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Lesson study: a new model of collaboration.

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Abstract

Lesson study is a professional development activity long favored by Japanese teachers. Successful lesson study requires collaboration among the participants. In this article, I will describe the process of lesson study and illustrate how lesson study may serve as a new model of collaboration in teacher professional development.

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As Ms. Cabrella gathered her fourth grade students to the front of the classroom, about 15 other teachers stood in the back of the room. When Ms. Cabrella finished giving instructions for the mathematics activity, the students went back to their assigned seats to work in small groups. As the students began to work, the observing teachers moved around the classroom. The observers were taking notes as they watched carefully what the students were doing. When Ms. Cabrella signaled for the whole class discussion, the observing teachers again moved to the back of the classroom. They continued to observe the class discussion as they took more notes. After the lesson was over, the students went on to their music lesson. Ms. Cabrella and the observing teachers sat down to discuss the lesson. Ms. Cabrella first offered her reflections on the lesson. Two other teachers who planned the lesson together with Ms. Cabrella also gave their reflections. Then, other teachers shared their observations, raising some questions. The discussion was critical but always respectful. Finally, the principal who was serving as the facilitator asked Dr. O'Neal, a professor from a local college, to share her observations with the group. She first thanked Ms. Cabrella for opening her class for others to observe. She then offered several comments, mostly positive. Finally, she brought up an issue that, in her view, the group had not fully considered. When Dr. O'Neal completed her remarks, the principal announced the end of the meeting.

This vignette illustrates a professional development activity called lesson study. Lesson study, a commonly practiced professional development activity in Japan, has attracted the attention of many US educators, including the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century. The committee's final report (2000) recommended the establishment of a building- and district-level Inquiry Group to engage teachers "in common study to enrich their subject knowledge and teaching skills" (p. 9). According to Chokshi and Fernandez (2003), there are more than 70 U.S. groups currently engaged in lesson study. Wilms (2003) suggested, based on his observations of lesson study in Los Angeles, that lesson study may fundamentally change the structure and culture of schools in the United States. Watanabe (2002) also suggested that lesson study is a culture as much as a professional development activity. Lesson study is inherently collaborative (Chokshi & Fernandez, 2003). It requires the participating teachers...

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