How Should Research Contribute to Instructional Improvement? The Case of Lesson Study

Lesson study, a Japanese form of professional development that centers on collaborative study of live classroom lessons, has spread rapidly in the United States since 1999. Drawing on examples of Japanese and U.S. lesson study, we propose that three types of research are needed if lesson study is to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational researcher 2006-04, Vol.35 (3), p.3-14
Main Authors: Lewis, Catherine, Perry, Rebecca, Murata, Aki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Studies
Classroom Techniques
Cooperative learning
Education
Educational Change
Educational Development
Educational Improvement
Educational innovation
Educational Research
Educational Researchers
Elementary schools
Foreign Countries
Instructional Improvement
Instructional Innovation
Japan
Japanese language
Learning
Lesson Plans
Mathematics education
Mathematics teachers
Observational research
Professional Development
Research design
Research Methodology
Research methods
Students
Studies
Teachers
Technological innovation
United States
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Summary:Lesson study, a Japanese form of professional development that centers on collaborative study of live classroom lessons, has spread rapidly in the United States since 1999. Drawing on examples of Japanese and U.S. lesson study, we propose that three types of research are needed if lesson study is to avoid the fate of so many other once-promising reforms that were discarded before being fully understood or well implemented. The proposed research includes development of a descriptive knowledge base; explication of the innovation's mechanism; and iterative cycles of improvement research. We identify six changes in the structure and norms of educational research that would enhance the field's capacity to study emerging innovations such as lesson study. These changes include rethinking the routes from educational research to educational improvement and recognizing a "local proof route"; building research methods and norms that will better enable us to learn from innovation practitioners; and increasing our capacity to learn across cultural boundaries.
ISSN:0013-189X
1935-102X
DOI:10.3102/0013189X035003003