Lesson Study has been shown to be a systematic way of building teachers’ knowledge by allowing them to share their knowledge with each other. While much has been written about the benefits of Lesson Study in science and mathematics education, this book analyses its impact on education for children with special needs. It studies the ways in which the Lesson Study process is implemented in different educational contexts in the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK, and Sweden—countries which propagate more inclusive learning environments regardless of varying degrees of student capacities. In addition to making transcultural comparisons regarding concepts, procedures, and instruments in the use of Lesson Study in these four countries, this book will provide practice-based suggestions for teachers to formulate collaborative lesson plans.

The philosophy of Lesson Study in Japan—teacher ownership, teacher professionalism, student learning-focused dialogue, teacher collaboration, and teacher professional community—has attracted educators and researchers worldwide. However, Lesson Study does not have the same meaning as its original Japanese expression Jugyou Kenkyuu, a combination of two Japanese words—Jugyou meaning instruction or lesson(s) and Kenkyuu meaning study or research. To bridge the gap between Jugyou Kenkyuu and Lesson Study and therefore maximize the potential of Lesson Study in the world, this edited volume provides two "mirrors" for those who wish to reflect on and implement Lesson Study within their own contexts. One section discusses how Lesson Study is utilized in Japanese teacher education and how this system reproduces the very culture of Lesson Study. The other section addresses case studies showcasing Lesson Study implementation in several countries such as the United States, Germany, Norway, Peru, and Uganda and discusses the opportunities and challenges that arise when Lesson Study-based teacher education expands beyond Japan to the rest of the world. This book will appeal to anyone interested in learning about Lesson Study.

"This is a much needed book for educators who want to learn more than just the surface features of lesson study, to deepen the process and learning. Bringing together current knowledge and resources from lesson study practitioners and researchers all over the world, this book provides models and examples of how teachers can learn more deeply and how to support them to learn more in lesson study. The chapters connect current research/educational theories to classroom practices, filled with examples to illustrate how deeper learning looks like with lesson study; for example, highlighting research process, paying attention to educative talk, using of case pupils (students) as teachers' focus, doing kyozai kenkyuu well, facilitating mock-up lessons, etc. This is not a basic "how-to" handbook of lesson study, and readers can choose chapters with topics of interest to learn and use the new ideas promptly in their work. Coming from the global network of lesson study educators, the book not only provides new learning guides but also provides stories of how lesson study has been adopted in different cultures and educational contexts"--

Offering voices from the field – the first of its kind outside of Japan – this guide to teaching and learning elementary mathematics highlights real case examples from teachers and educators who share what they have learned through Lesson Study. The teachers’ reports provide vivid examples of new insights and ideas about mathematics, about pedagogy and lesson design, about student learning, and about professional collaboration gained through Lesson Study. Each report includes an abbreviated plan of the specific research lesson that led to the new insights, which readers can draw from to replicate the powerful learning in their own community. The case examples of this book are from Lesson Study in mathematics, elementary to lower secondary grade levels, focused on what teachers and educators have learned about improving mathematics teaching and learning; but many ideas from each report can be applied to other subjects and different grade levels. This unique book will be an excellent resource for mathematics teachers in training and practice who seek to improve mathematics teaching and learning in their own and others’ classrooms, including researchers and school administrators who lead professional development.

This book elucidates the formation and development of theories of action in school reforms for Schools as Learning Communities (SLC) during ten years from its inception in 1998 in select Japanese elementary schools, junior high schools, and one secondary school. While growing international interest in Japanese lesson study is in pursuit of a standard lesson study, Suzuki offers a unique perspective into school reforms for SLC and how they resisted the standardization of lesson study out of concerns that it would limit a teacher’s autonomous judgment and choice. Through a theory-of-action approach in its examination of the pilot schools for SLC, this book clarifies: • Why did teachers reform lesson study? • What were the difficulties in reforming lesson study? • Why were teachers working on school reform for SLC? • Why did the school reform for SLC evolve from an elementary school to the junior high schools and high schools? This book provides a theoretical foundation for reviewing the past efforts and histories of Japanese lesson study reforms, and will interest academics and practitioners looking for insights into the future of lesson study.

This open access book brings together theoretical, empirical, methodological, and practical insights from various countries on effective teaching. It particularly focuses on discussing issues pertaining to effective teaching behaviour including definitions and conceptualizations, measurement, differences, and importance to student outcomes from international perspectives. The book will draw upon the rich cultures with diverse contexts involving Asia, Australia, Africa, America, and Europe which serve as the background setting to better understand teaching quality from a wide spectrum of educational systems and performances. It shows that effective teaching behaviour can be conceptualized and operationalized uniformly using specific frameworks and measures, but also addresses some limitations that should be tackled. The book discusses promising ways to measure and compare effective teaching behaviour from classical test theory (CTT) as well as item response theory (IRT) perspectives. It indicates that effective teaching behaviour in diverse countries follows a systematic level of complexity, which provides an avenue for ongoing teacher education and teacher professional development. It discusses the interrelated domains of effective teaching behaviour including contemporary trends of differentiation. The book continues with examining similarities and differences in effective teaching behaviour across countries. It builds on the understanding of cultural traditions across countries as profoundly reflected in the classroom processes.