2015 Lesson Study Grant Guidelines and Application

Lesson study is a type of classroom inquiry in which several instructors jointly design, teach, observe, analyze and refine a single class lesson in one of their courses. By focusing on a single lesson instructors can examine student learning problems, try out teaching practices and investigate how students learn. The goals of lesson study are to better understand how students learn and to use that information to improve teaching.

Lesson StudyGrants supportinstructorsto work in small teams to undertake alesson study in their classes.Instructors will receive a stipend of $500 to participate.

Application deadline: Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Submit your application by email to Bill Cerbin, .

How to Apply

Before submitting an application

  1. Become familiar with lesson study by reviewing the following background information:
  • Lesson Study Overview at
  • Online Lesson Study Guide at
  • Overview of the Lesson Study ProcessChapter from Lesson study: Using classroom inquiry to improve teaching and learning in higher education.
  1. Attend one of the Lesson Study Orientation Workshops on January 15, 16, or 20. To register clickHERE.
  2. Review the grant requirements listed below.

Grant Requirements.The grants support teams to engage in lesson study during spring 2015. Your team will plan and implement a lesson study during the semester.This means you will jointly plan, teach, observe, analyze, and refine a single class lesson. In addition, teams are required to document their work in a final report and share their work at the annual UWL Conference on Teaching and Learning. The table below describes the schedule of required grant activities.

2015Lesson Study Grant Schedule

Time / Required Grant Activities for Teams
January 2015 / Before submitting grant application:
  1. Review lesson study background material.
  2. Attend one Lesson Study Orientation Workshop on January 15, 16, or 20.

January 28, 2015 / Submit grant application by January 28, 2015.
Spring 2015 / Team plansand implementslesson study
  1. Design the lesson
  2. Plan the study of the lesson
  3. Teach the lesson
  4. Observe the lesson and collect evidence
  5. Analyze and revise the lesson

June 2015 /
  1. Team submits Final Report.
  2. Participants receive stipends.

Fall 2015 / Team presents lesson study at the annual conference on teaching and learning.

If you have any questions please contact Bill Cerbin, 785-6881 or .

2015 Lesson Study Grant Application

Submit One Application as a Team

Deadline: Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Email your completed application to Bill Cerbin,

Identify all team members.

  • Typically team members are in the same department or program and often teach the same class. This is not mandatory; the team can be interdisciplinary.
  • Applicants who have previous lesson study training or experience are exempt from the January Lesson Study Orientation Workshop.
  • Each team member is eligible to receive a $500 stipend, but the maximum total award per team is $1500.A team with more than three instructors will allocate $1500 among its members.

Participants / Attended Workshop
Y/N / Email Address / Department

Identify one member to be the primary contact person for the team:

Describe any previouslesson study training or experience of group members [excluding the January 2015 workshop]:

1. Describe the learning goal or problem your team intends to investigate through lesson study. Why do you want to investigate this topic?

2. Describe the context for the lesson study; course title, class level, number of students, etc. At what point in the semester will the lesson take place? How does the lesson study fit into the course curriculum?

3. If undecided about a learning goal or problem, describe one or two candidates your team has discussed. Answer questions 1 and 2 for each.

4. What are your goals and interests in doing lesson study? Why do you want to participate in lesson study, and what do you hope to gain from the experience?