Lesson Study Research and Practice in Science Classrooms

Abstract

The publication of The Teaching Gap (Stigler and Hiebert 1999), based on the TIMSS Video Study of grade 8 mathematics classrooms in Japan, Germany, and the USA, led to an interest among educators across many disciplines in Lesson Study – an important part of Japanese teachers’ continuing professional development. “Lesson Study” is a literal translation of the term Jyugyou kenkyuu. Jyugyou means lesson, and kenkyuu means study or research. Lesson Study is a comprehensive and well-articulated approach to examining practice that many Japanese teachers engage in. The process involves a critical focus on the relationship between teaching and student learning. Lesson Study is historically and strongly embedded in Japanese teachers’ professional culture in both preand in-service teacher education (e.g., Isozaki and Isozaki 2011). The origin of Lesson Study can be traced back to the Meiji era, particularly the 1870s and 1880s, following the Meiji Restoration in 1867. Lesson Study was standardized by the end of the nineteenth century, and the process has evolved since then. Recently, in the USA and elsewhere, attempts have been made to theorize Lesson Study, something which had not taken place in Japan itself.