ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces how school-wide lesson study across subject areas contributes to creating school-based professional learning community in Japanese secondary school. School-wide lesson study has traditionally been an effective learning system for elementary school teachers in Japan. However, it is not the case with secondary schools, because secondary school teachers usually conduct lesson study within their respective subject departments. Japanese secondary teachers have limited experience in participating in school-wide lesson study across subject areas because many of them have some preconceived ideas as follows: 1) productive lesson study cannot be conducted without appropriate subject content knowledge, 2) useful materials and techniques cannot be learned from lesson study across subject areas, and 3) a colleague’s classroom is hands-off territory which is better not to be invaded.
By introducing the case study conducted at one of pilot secondary schools as learning community in Japan, this chapter describes how the school-wide lesson study across subject areas revised the teachers’ preconceived ideas. The chapter also highlights how it contributed in accumulating teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, in acquiring a sense of being reflective practitioners and in creating a professional learning community within their school.
