Developing the skills of future teachers to fine-tune pupils’ learning through lesson studies

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an adaptation of the lesson study (LS) approach to the training of future generalist teachers. It aims to improve their interactions with pupils when fine-tuning their learning process. The reiteration of study cycles enables a critical analysis of trainee teacher’s interventions in the light of pupils’ responses and work. It thus allows students to improve their interventions by employing new theoretical contributions, for instance, about the management of both uncertainty and didactic heterogeneity which are two fundamental concepts in the relationship between teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach – The training portfolios handed in by students at the end of the semester include the transcripts of the records of all teacher-pupil interactions for five LS cycles with the corresponding work of pupils. These portfolios conserve traces of the learning process from the first to the last interventions of the trainee teachers with their pupils. The portfolios analyzed for this paper deal with the teaching of mental arithmetic at elementary school. Findings – The analysis aims to pinpoint transformations enacted by trainee teachers in how they intervene with pupils and how their actions incorporate new theoretical contributions. Practical implications – This analysis shows that LS, as a training approach, can facilitate the articulation of theory and practice and enable teachers to experience the effects of improved teaching on pupils’ learning. In terms of training, it makes it possible to understand how theoretical choices take on meaning in the improved practices of trainee teachers. Originality/value – The interest of this contribution lies in the presentation of successive transcripts obtained during an LS approach and in the description of levers that such an approach provides for teaching training.