Implementing lesson study to influence the teaching and learning of electrical wiring diagrams in a South African TVET college.

Abstract

This study investigated how adopting Lesson Study (LS) inside a Professional Learning Community (PLC) at a South African TVET college influenced students’ ability to read, understand and interpret electrical wiring diagrams. LS, a collaborative professional development model, fostered necessary thinking and problem-solving skills. As defined by Ono and Ferreira (2010), LS is “classroom-situated, context-based, learner-focused, improvementoriented, and teacher-owned” (p. 64). Using an inductive action research approach within a critical paradigm, this study employed focus group discussions, interviews, rating scale questionnaires, and structured observations to collect qualitative data from twenty-six students and seven lecturers. The conceptual framework integrated Dual Coding Theory, Multimedia Learning Theory, and PLCs to examine the role of instructional design in enhancing diagram comprehension. LS improved teaching and learning, yet its impact was limited by time, workload, and uneven PLC participation. Effective LS implementation requires team members’ deep subject knowledge, trust, administrative support, and strong leadership. Furthermore, successful LS necessitates substantial expertise, balancing collegiality with decisive direction. Additionally, tensions emerged between abstraction and granularity in content delivery, as lecturers often underestimated the importance of foundational knowledge. Dual-coding and multimedia boosted engagement but exposed a relevance gap created by teachers’ assumptions . Despite the many positive classroom experiences and sufficient evidence of the effectiveness of LS from numerous research studies, there is still a lack of evidence on the successful implementation in a technical vocational context. It can be implemented successfully if the challenges raised are adequately addressed. The paradoxes suggest that LS is most valuable when balanced with opportunities for teachers to develop their adaptive expertise and professional judgment rather than being treated as a complete solution for instructional design.