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This chapter explores the use of three different approaches to capturing other perspectives in lesson study: lesson artefacts, pupil voice and pupil participatory approaches. Lesson artefacts and pupil voice appear to be the more common, whereas pupil participatory approaches are more recent initiatives in a lesson study context. Observation of pupils provides one perspective, but is limited because, among other things, it does not include the pupils’ perspectives. These approaches, especially when used together in triangulation, can provide a broader and potentially deeper understanding of pupil learning.

With the aim of contributing to the evidence base on school‐based health promotion, the authors discuss the outcomes and processes of a European intervention project aiming to prevent obesity among children (4‐16 years) and promote their health and well‐being, titled Shape Up: a school‐community approach to influencing determinants of healthy and balanced growing up.

Multiple case study research was carried out in five schools in five EU countries. Data sources included project documents, interviews, and observations. Narrative qualitative cross‐case analysis was carried out following the single case analyses.

The study showed that, if given sufficient guidance, pupils can act as agents of health‐promoting changes on both school and local community level; they were involved in actions which improved school policies, provisions and affordances for healthier diet and regular physical activity. The study identified three forms of participation, each with a different level of pupil involvement and agency.

The study is qualitative, based on five single cases and cross‐case analysis; this research design implies caution related to extensive non‐contextualised generalisation of the findings. However, valuable implications for research and practice can be drawn, especially in relation to structural barriers for participatory health promotion.

The paper is of value for researchers as well as practitioners in the field, particularly those interested in eco‐social models of health, whole‐school approaches to health promotion and pupil participation. The study's specific value is in the systematic qualitative cross‐case analysis, which contributes to the research rigour and allows for situated generalisation.

The purpose of this paper is to juxtapose different sources concerning educational experiments embarked on by an English primary school teacher, Muriel Pyrah. Pyrah taught at Airedale School, Castleford, Yorkshire, UK, from the 1950s until 1972. Her approach was celebrated in the fields of oracy and arts education in the final years of her working life. Airedale was a Local Education Authority (LEA) school within the West Riding of Yorkshire, an LEA led by Alec Clegg, from 1945 to 1974.

Using film footage, sound recordings, artwork and topic books produced by her pupils, the paper entangles these archival sources with recent interviews from Pyrah’s former pupils and a former school inspector (HMI). Pyrah’s actual name has been used, as has that of the HMI. The names of pupils who contributed insights are anonymised.

The former pupils provide accounts that encourage a move away from a revisiting of progressivism that is predominantly anchored in studying the intentions and hopes of high profile educationalists postwar.

The number of former pupils willing to discuss their memories was small, so no claims are made that their perspectives represent the dominant views of former pupils. However, these interviews reveal details that are absent in the other surviving archival sources.

The paper lays the foundation for further research on the voices of former pupils, inviting a focus on the way those participants reflect on the long-term impact of being involved in an educational experiment. Thus far, the representation of Pyrah’s pedagogy has been choreographed in print to build the legacy of the LEA. The pupils’ stories resonate differently.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how a learning study model, guided by variation theory, can be used to improve lesson design and a pupil’s understanding of key words and vocabulary in the context of three different subjects, namely art, dance and science.

Three lesson designs were used with three groups of pupils from the same year group. In each case, pupils were given either visual or audio stimuli to describe and compare prior to being introduced to the keywords. Pupil interviews, observations and pre- and post-lesson tasks were used in each case to assess the success of the strategy and the impact it had on the understanding of different ability-level students. The results from each lesson were analysed and utilised to improve the design of the subsequent lesson.

The results of the study found that this approach was successful, with pupils able to produce their own definitions, including a reference to relevant critical features following the lesson, and that in most cases this information was retained. The strategy was most effective at reinforcing concepts and vocabulary, and was preferred by low- and mid-ability pupils, whereas higher-ability pupils preferred to use specific terminology from the outset.

Many published learning studies have been carried out within subjects, concentrating on a particular learning object that pupils have difficulty with. In this study the authors have demonstrated that this approach can also be employed as a successful approach to promote pupil learning across different subjects.

This paper aims to deal with the processes and experiences of teaching English as an additional language (AL). More specifically, it deals with the research question of which teaching methods are used when teaching English as AL and why.

It concerns a case study approach conducted in an English primary school situated in North Yorkshire, where bilingual pupils also participate. The research methods used include observations in the classroom and in the playground, interviews with the teachers and the bilingual pupils of the school, as well as analysis of policy school documentation related to the topic examined.

The picture revealed by this study suggests that a number of different approaches and teaching methods, which contribute to teaching English as an AL, are used. The results indicate that great importance is attributed to teacher-pupil and pupil-pupil interaction, as well as to the employment of specific teaching techniques such as key visuals, corrective feedback. In addition, certain types of questions are addressed to bilingual pupils depending on their current language proficiency level. Teachers seem to emphasise the significance of activating the prior knowledge of non-native speakers (NNS). Progression in the content of the activities set, motivation and differentiation are seen as important. The implementation of the aforementioned approaches and teaching methods are supported by the policy and organisation of the school, where the research study was conducted.

As stated in the National Curriculum and within the framework of inclusion, all pupils for whom English is not their first language have to be provided with opportunities to develop the English language, the acquisition of which will help them to have access and take part in all subject areas. The present study explores what certain teaching approaches and methods can provide NNS with equal opportunities to develop English as an AL and why.

This article describes a pilot mentoring scheme, Raising Pupil Achievement (RPA), that has been developed in a girls’ secondary school. The principal aim of this scheme was to raise the standard of achievement of the students involved. The scheme was based on regular mentorship interviews between pupils and teachers. The interviews had an explicitly academic focus. There are similarities with what has been called “academic tutoring”. In this pilot project, mentorship was provided for pupils in Years 7 and 12. The article includes an evaluation of the pilot project that involves statistical analysis of the value added by mentoring and sampling of the views of all participants. Suggestions for further research are made together with examples of successful practice. Pupils at the school routinely gain good examination results. However, the evaluation has found an increase in motivation to learn for all mentored pupils and a measurable increase in attainment for some ages and ability groups.

The purpose of this paper is to study the use and value of practical work in the secondary school science classroom. Informed by the findings of a large survey of students from a wide variety of schools, a case study of pupils in the middle secondary range sought to investigate the precise role of practical work in the learning of a specific topic over a series of lessons.

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of academic progress of two classes of pupils revealed that students who undertook practical tasks made greater gains in knowledge and understanding than those who undertook non-practical alternatives. In order to explore students’ views about the practical tasks and whether they found them to be an affective and effective aid for their learning, data were collected using questionnaires, lesson observations and interviews of focus groups.

The data suggest three reasons why practical work supported pupils’ learning. First, practical work supported their visualisation of abstract concepts and provided a stimulus for the recall of key facts later. Second, it provided a distinctive opportunity for pupils to work collaboratively, with associated gains. Finally, hands-on tasks promoted a classroom atmosphere rich in variety, semi-autonomous learning and self-discovery, which pupils found intrinsically motivational.

This study, which responds to the criticism practical work has received in recent years, sheds some light on the mechanisms through which the strategy supports learning in certain contexts. Moreover it argues that practical work needs to be effectively planned to maximise the learning gains made by pupils.

The purpose of this research is to show the evaluation of food hygiene knowledge and self‐reported behaviours of school children, assessment of children's attitudes towards food hygiene and evaluation of barriers to the adoption of appropriate food hygiene behaviours.

The food hygiene knowledge and self‐reported behaviours of pupils (4 and 14 years; Key Stages 1‐3 in the English system – or Scottish equivalent) were determined using age‐appropriate knowledge quizzes completed by 2,259 pupils across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Attitudes towards food hygiene and barriers to performing desirable hygiene‐related behaviours were established through semi‐structured interviews with 82 pupils who completed knowledge tasks in South East England.

Children generally had good knowledge of food hygiene. However, there were misconceptions about the nature of micro‐organisms and how they affect food. In addition, a lack of reminders and practical food activities, especially at Key Stage 2 (7‐11 years), coupled with poor hand‐washing facilities, meant that children did not always adopt desirable behaviours. Children gave suggestions for ways to help others to remember good practice.

The study identified areas of weakness in pupils' hygiene knowledge and understanding and has determined barriers to adoption of desirable behaviours at all times. It has also suggested ways in which food hygiene education could be made more engaging for pupils, and other methods to encourage good practice.

This study investigates how environmental conditions for development in reading, as well as support in Braille and assistive technology, have influenced the literacy of 11 pupils in Norwegian mainstream schools. It was recommended that these pupils learn to read both Braille and print because of their severe visual impairments ie. a visual acuity of 0.1 (20/200), or complicated visual functioning. Their reading and participation in a modern society depends on extensive use of assistive technology. The analysis is based on the pupils' coping strategies in reading and interviews with pupils, teachers and parents. Findings show that the pupils have appropriate reading devices for Braille and print, but technical aid for Braille is infrequently used. Lack of competence in Braille and reading devices at school and home will influence stimulation of literacy and choice of reading media. Possibilities in assistive technology are thus not fully realised. Each pupil's individual needs, as well as ways in which support and stimulation could be provided, should therefore be addressed when recommending reading media and devices.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the background for, the design of, and the implementation of Lesson Study in a teacher education program in Norway. Lesson Study was chosen as an intervention in an attempt to shift pre-service teachers’ focus from themselves to their pupils, attempting to strengthen their possibilities to learn more about the consequences of their instructional decisions for their pupils.

The study used a time-lagged experiment where one group of second year pre-service teachers took part in their three-week field practice as usual (business-as-usual-condition), and one group, the following year, took part in Lesson Study cycles during their three-week field practice period. The students were recruited from four subject areas in both conditions: Math, Physical Education, Science, and English.

The use of Lesson Study created more collaborative inquiry among the pre-service teachers. At its best, the pre-service teachers formulated research questions, took active part in observations, and used data (pupils’ work, interviews and observations) to inform their choices about how to create improved learning for their pupils.

The study is a small scale study due to the need to test before upscaling.

The paper includes a description of how Lesson Study was implemented in a Teacher Education Department, and this can be valuable information for others who are attempting the same.

This paper fulfills an identified need to learn more about pre-service teachers\ learning and lesson study in teacher education.