Book review: Planning and analyzing teaching. Using the variation theory of learning

If you are a teacher or researcher and you are looking for tools to enhance students’ learning, you may consider reading the book Planning and Analyzing Teaching. Using the Variation Theory of Learning by authors Angelika Kullberg, Åke Ingerman and Ference Marton. Over the course of seven chapters, the authors aim to show how planning what is being taught and how something is taught are key to enhancing students’ learning.In Chapter 1, the authors engage the reader by asking two pertinent questions:This triggered both my inner teacher and inner researcher. After reading Chapter 1, I felt I wanted to know more about the foundational ideas underpinning the learning of students, one of which is the object of learning. For those unfamiliar with these foundational ideas for learning, Chapters 2 and 3 are for you because the authors outline the underlying principles for planning and learning in considerable detail.Chapter 2 commences by explaining that the object of learning can be found by examining the following question. “What is to be learned?” Although this may seem trivial, the authors assert that what is to be learned is often overlooked, not made explicit or just too vague. Utilizing a landscape metaphor, the authors argue that the teacher needs to act as a guide, directing students’ attention to essential parts of the subject matter. Without the teacher’s guidance, students will most likely see other aspects of the landscape that may only distract them from what the teacher intends the students will learn. In terms of the landscape metaphor, the teacher may want the students to appreciate the behavioral patterns of birds, whereas the students may simply see that storm cloud drawing near very rapidly over the birds. The authors formalize the potential discrepancy between what the teacher teaches and what the student learns by distinguishing the intended object of learning (the planned object of learning), the enacted object of learning (what is made possible to learn in the lesson) and the lived object of learning (which aspects of the enacted object of learning the students have actually discerned). After reading Chapter 2, the reader can better appreciate that planning teaching is meant to align the intended, enacted and lived objects of learning.Chapter 3 addresses the theoretical concepts that underpin successful learning, known as the variation theory of learning. This theory is rooted in two interconnected concepts: critical aspects (of the object of learning) and variation. Critical aspects describe the key elements that students need to discern in order to master the object of learning. These critical aspects are closely related to students’ experience of the lesson and thus pertain to the lived object of learning. Therefore, they are not self-evident and need to be found empirically, such as through lesson observations or interviews with students. The central tenet of the variation theory is that to actually “see” the critical aspects, students must be exposed to variation in these critical aspects. At this point, it felt logical to me, but it was not really clear what “varying a critical aspect” would entail in a lesson. Fortunately, the authors give numerous examples to illustrate this.The following example helped me to understand what this “varying of critical aspect” could look like in practical classroom settings. The example pertained to a grade-8 math lesson, which had as the object of learning to understand the coefficients and constant in the equation of a straight line. Figure 1 illustrates the task and what variation would mean. It also shows how a critical aspect can be identified empirically.First, the three lines, although all a straight line and all satisfying the equation y = mx + c, are different in terms of the coefficient m and the constant c, that is, variation was applied in the object of learning for learners to discern the object of learning. The answer of the student that linked the wrong equations to lines A and B (A satisfies the equation y = x + 2; line B satisfies the equation y = 3x + 2) led to the identification of the critical aspect: the inclination of the graph is seen from the x-axis (not the y-axis).As a teacher of physics myself and someone who is very familiar with the difficulties students face while grappling with straight-line equations, this example resonated with me. I expect that teachers of other subjects will also find examples they recognize from their own teaching and learning practices that resonate and that will help better understand what “varying of critical aspects” may look like.After reading the first three chapters, the reader is introduced to an approach that is underpinned by the foundational ideas for learning presented in Chapters 2 and 3: Learning Study. According to the authors, Learning Study, or LeaS, is a “(...) type of theory-based lesson study (p. 32),” where “the theory” is often the variation theory of learning. After a brief comparison between LeaS and Lesson Study, the authors illustrate what a typical process of LeaS looks like from a bird’s-eye perspective, detailing the steps below:Readers who are already familiar with the basics of LeaS but would like to see how LeaS may be conducted in specific contexts for specific objects of learning may decide to jump straight to Chapter 5 or Chapter 6. Chapter 6 provides insights into the analysis of teaching, while Chapter 5 delves into typical teaching planning. The list of topics below will allow those readers to locate the relevant page and jump straight into how planning a lesson (pp. 48–66) or analyzing a lesson (pp. 79–87) may look for their topic or discipline.Chapter 6 shows how teaching can be analyzed in the context of:You may remember that I claimed earlier that I expect teachers of other subjects to also find examples that will feel familiar. The list underlines that teachers of history, English language, STEM, PE and economics may all find relevant examples. It is a pity, though the examples in Chapter 5 are not aligned with the examples in Chapter 6. For example, as a teacher of physics, I would love to see how planning to teach atoms and ions and subsequently analyzing learning about atoms and ions could look like in the classroom.In Chapter 7, the authors argue that collaborative work is fundamental to building a stronger knowledge base for teachers. This base, in turn, may positively impact students’ learning. The authors close their book by commenting on how individual teachers, teachers as a professional collective and the larger (research) community may take their next steps forward.The book succeeds in illustrating how to bridge the teaching-learning gap. If you are interested in how you may do this, you may read this engaging book. Readers unfamiliar with variation theory and LeaS do not need to shy away from the book, because in the first four chapters the authors do an excellent job introducing and making sense of LeaS and its underpinnings (i.e. variation theory, critical aspects and variation).For teachers who will be involved in a LeaS trajectory, this book provides all the necessary insights to make the most out of the LeaS trajectory. Researchers involved in a LeaS trajectory would likely benefit equally from the insights the book provides.For teachers of numerous subjects who want to hone the teaching and learning process and have an academic outlook, this is an excellent book that can be studied independently. The pragmatically oriented teacher who is looking for ready-to-use tools on how to teach topic x, such that all students will better understand topic x, this book may not be for you; despite the numerous examples that are given, the reader still needs time to turn the examples into ready-to-use lesson materials that could be used in the classroom, both for students to discern the object of learning, as well as tools for teachers to discern these critical aspects.As a physics teacher currently engaged in doctoral research, this book is definitely worth reading. Would I recommend this book to my fellow researchers? If they are interested in Lesson Study or LeaS, yes. However, I am afraid it would not fit the direct needs of my fellow teachers, who are grappling with managing children and parents, completing administrative tasks and the pressure to make the students achieve and pass exams in only 24 h per day.The vision of the authors, as outlined in chapter 7, in which planning and analyzing teaching happens collaboratively during entire school years by individual teachers and entire school communities, makes my educator heart skip a beat. However, as long as the organization of curricula, the internal organization of schools and the daily-life reality of teachers remain wanting, I believe teachers need help in making their next step forward. A follow-up book with practical “ready-to-use” tools would allow teachers to make this next step forward towards this vision despite the wanting curricula, organization of schools and the structure of teachers’ daily work.