Challenges to Importing Japanese Lesson Study: Concerns, Misconceptions, and Nuances

Phi Delta Kappan

Volumn 85, Issue 7, 2004, Pages 520-525

  Chokshi, Sonal ^a   Fernandez, Clea ^b,c  

^a Columbia University ^*  (United States)

^b Department of Human Development ^*

^c Lesson Study Research Group

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 1642416543     PISSN: 00317217     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/003172170408500710     Document Type: Review

References (25)

1. Lesson study is a Japanese approach to professional development in which teachers conduct systematic inquiry into their practice. For a brief introduction to lesson study, see Clea Fernandez and Sonal Chokshi, "A Practical Guide to Translating Lesson Study for a U.S. Setting," Phi Delta Kappan, October 2002, pp. 128-34.
2. See Sonal Chokshi and Clea Fernandez, "Impact of Lesson Study, " paper commissioned by the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Committee on a Framework and Long-Term Research Agenda for International Comparative Education Studies, NAS/National Research Council, Washington, D.C., March 2003; Clea Fernandez, "Learning from Japanese Approaches to Professional Development: The Case of Lesson Study," Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 53, 2002, pp. 393-405; Clea Fernandez, Joanna Cannon, and Sonal Chokshi, "A U.S.-Japan Lesson Study Collaboration Reveals Critical Lenses for Examining Practice," Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 19, 2003, pp. 171-85; and Clea Fernandez et al., "Learning About Lesson Study in the United States," in Edward R. Beauchamp, ed., New and Old Voices on Japanese Education (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming). Catherine Lewis also devotes a chapter to six common misconceptions about lesson study in Lesson Study: A Handbook of Teacher-Led Instructional Change (Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools, 2002).
3. See Sonal Chokshi and Clea Fernandez, "Impact of Lesson Study, " paper commissioned by the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Committee on a Framework and Long-Term Research Agenda for International Comparative Education Studies, NAS/National Research Council, Washington, D.C., March 2003; Clea Fernandez, "Learning from Japanese Approaches to Professional Development: The Case of Lesson Study," Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 53, 2002, pp. 393-405; Clea Fernandez, Joanna Cannon, and Sonal Chokshi, "A U.S.-Japan Lesson Study Collaboration Reveals Critical Lenses for Examining Practice," Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 19, 2003, pp. 171-85; and Clea Fernandez et al., "Learning About Lesson Study in the United States," in Edward R. Beauchamp, ed., New and Old Voices on Japanese Education (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming). Catherine Lewis also devotes a chapter to six common misconceptions about lesson study in Lesson Study: A Handbook of Teacher-Led Instructional Change (Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools, 2002).
4. See Sonal Chokshi and Clea Fernandez, "Impact of Lesson Study, " paper commissioned by the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Committee on a Framework and Long-Term Research Agenda for International Comparative Education Studies, NAS/National Research Council, Washington, D.C., March 2003; Clea Fernandez, "Learning from Japanese Approaches to Professional Development: The Case of Lesson Study," Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 53, 2002, pp. 393-405; Clea Fernandez, Joanna Cannon, and Sonal Chokshi, "A U.S.-Japan Lesson Study Collaboration Reveals Critical Lenses for Examining Practice," Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 19, 2003, pp. 171-85; and Clea Fernandez et al., "Learning About Lesson Study in the United States," in Edward R. Beauchamp, ed., New and Old Voices on Japanese Education (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming). Catherine Lewis also devotes a chapter to six common misconceptions about lesson study in Lesson Study: A Handbook of Teacher-Led Instructional Change (Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools, 2002).
5. See Sonal Chokshi and Clea Fernandez, "Impact of Lesson Study, " paper commissioned by the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Committee on a Framework and Long-Term Research Agenda for International Comparative Education Studies, NAS/National Research Council, Washington, D.C., March 2003; Clea Fernandez, "Learning from Japanese Approaches to Professional Development: The Case of Lesson Study," Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 53, 2002, pp. 393-405; Clea Fernandez, Joanna Cannon, and Sonal Chokshi, "A U.S.-Japan Lesson Study Collaboration Reveals Critical Lenses for Examining Practice," Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 19, 2003, pp. 171-85; and Clea Fernandez et al., "Learning About Lesson Study in the United States," in Edward R. Beauchamp, ed., New and Old Voices on Japanese Education (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming). Catherine Lewis also devotes a chapter to six common misconceptions about lesson study in Lesson Study: A Handbook of Teacher-Led Instructional Change (Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools, 2002).
6. See Sonal Chokshi and Clea Fernandez, "Impact of Lesson Study, " paper commissioned by the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Committee on a Framework and Long-Term Research Agenda for International Comparative Education Studies, NAS/National Research Council, Washington, D.C., March 2003; Clea Fernandez, "Learning from Japanese Approaches to Professional Development: The Case of Lesson Study," Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 53, 2002, pp. 393-405; Clea Fernandez, Joanna Cannon, and Sonal Chokshi, "A U.S.-Japan Lesson Study Collaboration Reveals Critical Lenses for Examining Practice," Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 19, 2003, pp. 171-85; and Clea Fernandez et al., "Learning About Lesson Study in the United States," in Edward R. Beauchamp, ed., New and Old Voices on Japanese Education (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming). Catherine Lewis also devotes a chapter to six common misconceptions about lesson study in Lesson Study: A Handbook of Teacher-Led Instructional Change (Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools, 2002).
7. James Hiebert, Ronald Callimore, and James Stigler, "A Knowledge Base for the Teaching Profession: What Would It Look Like and How Can We Get One?," Educational Researcher, June/July 2002, pp. 3-15.
8. An initial version of this survey was conducted in collaboration with Catherine Lewis of Mills College. For more information about the data, please visit www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lsgroups.html.
9. See Fernandez and Chokshi, op. cit.
10. Lynn Liptak, "It's a Matter of Time," RBS Currents, Spring/Summer 2002, pp. 6-7.
11. One might argue that it is premature to talk about student performance or other outcome measures associated with lesson study in the U.S., since the process is still being explored and adapted. Teachers must first come to understand lesson study and do it well, before it can be treated as a testable intervention.
12. Liping Ma, Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics (Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1999).
13. Clea Fernandez, "Lesson Study: A Means for U.S. Teachers to Develop the Knowledge of Mathematics Needed for Reform-Minded Teaching?," manuscript submitted for publication, 2003.
14. This principle does not imply that the teacher is not part of the equation. Obviously, one can still learn from the teacher's unique style and rapport with students, but the focus should be on learning, not judging,
15. To download sample discussion protocol guidelines for lesson study, please visit www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/tools.html. See also Fernandez and Chokshi, op. cit.
16. This is not meant to suggest that teachers in a lesson study group should not engage in rapport-building activities or conversations. The importance of such conversations is that they help teachers to 1) understand one another's perspectives, 2) instill respectful norms for exchanging ideas, 3) develop a shared vocabulary for exchanging ideas, and 4) establish some common ground.
17. See Fernandez and Chokshi, op. cit.
18. Chokshi and Fernandez, op. cit.
19. Fernandez and Chokshi, op. cit.
20. Joanna Cannon and Clea Fernandez, "'This Research Has Nothing to Do with Our Teaching!': An Analysis of Lesson Study Practitioners' Difficulties Conducting Teacher Research," manuscript submitted for publication, 2003; and Fernandez, Cannon, and Chokshi, op. cit.
21. Joanna Cannon and Clea Fernandez, "'This Research Has Nothing to Do with Our Teaching!': An Analysis of Lesson Study Practitioners' Difficulties Conducting Teacher Research," manuscript submitted for publication, 2003; and Fernandez, Cannon, and Chokshi, op. cit.
22. Linda Darling-Hammond, The Right to Learn: A Blueprint for Creating Schools That Work (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997).
23. Tad Watanabe and Patsy Wang-lverson, "Role of Knowledgeable Others," paper presented at the First Annual Lesson Study Conference, Stamford, Conn., November 2002.
24. Fernandez et al., op. cit.
25. Denise Jarrett Weeks and Jennifer Stepanek, eds., "Lesson Study: Teachers Learning Together," Northwest Teacher, Spring 2001.