What is lesson study?

Lesson study* is a professional development process that Japanese teachers engage in to systematically examine their practice, with the goal of becoming more effective. This examination centers on teachers working collaboratively on a small number of "study lessons". Working on these study lessons involves planning, teaching, observing, and critiquing the lessons. To provide focus and direction to this work, the teachers select an overarching goal and related research question that they want to explore. This research question then serves to guide their work on all the study lessons.

While working on a study lesson, teachers jointly draw up a detailed plan for the lesson, which one of the teachers uses to teach the lesson in a real classroom (as other group members observe the lesson). The group then comes together to discuss their observations of the lesson. Often, the group revises the lesson, and another teacher implements it in a second classroom, while group members again look on. The group will come together again to discuss the observed instruction. Finally, the teachers produce a report of what their study lessons have taught them, particularly with respect to their research question.

*"Derived from the Japanese word jugyokenkyuu, the term 'lesson study' was coined by Makoto Yoshida...it can also be translated in reverse as 'research lesson' [coined by Catherine Lewis], which indicates the level of scrutiny applied to individual lessons." --RBS Currents, Spring/ Summer 2002

LESSON STUDY QUOTES

In this section, you will find a selected list of quotes about lesson study and its practice in the U.S.

"We are attracted to the Japanese notion of lesson study because it lays out a model for teacher learning and a clear set of principles or hypotheses about how teachers learn. Lesson study embodies a set of concrete steps that teachers can take, over time, to improve teaching. These steps may need to be modified to work in the United States. But we believe it is better to start with an explicit model, even if it needs revising, than with no model at all." --Stigler & Hiebert, The Teaching Gap (1999)

"Japanese teachers say that the most powerful part of lesson study is that you develop the eyes to see children." --Catherine Lewis, Mills College

"Lesson study is a very powerful way to bring teachers together to structure and organize their thinking about classroom practices. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that lesson study in and of itself is an empty shell that will be filled according to the knowledge and skills brought to bear by the group of teachers conducting this activity." --Clea Fernandez, Promising Practices for Improving Instruction

Like most good investments, we expect that the growth and dividends from the time we invest in lesson study will accrue gradually over a long period of time. Improving our teaching in depth is hard, time-consuming work, which needs to be done collaboratively and in a supportive setting." --Lynn Liptak, "It's a matter of time: Scheduling lesson study at Paterson, NJ School 2" (2002)

"Lesson study helps teachers make the transition from being objects of research to actual researchers in the classroom." --Patsy Wang-Iverson, Research for Better Schools

"Lesson study takes us beyond examining student work to students working."--Patsy Wang-Iverson, Research for Better Schools

"Lesson study is easy to learn but difficult to master." --Sonal Chokshi, Lesson Study Research Group of Teachers College, Columbia University

"Lesson study is really as much of a culture as it is a professional development practice, and there has to be some kind of a cultural shift in the culture of teachers in the U.S." --Tad Watanabe, Pennysylvania State University

"I thought, how can teachers improve their teaching without doing lesson study?" --Akihiko Takahashi, De Paul University

"Why do lesson study? Besides the deep experience of working on a lesson, I'm always inspired by lesson study--the other practitioners. Please open up your classrooms!"--Akihiko Takahashi, De Paul University

If you know of any informative or other appropriate quotes about lesson study, please contact us at lsrg@columbia.edu.

LESSON STUDY HANDBOOKS/ GUIDES
In this section, you will find a list of handbooks and guides that provide prescriptive information and/ or templates for conducting lesson study. You can download or request many of these directly from this webpage. If you would like specific tools for conducting lesson study, please click here.



***The following list is alphabetized by author(s):

Lewis, C. (2002). Lesson study: A handbook of teacher-led instructional change. Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools.

This handbook illuminates both the key ideas underlying lesson study and the practical support needed to make it succeed in any subject area. Nine chapters address topics including the basic steps of lesson study, supports, misconceptions, system impact, and how to pioneer lesson study in your setting. The handbook provides practical resources including schedules, data collection examples, protocols for lesson discussion and observation, and instructional plans for mathematics, science, and language arts. Contributions by US lesson study pioneers Lynn Liptak, Tad Watanabe, and Makoto Yoshida highlight additional issues in lesson study design. If you believe that teachers should be the central force in their own professional growth, then read this book to discover both why and how lesson study matters. For ordering information, please click here.

Teacher to teacher: Reshaping instruction through lesson study (facilitator's guide). (2002). Naperville, IL: North Central Regional Laboratory (NCREL).

Teacher to Teacher: Reshaping Instruction Through Lesson Study, is a multi-media resource that includes a 140-page Facilitator's Guide and a 63-minute video. The 63-minute video contains three segments: an introduction to Lesson Study, the story of Ohio elementary teachers involved in Lesson Study through a mathematics lesson, and the story of Ohio secondary teachers participating in Lesson Study through a science lesson. The 140-page Facilitator's Guide includes interactive group processes, handouts, transparencies, facilitator notes, tools, and articles to support Lesson Study implementation. This product was published in 2002 by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and is one of the first resources that demonstrates American teachers using Lesson Study as a means of professional development in their schools. It is designed for teacher facilitators and professional developers to help support effective professional development opportunities for teachers. To order this product, please click here.