What is Lesson Study and How Can I Get Started?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/cpe.1.1.2025.22119

Keywords:

Lesson Study, Escuela, Formación permanente del profesorado, Didáctica de las Matemáticas, Teaching Through Problem-Solving
Agencies: School-wide Lesson Study, Teaching Through Problem-solving, Mathematics didactics

Abstract

This paper describes lesson study, a form of teacher-led inquiry designed to improve teaching and learning through teachers’ joint study, planning, observation and discussion of “research lessons.” A case of school-wide lesson study in the US is presented as an example.  In this 10-year ongoing case, teachers use the lesson study process to shift their mathematics instruction toward “Teaching Through Problem-solving,” an approach to mathematics teaching and learning that is widespread in Japan.  The opportunities provided by lesson study for teachers to jointly study curriculum and content, plan instruction, and observe and discuss instruction across grade levels supports dramatic changes in learning outcomes in a school serving students in a high-poverty community.  Ideas are suggested for getting started with lesson study (in mathematics or other subjects) or with Teaching Through Problem-solving in mathematics.

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Author Biography

Catherine Lewis, Mills College at Northeastern

Catherine Lewis is a distinguished research scholar at Mills College in Oakland, California. With colleague Rebecca Perry, she has conducted a series of federally-funded research studies that illuminate how lesson study is successfully adapted and sustained in the U.S., including recent randomized trials that demonstrate the impact of lesson study on students’ learning and teachers’ learning. Fluent in Japanese, Lewis published the first English-language articles and videotapes on lesson study. She is a graduate of Harvard University (B.A.) and Stanford University (Ph.D) and the author of more than 40 publications on elementary education and child development, including the award-winning book Educating Hearts and Minds: Reflections on Japanese Preschool and Elementary Education(Cambridge University Press, 1995).

References

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Published

2025-09-25

How to Cite

Lewis, C. (2025). What is Lesson Study and How Can I Get Started?. Contrapuntos En Educación. Revista Del Instituto Universitario De Investigación En Formación De Profesionales De La Educación. IFE-UMA., 1(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.24310/cpe.1.1.2025.22119

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Lucid Madness

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Artículos

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