Using Lesson Study as a Means to Support Teachers in Learning to Teach Mathematics for Social Justice

Abstract

A growing number of researchers argue that teaching mathematics for social justice can support the ongoing struggle for equity in mathematics education (Frankenstein, 1995; Gutstein, 2006). One way to support mathematics teachers in developing mathematics pedagogies for social justice may be to use lesson study, a powerful form of professional development in Japan that is increasingly used in the United States (Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998), to engage them in goal-oriented, reflective practice. To date, no published studies exist suggesting lesson study has been used in the context of supporting teachers in developing pedagogies for social justice. Moreover, little research exists that examines mathematics teachers learning to teach for social justice. This chapter reports on a study of eight secondary mathematics teachers who participated in a graduate course that engaged them in a version of lesson study to create, implement, observe, revise, and reteach math lessons that incorporated social justice goals. The research reported examines the challenges teachers faced in learning to teach mathematics for social justice and the ways the use of lesson study may have supported or constrained teachers’ negotiations of these challenges.