Teachers’ POGIL Professional Development through Lesson Study Approach

Abstract

Cultivating students’ competencies in the 5Cs—critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and complex problem-solving—has become a central goal of 21st-century education. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is widely recognized as an effective, student-centered instructional approach for developing these essential skills. To support teachers in implementing POGIL effectively, this study employed the Lesson Study (LS) model to enhance their pedagogical knowledge, instructional beliefs, teaching practices, and professional attitudes. The participants included two school principals and eight natural science teachers. Data were collected through knowledge assessments, belief scales, e-portfolios, and semi-structured interviews. Results revealed significant improvements in participants’ post-test scores for both knowledge and beliefs, indicating that LS effectively deepened their understanding of POGIL pedagogy. Moreover, participants demonstrated a notable shift in teaching perspectives—from teacher-centered to student-centered approaches. While teachers expressed highly positive perceptions of POGIL’s benefits, they also identified challenges related to adapting to student-centered strategies and managing time constraints in classroom implementation. These findings are further explored in the discussion.