LESSON STUDY as a professional development model

How do Teachers present Mathematical Knowledge? - recontextualization and

repersonalization of knowledge
The teacher would need to lead the students to transform their knowledge to see its
universal character. How do Mathematicians
present Mathematical Knowledge?
(Brosseau, 1979)
Mathematicians don't communicate their results in the form in which they discover them;
they reorganize them, give them as general a form as possible.
Mathematicians package knowledge in a communicable, decontextualized, depersonalized,
and detemporalized form (p. 227).
Example.
Multiply: 2/3 x 1/5
How would a mathematician vs. a math teacher respond? 2/15 1/5
The simple premise behind conducting a LS is that in order to improve teaching, the most
effective place to do so would be in the context of a classroom lesson.
What is Lesson Study (LS)?
Lesson Study is a teacher professional development practice that originated in Japan. It is
considered as the most crucial educational practice responsible for the professional
development of its teachers.
jugyou = lesson
kenkyuu = research/study
Lesson Study is an process wherein teachers collaboratively work in a small group,
following a systematized cycle towards the improvement of their teaching, and an amplified
student learning.
The Lesson Study Cycle
identifying a goal or problem for the lesson
School: Sashima Elementary School
Location: Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture
Theme:
'Towards the motivation of each student for the advancement of their learning: The
transition from Elementary School to Secondary School'
Mr. Levi Elipane


Theme for Mathematics:
'Creation of mathematics classes that let the learners appreciate the fun and
enjoyment of thinking and knowing: employing the 6/9 approach in consideration
of the actual situation in junior high school.'
Grade levels highlighted in the research lesson
grade 1 (lowest level): addition
grade 4 (mid-elementary level):
concept behind the algorithmic calculation of division ;
grade 6
(the highest level) :
concept of multiplication and division of fractions

collaboratively developing a lesson plan
Pre-Lesson Preparations
Meetings
Writing of the Lesson Plans
Dry-run
The Research Lesson
-implementing the lesson with observation by colleagues, outsiders and other
experts
Post-lesson Reflection
-analytically reflecting on the teaching and learning that occurred
Debriefing /
[revising the lesson/future directions/new research trajectories]
Figure 1. A diagram representing a typical Lesson Study process. Reprinted from Takahashi,
A. and Yoshida, M. (2004, p. 439).
Mr. Levi Elipane
Types of Lesson Study
School-based
District-wide
Cross-district
Purposes of Lesson Study
Training of beginning teachers
Research on an educational innovation
Demonstration of exemplary classes
Enhancement of textbook content/materials
Underlying Ideas about LS (Isoda, Stephens, Ohara & Miyakawa, 2007)
1. Teachers can best learn from and improve their practice by seeing other teachers
teach;
There is an expectation that teachers who have developed deep understanding of
and skill in subject matter pedagogy should be encouraged to share their knowledge
and experience with colleagues;
While the focus appears on the teacher, the final focus is on the cultivation of
students interest and on the quality of their learning.
The simple premise behind conducting a LS is that in order to improve teaching, the
most effective place to do so would be in the context of a classroom lesson.
2.
3.
(Stigler & Hiebert, 1999)
Mr. Levi Elipane
Replicability of LS in the Philippines
Lesson Study has endured and evolved in the Japanese educational system for over a
century, making it an established cultural activity. In this light, merely replicating its
process and adopting it in the Philippine educational context might pose a great deal of
a challenge.
There exist several in-service professional development programs in the Philippines
that have some characteristics similar to the Japanese Lesson Study, but none
incarnates its full essence
(Ulep, 2006).
Mr. Levi Elipane