Lesson study is a collaborative approach to professional development that originated in Japan. Since 1999, when Stigler and Hiebert first wrote about lesson study as a model for improvement of classroom practice in the US1, lesson study has enjoyed an enduring fascination for teachers around the world.
Lewis, Perry and Murata describe the emergence of lesson study in the US as a ‘local proof route’: practitioners have adapted and spread the approach in the absence of funding, direction or research findings because they perceive it to be valuable.2 In the last ten years, lesson study has begun to gain momentum in England through a similar route. However, the London Centre for Leadership in Learning (LCLL) have supported more than 50 schools to explore lesson study over the last four years. This has been part of their broader work with schools in supporting a research approach to professional learning and leadership.
But what is lesson study? What is it not? And what are the steps forward for any school leader wanting to implement the approach?
What is lesson study?
At its simplest, we can describe lesson study as a joint practice development approach to teacher professional learning in which teachers collaboratively plan a lesson, observe it being taught and then discuss what they have learnt about teaching and learning. However, the critical features of its process are less simple to identify and frequently contested in the literature.
Based on our analysis of the literature, and drawing largely on a model developed by Lewis3, we attempted to identify the critical components of the lesson study process:
- Critical features of a school-based lesson study project
1. Identify focus
Teachers compare long-term goals for student learning and development to students’ current learning characteristics in order to identify a school-wide research theme. - 2. Planning
Teachers work in collaborative groups to carry out kyozai kenkyu (study of material relevant to the research theme). This study leads to the production of a collaboratively written plan for a research lesson. This detailed plan attempts to anticipate pupil responses, misconceptions and successes for the lesson. - 3. Research lesson
The research lesson is taught by one teacher who is a member of the collaborative planning group. Other members of the group act as silent observers, collecting evidence of pupil learning. - 4. Post-lesson discussion
The collaborative group meets to discuss the evidence gathered. Their learning in relation to the research theme is identified and recorded. It is intended that this learning informs subsequent cycles of research. - 5. Repeated cycles of research
Subsequent research lessons are planned and taught, drawing on the findings from post-lesson discussions. - 6. Mobilising knowledge
Opportunities should be created for teachers working in one lesson study group to access and use the knowledge from other groups, either through observing other groups’ research lessons or through the publication of group findings. - 7. Outside expertise
Where possible, there should be input from a kochi or ‘outside expert’ involved in the planning process and/or the research lesson.