Theory and Practice of Lesson Study in Mathematics

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xviii

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2. Theoretical Perspectives of Lesson Study

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Theory and Practice of Lesson Study in Mathematics around the World

      • Rongjin Huang, Akihiko Takahashi, João Pedro da Ponte

      Pages 3-12

   3. How Does Lesson Study Work? Toward a Theory of Lesson Study Process and Impact

      • Catherine Lewis, Shelley Friedkin, Katherine Emerson, Laura Henn, Lynn Goldsmith

      Pages 13-37

   4. How Could Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Inspire Lesson Study?

      • Ge Wei

      Pages 39-58

   5. Developing Teachers’ Expertise in Mathematics Instruction as Deliberate Practice through Chinese Lesson Study

      • Xue Han, Rongjin Huang

      Pages 59-81

   6. Doing and Investigating Lesson Study with the Theory of Didactical Situations

      • Jacob Bahn, Carl Winsløw

      Pages 83-101

   7. Theorizing Professional Learning through Lesson Study Using the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth

      • Wanty Widjaja, Colleen Vale, Susie Groves, Brian Doig

      Pages 103-133

   8. Teaching for Robust Understanding with Lesson Study

      • Alan Schoenfeld, Angela Dosalmas, Heather Fink, Alyssa Sayavedra, Karen Tran, Anna Weltman et al.

      Pages 135-159

3. Historical and Cultural Perspectives in Japan and China

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 161-161

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   2. Preface: Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Lesson Study in Japan and China

      • Lynn Paine

      Pages 163-167

   3. The Origin and Development of Lesson Study in Japan

      • Naomichi Makinae

      Pages 169-181

   4. Lesson Study and Textbook Revisions: What Can We Learn from the Japanese Case?

      • Tad Watanabe

      Pages 183-200

   5. An Analysis of Chinese Lesson Study from Historical and Cultural Perspectives

      • Xuhui Li

      Pages 201-228

   6. Lesson Study and Its Role in the Implementation of Curriculum Reform in China

      • Xingfeng Huang, Rongjin Huang, Yan Huang, Chenqi Wu, Cecilia Anne Wanner

      Pages 229-252

4. Adaption Lesson Study in Selected Education Systems

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 253-253

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   2. Preface: Adaptation of Lesson Study in Selected Education Systems

      • Wasyl Cajkler

      Pages 255-262

   3. Using School-Wide Collaborative Lesson Research to Implement Standards and Improve Student Learning: Models and Preliminary Results

      • Akihiko Takahashi, Thomas McDougal

      Pages 263-284

   4. Implementing a New Mathematics Curriculum in England: District Research Lesson Study as a Driver for Student Learning, Teacher Learning and Professional Dialogue

      • Peter Dudley, Paul Warwick, Maria Vrikki, Jan D. Vermunt, Neil Mercer, Nicolette van Halem et al.

      Pages 285-315

   5. A Case of Lesson Study in South Africa

      • Jill Adler, Jehad Alshwaikh

      Pages 317-342

This book brings together and builds on the current research efforts on adaptation, conceptualization, and theorization of Lesson Study (LS). It synthesizes and illustrates major perspectives for theorizing LS and enriches the conceptualization of LS by interpreting the activity as it is used in Japan and China from historical and cultural perspectives. Presenting the practices and theories of LS with practicing teachers and prospective teachers in more than 10 countries, it enables the reader to take a comparative perspective. Finally, the book presents and discusses studies on key aspects of LS such as lesson planning, post-lesson discussion, guiding theories, connection between research and practice, and upscaling.

Lesson Study, which has originated in Asia as a powerful effective professional development model, has spread globally. Although the positive effects of lesson study on teacher learning, student learning, and curriculum reforms have been widely documented,conceptualization of and research on LS have just begun to emerge. This book, including 38 chapters contributed by 90 scholars from 21 countries, presents a truly international collaboration on research on and adaptation of LS, and significantly advances the development of knowledge about this process.

Chapter 15: "How Variance and Invariance Can Inform Teachers’ Enactment of Mathematics Lessons" of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

Theory and Practice of Lesson Study in Mathematics: An International Perspective shows that the power of Lesson Study to transform the role of teachers in classroom research cannot be explained by a simple replication model. Here we see Lesson Study being successful internationally when its key principles and practices are taken seriously and are adapted to meet local issues and challenges.  

(Max Stephens, Senior research fellow at TheUniversity of Melbourne)

It works. Instruction improves, learning improves. Wide scale?  Enduring? Deep impact? Lesson study has it. When something works as well as lesson study does, while alternative systems for improving  instruction fail, or only succeed on small scale or evaporate as quickly as they show promise, it is time to understand how and why lesson study works. This volume brings the research on lesson study together from around the world. Here is what we already know and here is the way forward for research and practice informed by research. It is time to wake up and pay attention to what has worked so well, on wide scale for so long.

(Phil Dara, A leading author of the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics in the U.S.)

• Lesson Study
• LS
• Lesson Study in mathematics education
• mathematics education
• professional development
• theorizing LS
• instructional perspectives of lesson study
• LS for prospective mathematics teachers
• professional learning communities
• expansive learning/activity theory
• theorizing LS in mathematics
• methodology in studies on LS in mathematics
• LS in mathematics
• learning and instruction

“I recommend this book for educators who are new to lesson study professional development and would like to learn more. The book was revised, peer-reviewed, and externally reviewed over a two year period which, in my opinion, confirms the research’s validity.” (MAA Reviews, February 2, 2020)

• Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, USA

  Rongjin Huang

• College of Education, DePaul University, Chicago, USA

  Akihiko Takahashi

• College of Education, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

  João Pedro da Ponte

Dr. Rongjin Huang is professor of mathematics education at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), USA. He got bachelor and master degrees in mathematics in Mainland China, and Ph.D. degrees in curriculum and instruction in Hong Kong and the USA. He was a high school mathematic teacher, and a faculty member at East China Normal University and University of Macau prior to joining MTSU.  His research interests include classroom research, teacher education, and comparative studies in mathematics education. Dr. Huang has more than 100 publications and presentations in both Chinese and English. The articles have been published in highly respected journals such as: Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, ZDM Mathematics Education, and Journal of Mathematical Behavior. Dr. Huang has published six books. His recently published books include How Chinese Teach Mathematics and Improve Teaching (Rougtledge, 2013), Prospective mathematics teachers’ knowledgeof Algebra: A comparative study in China and the United States of America (Springer, 2014), and Teaching and learning mathematics through variation: Confucian heritage meets Western theories (Sense, 2017). Dr. Huang has served as a guest editor for ZDM Mathematics Education and International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies. He has organized and chaired secessions at international conferences such as AERA, NCTM, and ICME.

Dr. Akihiko Takahashi is an Associate Professor at DePaul University. He teaches mathematics and mathematics education for prospective teachers. He was a teacher in Japan before becoming an educator of mathematics teachers. During his teaching career, he was nationally active in mathematics lesson study in Japan. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; his dissertation research focused on internet use in mathematics education. He has published over 60 journal articles and book chapters in English and Japanese and given over 50 presentations and keynote at conferences and workshops in Canada, Chile, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippine, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States.

Dr. João Pedro da Ponte is Professor at Universidade de Lisboa. He made his doctoral studies at the University of Georgia (USA), and was a Visiting Professor at San Diego (USA), UNICAMP (Brazil), and Granada (Spain). His current main research interests are mathematics teaching practices and teacher education and the teaching and learning of rational numbers and algebra. He coordinated a government report about pre-service teacher education (2006) and a new mathematics curriculum for basic education (2007) and collaborates with the Portuguese association of teachers of mathematics. He has supervised thirty one PhD dissertations and is author and co-author of several books and articles in national and internationaljournals such as BOLEMA, RELIME, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Educations, and ZDM Mathematics Education.

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