Abstract
Lesson Study, a form of research on teaching by teachers, creates learning opportunities for teachers. Lesson Study is a collaborative process in which teachers observe, analyze, and evaluate each other’s actual classroom lessons mainly with the objective of improving their lessons. In a typical flow of Lesson Study, a classroom lesson is observed by other teachers, and this is followed by a conference in which the observers present their analyses and interpretations of lesson elements such as the teacher’s and students’ specific actions during the lesson, lesson content and teaching materials, learning style, and educational goals. The teacher who administered the lesson reflects on the lesson, his or her professional competencies, and other relevant matters. One cycle of Lesson Study is completed when both the observed and observer teachers apply findings from the conference to designing their respective future lessons. This indicates that Lesson Study serves as a learning opportunity for teachers, as it is said that teachers learn by example (Shulman 2004). Lesson Study in Japan is primarily characterized by its school-based organization. Defining Lesson Study as an organizational learning opportunity, we present in this chapter an overview of Lesson Study as practiced in Japan and explain its actual situation through the example of an elementary school.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Kage, M. 2008. “Jugyo zukuri niokeru ‘shikake’” [Devices for lesson design]. In K. Akita, & C. Lewis (Eds.), Jugyo no kenkyu kyoshi no gakushu: Lesson study eno izanai [Study of lessons teacher’s learning: An invitation to lesson study] (pp. 152–168). Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
National Institute for Educational Policy Research, The (NIER). (2011). Kyoin no shitsu no kojo nikansuru chosa kenkyu houkokusho [Report of the survey on the qualitative improvement of school teachers].
Sakamoto, A., & Akita, K. (2008). “Jugyo kenkyu kyogikai deno kyoshi no gakushu: Shogakko kyoshi no shiko katei no bunseki” [Teachers’ learning in lesson study conference: Analysis of elementary school teachers’ thought process]. In K. Akita, & C. Lewis (Eds.), Jugyo no kenkyu kyoshi no gakushu: Lesson study eno izanai [Study of lessons teacher’s learning: An invitation to lesson study] (pp. 98–113). Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Sato, M. 2015. Senmonka toshite kyoshi o sodateru: kyoshi kyoiku kaikaku no grand design [Training teachers as professionals: A grand design for teacher training reform]. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
Shulman, L. (2004). The wisdom of practice: Essays on teaching, learning, and learning to teach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shulman, L., & Shulman, J. H. (2004). How and what teachers learn: A shifting perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36(2), 257–271.
Wolf, J., & Akita, K. (2008). “Lesson Study no kokusai doko to jugyo kenkyu eno toi: Nippon, America, Hong Kong ni okeru Lesson Study no hikaku kenkyu” [International trends of lesson study and questions about lesson study: a comparative study of lesson study in Japan, America, and Hong Kong]. In K. Akita and C. Lewis (Eds.), Jugyo no kenkyu kyoshi no gakushu: Lesson study eno izanai [Study of lessons teacher’s learning: An invitation to lesson study] (pp. 24–42). Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fujie, Y. (2019). Lesson Study. In: Kitamura, Y., Omomo, T., Katsuno, M. (eds) Education in Japan. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 47. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2632-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2632-5_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2630-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2632-5
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)