Lesson study

Abstract

Lesson Study, a form of research on teaching by teachers, creates learning opportunities for teachers. Lesson Study is a collaborative process in which teachers observe, analyze, and evaluate each other’s actual classroom lessons mainly with the objective of improving their lessons. In a typical flow of Lesson Study, a classroom lesson is observed by other teachers, and this is followed by a conference in which the observers present their analyses and interpretations of lesson elements such as the teacher’s and students’ specific actions during the lesson, lesson content and teaching materials, learning style, and educational goals. The teacher who administered the lesson reflects on the lesson, his or her professional competencies, and other relevant matters. One cycle of Lesson Study is completed when both the observed and observer teachers apply findings from the conference to designing their respective future lessons. This indicates that Lesson Study serves as a learning opportunity for teachers, as it is said that teachers learn by example (Shulman 2004). Lesson Study in Japan is primarily characterized by its school-based organization. Defining Lesson Study as an organizational learning opportunity, we present in this chapter an overview of Lesson Study as practiced in Japan and explain its actual situation through the example of an elementary school.