Lesson study (jugyou kenkyuu) has spread outside Japan in the last decade, providing opportunities to see how lesson study fares in countries where the instructional practices and curriculum materials differ from those in Japan. This study reports an elementary mathematics lesson study cycle from the United States. To investigate the nature of the…

The authors comment on the article by Morris and Hiebert in three ways. First, they add thoughts about why improvement efforts often focus on teachers, rather than teaching. Second, they offer evidence from U.S. lesson study research that focus on teaching can improve both students' learning and teachers' learning. Finally, they suggest that the…

This article presents a theoretical model of lesson study, an approach to instructional improvement that originated in Japan. The theoretical model includes four lesson study features (investigation, planning, research lesson, and reflection) and three pathways through which lesson study improves instruction: changes in teachers' knowledge and…

Reports on classroom management in 15 Japanese first grade classes. Describes intensive training of children in procedural skills during the first month of school, peer pressure through class monitors and small groups to achieve management goals, and emphasis on children's socioemotional development as a target of pedagogy. 22 references. (SV)

Based on observations of more than 50 Japanese preschool and elementary classrooms over a 14-year period, this book offers a fresh perspective on how children become eager, motivated learners and caring responsible citizens. In a sharp departure from most previous accounts, this book suggests that Japanese education succeeds because all…