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What Is Lesson Study ?

"Derived from the Japanese word jugyokenkyuu, the term 'lesson study' was coined
by Makoto Yoshida...it can also be translated in reverse as 'research lesson' which
indicates the level of scrutiny applied to individual lessons." Lesson study is the
primary form of professional development for Japanese teachers. Its goal is
continual improvement of teaching so that children will learn more. Its primary
focus is how students think and learn. It differs from other forms of professional
development because it takes place in the moment of teaching and learning. Its
focus, as described by Jim Stigler and James Hiebert in The Teaching Gap,
isteaching not teachers, children working, not children’s work. The success of
a lesson study is measured in teachers’ learning, not in the perfection of a lesson.
That better lessons are created is a secondary byproduct of the process but not its
primary goal. Groups of teachers work to formulate lessons that are taught,
observed, discussed, and refined. Teachers engage in lesson study only a couple of
times a year because the process is intense.

In Japan, teachers improve their teaching through "lesson study," a process in


which teachers jointly plan, observe, analyze, and refine actual classroom lessons
called "research lessons". Lesson study is widely credited forthesteadyimprovement
of Japanese elementary mathematics and science instruction. Since 1999, lesson
study has rapidly emerged in many sites across the United States.

In Lesson Study teachers:


• Think about the long-term goals of education - such as love of learning and
respect for others;
• Carefully consider the goals of a particular subject area, unit or lesson (for
example, why science is taught, what is important about levers, how to
introduce levers);
• Plan classroom "research lessons" that bring to life both specific subject
matter goals and long term goals for students; and
• Carefully study how students respond to these lessons - including their
learning, engagement, and treatment of each other.

Lesson study involves groups of teachers meeting regularly over a period of time
(ranging from several months to a year) to work on the design, implementation,
testing, and improvement of one or several "research lessons" (Stigler & Hiebert,
1999). Research lessons are actual classroom lessons, taught to one's own students,
that are (a) focused on a specific teacher-generated problem, goal, or vision of
pedagogical practice, (b) carefully planned, usually in collaboration with one or
more colleagues, (c) observed
by other teachers, (d) recorded for analysis and reflection, and (e) discussed by
lesson study group members, other colleagues, administrators, and/or an invited
commentator (Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998).
During a three-year investigation of Japanese education, Lewis (2000) found that
Japanese teachers were able to successfully shift their approach to teaching science
from "teaching as telling" to "teaching for understanding" through intense
studying and sharing during lesson study. Japanese teachers believe that time spent
studying their lessons will subsequently improve their teaching. Furthermore, they
believe that the most effective place to improve their teaching is in the context of a
classroom lesson (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Japanese teachers consistently credit
research lessons as the key to individual, school-wide, and national improvement of
teaching (Lewis, 2000).

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SMP Bangil

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