Boundaries of the Community of Teachers’ Implementing Mathematics Textbooks with Lesson Study and Open Approach

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze boundaries of the community of teachers' implementing the mathematics textbooks with Lesson Study and Open Approach. For this study, Mathematics textbooks were Japanese mathematics textbooks (Thai version), consisting of mathematics problems, flow of lesson, and students' mathematical ideas. The participants were 2 expert teachers who use the textbooks in the classroom using Lesson Study and Open Approach since 2013. The data were collected in 2017 school year by using interview and classroom observation with video recording. The data were analyzed based on Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder (2002)'s framework of community of practice. The results showed that the teachers practiced in 3 boundaries of the community: 1) within school-every week, they use the textbooks to design mathematical problems and anticipating students' ideas with their school team, then they teach the lesson and observe students' ideas in the classroom, and they reflect on students' ideas that occurred in their classroom, 2) across schools-every semester, they form team with teachers who work in different schools of the project to design/observe/reflect a classroom by using the textbooks in school open class activity, and 3) across organization boundaries -every year, they and their school network participated in the activities, the national open class, the workshop for school teachers, the national and international conference, that help them to understand students' ideas via classroom by using the textbooks and sharing with their school teachers and university experts.