers play a key role leading Japanese primary schools i n this practice through their open Research Lessons, and often assist other schools as advisors and commentators). Although our bid for funding was successful the visit did not go ahead due to Covid restrictions. We now seek to host this event one year later in October 2022. 4. In June / July 2021 CLR hosted two activities that were more directly involved with lesson study in school: - (i) Lesson study was carried out supported by CLR at Cambridge University Primary School (with Trustee Mike Askew and Strategy Group member Luke Rolls). This was to have been viewed/ shared with teachers and educators from Shanghai, China but again Covid-19 intervened. - (ii) Lesson study work that had been carried out by teachers working with a member of our Strategy Group (Bob Sawyer) in the Sheffield area was shared widely with CLR members via online meetings. These events have been very influential in informing alternative modes of CLR working to inform the future work of CLR particularly at a time when working directly in schools with teachers was impossible. Covid-19 impacted substantially on all school-based and other educational activity throughout the entire reporting period. 2 ## **II. Organisational development** Organisational development was again an important focus for CLR during this period of operation. We continued to consider strategic directions to ensure the effective participation of volunteers in shaping the organisational work. **Strategy Group** (SG) our executive advisory group comprises 5 Trustees with up to 10 additional members. There has been some change in membership of the SG and they continue to (a) help shape our charity’s vision, (b) commit time and energy to advise on the future direction of CLR, and (c) take on key roles to plan and organise activities/events as and when appropriate. **Development Group** (DG) work has been somewhat curtailed because of our inability to work directly with schools. (Our aim is to develop good Lesson Study practices fit for the UK environment, with a view to developing geographical clusters to support the development of communities of good practice.) ## **III. Financial review (financial year ends 31[st] August)** **Balance as at September 1[st] 2020 £10 724.38 Balance as at August 31[st] 2021 £9909.88** **Income for the period September 1[st] 2020 – August 31[st] 2021** **Total £0** ## **Expenditure for the period 1[St] September 2020 – August 31[st] 2021** |Public events for professional development and knowledge exchange|£814.50| |---|---| |**TOTAL**|**£814.50**| ## **V. Structure, governance and management** Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Charity Registration Number 1183454 Governing document: constitution effective dated 16 May 2019 ## **Founding Trustees: 16 May 2019 for the term of 3 years renewable up to 5 years** - Geoffrey Wake, Chair - Sachi Hatakenaka, Deputy Chair - Sarah Seleznyov, Secretary - Rachael Horsman, Treasurer - Matt Lewis, Trustee 3 **Strategy Group Members in period 1[st] September 2020 – 31[st] August 2021: all Trustees plus** - Dr. Julie Alderton, University of Cambridge - Dr. Rosa Archer, Manchester University - Prof. Mike Askew, Wits University - Simon Mazumder, Director, Alliance for Learning - Luke Rolls, Assistant Head, Cambridge University Primary School - Bob Sawyer, Independent Advisor - Dr. Ruth Trundley, Team Lead/Primary Maths Advisor, Babcock LDP - Matilde Warden, Vice Principal, Bluecoat Beechdale Academy - Matt Woodford, Nottingham Trent University ## **Approved by order of the board of trustees on 17 June 2021 and signed on its behalf by:** Trustee 1 MIKE ASKEW Trustee 2 SARAH SELEZNYOV 4