The Thorny Issue of Time

Abstract

In initial teacher education (ITE) there is interest in developing the use of lesson study as it is seen as a positive tool for aiding student-teachers in developing their pedagogic understanding and practice. However, there are often concerns about the potential sustainability of lesson study in teacher preparation programmes which are already very intensive, requiring a great deal of work from school-based mentors and university tutors as well as student-teachers. This intensity leads to a number of competing priorities and a belief that the time taken to complete lesson study projects is not sustainable in the long term. In this chapter the author discusses how a consideration of the complex nature of time can help reframe the issues of sustainability of lesson study projects in ITE contexts. A number of studies from the literature are used to exemplify how a consideration of how the amount of time needed to complete a project and the rhythms of the school year, can lead to the use of different approaches to lesson study which are sensitive to the timescapes of any given context.

Citation

Wood, P. (2019), "The Thorny Issue of Time", Wood, P., Larssen, D.L.S., Helgevold, N. and Cajkler, W. (Ed.) Lesson Study in Initial Teacher Education: Principles and Practices, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 161-172. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-797-920191012