Lesson Study as a Faculty Development Initiative in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Lesson study (LS) is a professional development practice that has mainly remained conducted by elementary, secondary, and preservice schoolteachers. However, in recent years, different studies have explored its practice among higher education (HE) faculty members. This article presents the first systematic review on LS among HE faculty members. Twenty-one studies published until December 2019 were analyzed. Among others, findings regarding reveal that (a) most of these studies are of U.S. origin and of linguistic and mathematics disciplines; (b) few faculty members participated in these studies; (c) most LS-related references used are not contextualized in HE; (d) beneficial outcomes of LS in the design of the lessons, the participants’ pedagogical knowledge and the participants’ approach to teaching; (e) mixed results regarding the participants’ reflection and collaboration, and (f) less positive outcomes about organizational issues when conducting LS. I discuss these results and present future research lines and limitations of this study.