A US lesson study network to spread teaching through problem solving
International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies
ISSN: 2046-8253
Article publication date: 14 October 2013
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and initial implementation of a lesson study network in the US intended to support implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Design/methodology/approach
Participant observation and artifact collection document the development of the teaching through problem solving (TTP) network over a 14-month period.
Findings
The TTP network draws heavily on Japanese practices (e.g. lesson study) and Japanese materials (e.g. coherent, focussed mathematics curriculum) to support changes envisioned in the US CCSS related to students’ mathematical practices and dispositions. The reasons for choice of these key Japanese features are explicated, and teachers’ initial reactions described.
Research limitations/implications
The design shows promise for combining teacher “ownership” with implementation of high-quality approaches designed by others; and allowing instructional innovations developed in Japan to flow into US practice. TTP in mathematics has persistently resisted implementation in the US, so the network is designed to target a central problem in implementing the CCSS.
Originality/value
A method for instructional innovations to spread from classrooms in one country to another is suggested.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Institute for Education Sciences, US Department of Education, under Grant No. R305A110491 – 12. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute for Education Sciences. A version of this paper was presented at the November 2012 meeting of the World Association of Lesson Studies in Singapore.
Citation
Takahashi, A., Lewis, C. and Perry, R. (2013), "A US lesson study network to spread teaching through problem solving", International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 237-255. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLLS-05-2013-0029
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited