ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a background to lesson study (LS), its origins and current popularity. LS is usually described as some or all of the following: teachers working to research and develop a particular practice; researching and planning a lesson together; collaboratively teaching and observing the planned lesson; and collaboratively analysing and critically reflecting on that lesson. LS is aimed at developing the pedagogic practice of the profession as a whole, though, of course, in doing so the individuals involved would be expected to develop their own professional practice too. LS has been seen to develop and support teachers in a non-threatening collaborative way, which is important in the current context in schools in the UK where ‘performance management and performativity are so dominant in schools and in professional learning’. Japanese lessons, particularly problem-solving lessons, often have a well-defined structure. The data collection and analysis of learners’ responses allows us to distinguish between a research lesson and a lesson observation.
