Lesson Study: Can Japanese Methods Translate to U.S. Schools?

Karen Kelly, Harvard Education Letter, May/June 2002, Volume 18, Number 3, 8 pp. This edition of the Harvard Education Letter contains articles and resources helpful to staff development personnel and teacher educators interested in using the Lesson Study Method. This strategy is described as an effective method for systematically improving classroom instruction by replacing teachers' ingrained assumptions and solo practices with collaborative brainstorming, planning, observation, and evaluation. The Lesson Study Research Group at Columbia University has identified 17 school districts and more than 80 schools in 22 states that currently use this method as part of ongoing staff development.

The specifics of lesson study vary from school to school, but generally consist of three phases: problem identification, teaching and observation, and evaluation and reflection. In the first phase, the teaching team defines the learning problem. The problem can be general or specific, and it can be derived from teachers' own classroom experiences or from mandated curriculum policies at the district, or even national, level. During the second phase, teachers meet in teams across grade levels and across disciplines to develop lessons in an attempt to solve the identified learning problem. One of the team members teaches the lesson while colleagues observe. During the final phase, the team discusses what did and did not work. The lesson is then revised, taught, and observed again. Lesson study advocates report that this method has the potential to transform everyday teaching by turning teachers into researchers who seek fresh approaches, ideas, and knowledge.

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