September 2018 Committee on Instruction Item 7
Discussion of the Texas Lesson Study Professional Development Program and Resources
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for staff to introduce the Texas Lesson Study (TXLS) professional development program and proposed review process for the teacher-designed lesson study resources available on the Texas Gateway.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §8.0531, requires that instructional lessons developed as part of a curriculum management system by a regional education service center, acting alone or in collaboration with one or more other regional education service centers, be subject to the same review and adoption process as outlined in TEC, §31.022.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: At the November 2018 board meeting, board members will consider taking action to ratify the Lesson Study resources. Action items related to review of Lesson Study resources will appear periodically on subsequent SBOE agendas.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Commissioner of Education Mike Morath included the TXLS professional development program in the TEA Strategic Plan 2017–2021. TXLS is inquiry-based, job-embedded professional development where teachers work collaboratively to develop, teach, and assess research-based lessons. Through this process, teachers document their learning and lesson design on a Lesson Proposal and video the taught research-based lesson. The Lesson Proposal and video may become published on TEA’s online teacher and student resource center, the Texas Gateway.
In 2016–2017, TEA collaborated with six education service centers (ESCs), Regions 5, 6, 13, 14, 15, and 16, to pilot the program in 16 districts, on 30 campuses, with 208 teachers. In 2017–2018, the program became available in 16 ESC regions and had 60 participating districts, 111 campuses, and 702 teachers.
For the 2018–2019 year, districts across the state will be able to access the TXLS professional development program by (a) completing an online course, (b) attending a trainer-of-trainers, and/or (c) working directly with an ESC TXLS trained facilitator.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include positively impacting teacher effectiveness and increasing self-efficacy resulting in growth for student outcomes and increasing the public perception of the teaching profession.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Martin Winchester, Deputy Commissioner
Educator Systems and Support
Blair Claussen, Project Manager
Educator Support
Attachment: Statutory Citation
Separate Exhibits:
I. Lesson Study Gateway Resource List
II. Report on Program Effectiveness: Fall 2016
III. Report on Program Effectiveness: Spring 2017