Lesson Study as a Springboard for the Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers

In Japan, Lesson Study (LS) has been used for many years as a way to connect teacher's learning with practice and to support professional development through teaching (Lewis, 2005; Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998; Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). During LS, teams of teachers meet regularly to work on the design, implementation, and improvement of one or several lessons. Members of the team plan the lesson. One member teaches the lesson, while fellow teachers observe and take notes on student learning. After the lesson, the team members reflect on the lesson, refine the lesson plan, and teach it again in a different class, accompanied again by observation and reflective discussion. The process is called a LS cycle. For at least two decades researchers have called for systematic research of instructional improvement based on LS (Lewis, Perry & Murata, 2006; Puchner & Taylor, 2006; Stigler & Hibert, 1999). But despite extensive research on a variety of aspects of LS, identification of the knowledge types developed by teachers’ participation in LS has not been sufficiently explored, and the mechanisms by which such knowledge develops have not been adequately analyzed. Similarly to teacher educators in other countries, Israeli mathematics teacher educators have attempted to use the LS model to change mathematics teaching for the last several years. As teaching is a cultural activity, the implementation of LS in different countries requires examination and cultural adaptations (Davies & Dunnill, 2008; Perry & Lewis, 2008; Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Mathematics teachers in Israel differ from their Japanese colleagues. Shared responsibility for lesson design and collaborative reflection on the lesson performance are typical of Japanese schools, but these practices are not part of the routine of Israeli teachers. Thus, the question of whether implementation of LS in Israel can contribute to changes in teachers' knowledge, beliefs, skills, and practices is important.