This book analyses the organisation cultures that promote Japanese Lesson Study, identifies the soul of lesson study, which is missing in other cultures, and discusses the conditions for successfully transplanting the Lesson Study to other cultures. Adopting Nonaka and Tateuchi’s (1995) SECI knowledge creation model as the analytical lens, it explores the tacit and explicit knowledge convention and creation processes in lesson study. Unpacking the mechanism of the knowledge management process and practices could assist policy makers and school administrators, educators in contextualising lesson study to their school systems. The book provides an accessible discussion of the benefits and challenges of introducing lesson study, and presents three new research dimensions to analyse it: reviewing the historical development of lesson study in terms of the pendulum swings between professional accountability and state accountability in developing the school-based curriculum and the national curriculum; examining lesson study as a knowledge management tool for creating pedagogical knowledge for curriculum implementation: and studying the “kaizen kata” embedded in the PDCA cycles of lesson study as an organization routine for school improvement.

Knowledge Networks describes the role of networks in the knowledge economy, explains network structures and behaviors, walks the reader through the design and setup of knowledge network analyses, and offers a step by step methodology for conducting a knowledge network analysis.

The book illustrates how Lesson Study can be applied to craft metacognitive teaching strategies to enhance students’ learning to learn competencies. Based on the findings of an empirical study of a university-funded teaching development project, this book reports how to apply Lesson Study and Learning Study to enhance teachers’ metacognitive teaching competencies with a view to tackling the impacts and challenges created by and underlying the learning to learn curriculum. The book allows readers to experience metacognitive learning by sorting the prior knowledge on the metacognition, setting the goal and planning reading schedule, checking their understanding and progress, evaluating what they have or have not learned and reflected on their reading experience and feelings. Readers can grasp the key concept underpinning metacognitive teaching, including teaching strategies for developing students’ metacognitive abilities that include working on problem-solving activities, working on small collaborative groups, making metacognitive and learning strategies explicit, and encouraging students to reflect upon and talk about their learning.

Drawing from a comprehensive collection of university-funded teaching development projects, this edited volume explores the theories and practices behind developing pedagogies through Lesson Study for a 21st-century curriculum. It encompasses various aspects such as lesson observation, assessment literacy, online teaching pedagogy, values education, STEM education, language education, and mathematics education. The chapters investigate the application of Lesson Study in diverse contexts, highlighting its use in ICT-based teaching and learning environments, the development and refinement of e-pedagogies, as well as the integration of AI in education. Through these cases, the content demonstrates how Lesson Study empowers teachers to craft pedagogies that enhance student learning, while emphasizing its pivotal role as an innovative approach to address the evolving landscape of education in this digital era. Implementing a 21st Century Competency-Based Curriculum Through Lesson Study is the first to address the academic discussion of using Lesson Study to develop pedagogies for effective curriculum implementation to tackle the impact of Industry 4.0 on school education. It offers valuable insights, reflections, and practical guidance to policy makers, school leaders, teacher educators, and teachers who are dedicated to enhancing student learning and nurturing the essential skills required for success in the 21st century.

Offering a rich, critical investigation of how technology can be used to strengthen and promote lesson study in both virtual and hybrid environments, this edited book presents insights into the numerous challenges as well as opportunities for supporting teachers’ and teacher educators’ professional learning in such a novel setting. Providing an international perspective, research in this book highlights on the one hand the necessity of exploring how the known theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches for researching on lesson study and effective characteristics of conducting lesson study can be adapted to the new environments. On the other hand, further analysis reveals the benefits of using various advanced technologies in lesson study, the new practice of professional development of teachers and teacher educators, and also documents related issues of conducting lesson study in such complex contexts. The chapters focus on online cross-cultural lesson study; the key aspects of conducting online lesson study and the effectiveness of it. Features of facilitation and the development of facilitators for online lesson study are explored, alongside the ways in which online lesson study can help address various problems of practice such as implementing equitable teaching, facilitating student interaction in virtual environments, and migration to remote teaching in STEM. This resourceful text provides needed support to both researchers and practitioners, from primary to higher education, with special attention to both teacher and student learning.

Cheng articulates the extent to which knowledge management approaches can create Intellectual Capital (IC) and contribute to improvements in education quality. He argues that public schools have long contended with the requirements of quality assurance in a competitive environment of decreasing student numbers, increasing parental choice and rising standards of accountability. As public organisations, schools have to demonstrate appropriate resource management and show evidence that they are meeting defined development plans and goals. Cheng proposes a strategic approach, IC management, to help schools respond to and cope with the increasingly competitive environment while enhancing school capacity for improving student learning. First, the book guides readers to understand the development of IC theory in the context of education to address the requirements of quality assurance and accountability. It then introduces Lesson Study, e-Learning, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as key resources and drivers for building school IC, and examines the organisational factors that enable knowledge management approaches for developing IC in schools from both Asia and Europe. It concludes by offering strategies and implementation methods to manage school IC for sustainable development. Combining research from Asia and Europe, this edited volume will be useful for school leaders and policy makers, as well as those researching school leadership and IC.

Teaching Piano in Groups provides a one-stop compendium of information related to all aspects of group piano teaching. Motivated by an ever-growing interest in this instructional method and its widespread mandatory inclusion in piano pedagogy curricula, Christopher Fisher highlights the proven viability and success of group piano teaching, and arms front-line group piano instructors with the necessary tools for practical implementation of a system of instruction in their own teaching. Contained within are: a comprehensive history of group piano teaching; accessible overviews of the most important theories and philosophies of group psychology and instruction; suggested group piano curricular competencies; practical implementation strategies; and thorough recommendations for curricular materials, instructional technologies, and equipment. Teaching Piano in Groups also addresses specific considerations for pre-college teaching scenarios, the public school group piano classroom, and college-level group piano programs for both music major and non-music majors. Teaching Piano in Groups is accompanied by an extensive companion website, featuring a multi-format listing of resources as well as interviews with several group piano pedagogues.