Japanese lesson study was introduced to the West in the late 1990s. Certain widely disseminated publications and classroom videos, and also reports on international surveys of students achievement, led many to consider that Japanese mathematics teaching is highly creative and effective, with lesson study as a main explanatory factor. As a result,…

Lesson study is increasingly prevalent as a collaborative activity in which teachers take part to explore their practice. There are many variations in how lesson study manifests itself, even in Japan, where it originated. However, in Japan, fundamental to lesson study is a focus on collaboration in researching teachers' professional practice. In…

Given the distinctive characteristics of Japanese mathematics lessons found by the international studies and the subsequent focus of the attention to Lesson Study in mathematics education community, the author discusses the relationships between the scientific studies and improvement of mathematics teaching and learning from an insider's…

Lesson study (jugyou kenkyuu) has spread outside Japan in the last decade, providing opportunities to see how lesson study fares in countries where the instructional practices and curriculum materials differ from those in Japan. This study reports an elementary mathematics lesson study cycle from the United States. To investigate the nature of the…

Neither experimental nor design research in education is as well developed in Japan as in the United States. Yet Japanese educational practice employs a type of educational research called "lesson study" that is credited for instructional improvements, including the shift from "teaching as telling" to "teaching for…

This paper tries to present a careful analysis of current trends and challenges to importing Japanese model of teachers' professional development. The objective is to examine what "we" can learn from Japanese approach to improving instruction, especially "Jugyou Kenkyu" (Lesson Study) as a collaborative research on the…

The videotape portion of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which captured "typical" mathematics instruction in Germany, the United States, and Japan, disclosed information about types of mathematics students encountered, teachers' role in developing concepts and lessons, and expectations for students. The…

I clarify in this chapter what Iran can learn from Japan's experience of jugyou kenkyuu(lesson study) model, and what we can apply to the Iranian educational context. The chapter also discusses the process, progress and challenges of incorporating jugyou kenkyuu into Iranian teacher training. I examine how Iranian teachers and school…