Reflections on Lesson Study

“Improving something as complex and culturally embedded as teaching
requires the efforts of all the players, including students, parents, and
politicians. But teachers must be the primary driving force behind
change. They are best positioned to understand the problems that
students face and to generate possible solutions.”
-James Stigler and James Hiebert

In the lesson study cycle teachers work together to:
• Formulate goals for student learning and long-term development.
• Collaboratively plan a “research lesson” designed to bring life to these goals.
• Conduct the research lesson, with one team member teaching and others gathering
evidence on student learning and development.
• Discuss the evidence gathered during the lesson, using it to improve the lesson, the
unit, and instruction more generally.

The lesson study cycle provides the opportunity for teachers to:
• Think carefully about the goals of a particular lesson, unit, and subject area.
• Think deeply about long-term goals for students. What is the gap between who
students are now and who we hope they will become?
• Study and improve the best available lessons.
• Deepen their own subject-matter knowledge, by considering questions like: what
knowledge and understanding are important?; how is it developed?; what are the
gaps in student understanding and knowledge?
• Collaboratively plan lessons.
• Anticipate student thinking.
• Carefully study student learning and behavior.
• Build powerful instructional strategies – for example, develop questioning strategies
that stimulate student interest and learning.