Promoting and Implementing Lesson Study in Malaysia: Issue of Sustainability

Abstract

Lesson study and learning study, as forms of teacher professional development, have been introduced and experimented with in many countries around the world, with teachers at all levels of education and in initial teacher education. In some countries, lesson study and learning study have become a regular part of teaching activities across the curriculum. However, these models of teacher collaboration have been most prevalent in the subject of mathematics—both in practice and in research. While there are many descriptions of lesson study and learning study which have resulted in both teacher learning and student learning, the core dynamics of these models remain a subject of interest for many researchers. Within these elements of research, there remain many questions: What are the key elements of which a professional development activity can be considered as lesson or learning study? What are the central formative mechanisms of lesson and learning study which encourage teacher learning? Which conditions may affect a lesson or learning study and lead them to a loss of their formative potential? How might lesson and learning studies be adapted to suit the needs and the particular cultures of different countries or educational systems? What makes lesson study “viable” in some contexts, where the activity is regularly done by all teachers with no external initiative? While lesson study is often described as a form of research undertaken by teachers, can lesson study be utilized as a research method (not just research object) by mathematics education researchers?