Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the processes that make teachers learn in a collaborative arrangement similar to lesson study (LS) and learning study (LearS). The teachers in this collaboration wanted to enhance teaching and student learning (grades 4-7) about decimal numbers.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on data from five teachers’ collaborative work in an adaptive arrangement of LS and LearS called subject didactic groups. Data consist of eight audio recordings of the teachers’ meetings as well as written and photographic documentation of the meetings. The analysis was carried out through the lens of expansive learning within an activity system (Engeström, 1987). This entailed a focus on contradictions between teachers’ ways of thinking and acting when individually and collaboratively developing their teaching, on the solutions to the conflicts produced by the teachers, and on how these challenged the teachers’ ideas about what the students need to learn.

Findings

The authors identified contradictions between formative and summative assessment, exams and stressed students, prevailing norms about teaching and the theoretical tool used for planning and analyzing lessons and student learning, and the local curriculum and time constraints. The solutions to the conflicts were the driving force for developing new and more qualitative knowledge about what the students need to learn.

Originality/value

This paper gives explicit examples of contradictions and solutions that can challenge and drive teachers to expand their learning in an adaptive form of LS and LearS suited to daily teaching.

Forskning har visat att elever kan ha svårt att förstå platsvärde och att undervisning inte alltid lyckas med att utveckla deras kunskap om begreppet. Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om undervisning av platsvärde i grundskolans tidigare år. I studien definieras platsvärde som det värde en siffra representerar i ett tal, utifrån var i talet den står. Studien genomfördes av en grupp lärare och en forskare i en intervenerande och iterativ process med 20 elever i grundskolans årskurs 2. Variationsteorin har använts för att analysera videoinspelade lektioner med fokus på vad som gjordes möjligt att lära i undervisningen. Detta jämfördes sedan med eftertest som visade vad eleverna hade lärt sig. Resultatet visar att, när det gäller några av platsvärdets aspekter, verkar vissa variationsmönster som skapades i undervisningen ha varit mer gynnsamma för elevernas förståelse, än andra. Härvidlag förefaller de exempel som används att vara av betydelse. Studiens teoretiska bidrag och relevans för lärares undervisningspraktik diskuteras.

Research has shown that students may have difficulties understanding place value and that teaching does not always succeed to develop their knowledge about the concept. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge about how place value can be taught in the early years of school. In the study place value is definied as the value represented by a digit in a number on the basis of its position in the number. The study was conducted by a group of teachers and a researcher in an interventional and iterative process with 20 students in primary school grade 2. Variation theory was used to analyse what was possible to learn, which was compared to test results of what the students had learned. The results show that, regarding some aspects of place value, certain patterns of variation created in teaching seemed to have a more positive effect on students understanding, than other. In that respect, the examples used appears to be of importance. The theoretical contribution of the study and its relevance for teaching practice are discussed.