The philosophy of Lesson Study in Japan—teacher ownership, teacher professionalism, student learning-focused dialogue, teacher collaboration, and teacher professional community—has attracted educators and researchers worldwide. However, Lesson Study does not have the same meaning as its original Japanese expression Jugyou Kenkyuu, a combination of two Japanese words—Jugyou meaning instruction or lesson(s) and Kenkyuu meaning study or research. To bridge the gap between Jugyou Kenkyuu and Lesson Study and therefore maximize the potential of Lesson Study in the world, this edited volume provides two "mirrors" for those who wish to reflect on and implement Lesson Study within their own contexts. One section discusses how Lesson Study is utilized in Japanese teacher education and how this system reproduces the very culture of Lesson Study. The other section addresses case studies showcasing Lesson Study implementation in several countries such as the United States, Germany, Norway, Peru, and Uganda and discusses the opportunities and challenges that arise when Lesson Study-based teacher education expands beyond Japan to the rest of the world. This book will appeal to anyone interested in learning about Lesson Study.

The philosophy of Lesson Study in Japan--teacher ownership, teacher professionalism, student learning-focused dialogue, teacher collaboration, and teacher professional community--has attracted educators and researchers worldwide. However, Lesson Study does not have the same meaning as its original Japanese expression Jugyou Kenkyuu, a combination of two Japanese words--Jugyou meaning instruction or lesson(s) and Kenkyuu meaning study or research. To bridge the gap between Jugyou Kenkyuu and Lesson Study and therefore maximize the potential of Lesson Study in the world, this edited volume provides two "mirrors" for those who wish to reflect on and implement Lesson Study within their own contexts. One section discusses how Lesson Study is utilized in Japanese teacher education and how this system reproduces the very culture of Lesson Study. The other section addresses case studies showcasing Lesson Study implementation in several countries such as the United States, Germany, Norway, Peru, and Uganda and discusses the opportunities and challenges that arise when Lesson Study-based teacher education expands beyond Japan to the rest of the world. This book will appeal to anyone interested in learning about Lesson Study.

"Provides readers with a compelling rationale for the process, offers experience-tested tools, and suggests ways to address commonly-occurring challenges. This book will assist teachers, and those who support them, in understanding and implementing all phases of lesson study, from initial planning through sharing with others what was learned." —Dennis Sparks, Executive Director National Staff Development Council "A powerful teacher professional development process that focuses collaborative teams directly on the classroom, and the perfect tool for teachers, professional developers, and team leaders. Gives you everything you need to use lesson study to support teachers in thinking deeply about practice." —Roberta Jaffe, Science Education Coordinator, New Teacher Center, University of California, Santa Cruz Use this team-centered approach to directly enhance teaching and learning in your school! First introduced in Japan, lesson study has gained enthusiastic advocates in US educational circles as a powerful, collaborative approach that brings teachers together as researchers into the science and craft of teaching and learning in their classrooms. Teachers work as teams to develop a lesson plan, teach and observe the lesson to collect data on student learning, and use their observations to refine their lesson. Participants build their sense of professional authority while discovering effective practices that result in improved learning outcomes for their students. This "how-to" guide provides teachers, administrators, and team leaders with practical strategies, models, and tools. The book leads a beginning team through the phases of the lesson study cycle and provides an experienced team with new perspectives. Using examples from U.S. classrooms, this handbook: Encourages educators to generate and share knowledge Inspires a teacher-researcher stance Illustrates both the process and substance of lesson study Encourages collaboration Provides guidelines for avoiding common pitfalls Leading Lesson Study is an excellent resource for both experienced and novice lesson study teams, administrators who want to start a lesson study program, and lesson study team facilitators such as instructional coaches and professional development providers.

Discover how Lesson Study benefits both students and teachers. Unlike scripted curricula that strip teachers of professional decision-making, Lesson Study values teachers by expecting them to be agents of improvement in their own classrooms. This resource empowers readers to oppose reform efforts that minimize teacher agency by offering an evidence-based approach to teacher-led instructional improvement. The text provides structures for attending to students’ interests, knowledge, and values when planning, teaching, reflecting, and revising instruction. It also shows educators how to use Lesson Study to design culturally responsive, differentiated instruction for the K–12 classroom. Use this step-by-step guide to develop professional learning communities; increase teacher motivation, efficacy, and knowledge; and support improvement adapted to local contexts. Book Features: Guides readers through three cycles of Lesson Study, taking teacher learning deeper with each cycle.Focuses on developing student understanding that supports meaningful instruction across academic areas.Emphasizes the utility of Lesson Study for informing culturally responsive instruction.Includes examples from a variety of grade-levels and content areas, featuring both pre- and inservice teachers.Includes additional resources and prompts in each chapter to guide application.

Lesson study is a popular professional development approach in Japan whereby teachers collaborate to study content, instruction, and how students solve problems and reach for understanding in order to improve elementary mathematics instruction and learning in the classroom. This book is the first comprehensive look at the system and process of lesson study in Japan. It describes in detail the process of how teachers conducted lesson study--how they collaborated in order to develop a lesson, what they talked about during the process, and what they looked at in order to understand deeply how students were learning. Readers see the planning of a mathematics lesson, as well as how much content knowledge the teachers have. They observe students' problem solving strategies and learn how Japanese teachers prepare themselves to identify those strategies and facilitate the students' discussion. Written for mathematics teachers, educational researchers, school administrators interested in teachers' professional development, and professional developers, this landmark volume provides an in-depth understanding of lesson study that can lead to positive changes in teachers' professional development and in teaching and learning in the United States.

Lesson study is a professional development process that teachers engage in to systematically examine their practice, with the goal of becoming more effective. Originating in Japan, lesson study has gained significant momentum in the mathematics education community in recent years. As a process for professional development, lesson study became highly visible when it was proposed as a means of supporting the common practice of promoting better teaching by disseminating documents like standards, benchmarks and nationally validated curricula. While the body of knowledge about lesson study is growing, it remains somewhat elusive and composed of discrete research endeavors. As a new research area there is no coherent knowledge base yet. This book will contribute to the field bringing the work of researchers and practitioners together to create a resource for extant work. This book describes several aspects of Lesson Study, amongst others: it gives an historical overview of the concept, it addresses issues related to learning and teaching mathematics, it looks at the role of the teacher in the process. The last two sections of the book look at how lesson Study can be used with preservice mathematics teachers and at university mathematics methods teaching.

This book introduces readers to the development of Lesson Study (LS) in the UK, making historical connections to the growth of Lesson Study in Japan, East Asia, the US and Europe. It explains how to conduct LS in schools and educational institutions, providing examples of compelling, externally evaluated impact outcomes for both primary learners and teacher learners, and vivid exemplars of LS in action across age ranges and curricular contexts. Each chapter presents international research outcomes that clearly demonstrate how and why LS has a place within teacher learning approaches that have the greatest impact and the greatest capacity building potential for creating outstanding teaching. This is supported by primary research evidence, and linked with contemporary and recent high quality research worldwide into pupil learning, teacher learning, school improvement and system improvement. The book illustrates the diverse application of LS for innovating or transferring highly effective practices in a variety of contexts to boost learning for children with a range of challenges and specific needs. Lesson Study provides a global perspective on the development of LS worldwide, exploring its impact on innovation, creativity, curricula and achievement in a variety of contexts. It will be of key interest to practitioners in schools and teacher education institutions, researchers, and policy and decision-makers at local, national and international levels. The book’s explicit focus on the leadership of local authorities will also make it valuable reading for all leaders of professional development and school improvement.

"At a time when so many educational policies fail to recognize and nurture the capacity of teachers to improve instruction, we feel enormously grateful for the learning community lesson study has brought to us." -Catherine Lewis and Jacqueline Hurd It's a simple idea: if we want to improve instruction, what could be more obvious than collaborating with fellow teachers to plan instruction and examine its impact on students? Lesson Study empowers teachers to improve instruction. Unlike one-size-fits-all professional development, Lesson Study allows teachers to bring their own pressing needs to the table. They seek out answers from one another, from outside specialists and research, and from careful study of students during lessons that incorporate teachers' collective knowledge. The result is a shared vision of good instruction. Lesson Study Step-By-Step shows new groups of teachers how to begin this journey, and experienced teams how to to deepen their work. It provides guidance through each step of the Lesson Study process, from building a group and homing in on a topic to conducting and reflecting on a research lesson. Strategies and materials are provided to support you each step of the way, including: a schedule for the overall process sample meeting agendas protocols for observation and discussion of lessons templates for development of the research theme and teaching-learning plan suggested processes for norm-setting and effective group management. Additional online resources allow you to explore video of teachers engaged in a mathematics lesson study cycle. At a time when so many school districts are already suffering from reform overload, why is Lesson Study so important? Because it supplies a key missing element in reform: a means to improving teaching and learning through a shared professional knowledge base. Lesson Study, Step-by-Step shows us how to make our schools places where we will all continue to learn.

Lesson Study has been shown to be a systematic way of building teachers’ knowledge by allowing them to share their knowledge with each other. While much has been written about the benefits of Lesson Study in science and mathematics education, this book analyses its impact on education for children with special needs. It studies the ways in which the Lesson Study process is implemented in different educational contexts in the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK, and Sweden—countries which propagate more inclusive learning environments regardless of varying degrees of student capacities. In addition to making transcultural comparisons regarding concepts, procedures, and instruments in the use of Lesson Study in these four countries, this book will provide practice-based suggestions for teachers to formulate collaborative lesson plans.

Lesson Study in Initial Teacher Education highlights the importance of embedding lesson study within initial teacher education programmes, including building partnerships, making time to carry out collaborative inquiries using lesson study, and frameworks for reporting on lesson study projects.