Investigating teachers` knowledge and attitude in the implementation of lesson study and creative problem solving approach in classroom practices

Abstract

Creativity is at the foundation of innovation which is one of the vital ingredients for our country`s development. Students need to be equipped with the necessary skills such as creative problem solving to help them remain competitive in an increasingly challenging world and future needs. Therefore, it is important for teachers to know how to teach for creativity. This research is focused on the changes that teachers experienced during lesson study professional development programme, which was utilised as a tool in preparing teachers to foster creative problem solving skills in students. Instructional practices were examined and discussed collaboratively to provide students with the opportunity to showcase their ability to solve problems creatively. This study was a case study that used qualitative method. Data of this study were collected mainly through audio-recorded interviews with six teachers before and after lesson study, classroom observations, teachers’ journal, field notes and other documents collected throughout the study. The results show that the main changes in the teachers were in term of attitude, beliefs, instruction and knowledge. Firstly, results showed that the attitude and beliefs of teachers changed as they became more prepared to teach, had more trust in the students’ ability, and encourage students to create new idea. They also improved in their instruction, which use more constructivist teaching and learning. They concentrate more on teaching mathematical concepts rather than discrete skills and improve in their questioning technique. In addition, the teachers were able to make the students willing to share their ideas, became more interested in learning, and opened up their mind to think creatively. Secondly, results showed that collaboration, reflective learning environment and observation of instruction are the factors that contributed towards the changes in the teachers. Lastly, the challenges that the teachers faced during lesson study process were time constraint, coupled with the increase in the number of topics in the current curriculum. It is recommended that further investigation on a larger scale should be done. It could involve participation across urban and rural states, which would include different background of students, learning styles, facilities and classroom settings.