This past week, we did our second round of the lesson study. It went so much better than our first time around. Although the debrief sessions are a little awkward and frustrating, I feel as though we finally have realized where the want to focus the most on our lesson plan. I think we have created a really great lesson, but we were struggling with finding the focus point and direction. Next week, Megan and I have the pleasure of teaching the lesson in our own classroom. I must say that I am very nervous, because the first two classes were so well-behaved.....and our class is not. Again, I know the purpose of the lesson study is to master a lesson, not our teaching. But, the teaching part and how we execute the lesson is truly an important part (especially since it is in our mentor classroom). Like I have said in previous posts, my inquiry project is directed towards better classroom management in 5th grade classrooms. Megan's inquiry project is focusing on collaborative learning groups. So, together, we will be have the first hand chance to see how well our students behave in a serious situation and how cooperative they are in groups. We are excited of course, but quite nervous because we know there is a lot of pressure. How can we tune out the problems and be the best teachers we can be without worrying about all the small stuff? How can we get the kids to focus during our lesson and want to participate? I think I have the answer: engagement and organization. But, is that all it takes?