Learning through research: The case for Japanese lesson study

Japanese lesson study has become increasingly popular (Seleznyov, 2018) as an approach to teacher professional development in the UK. Translated from the words jugyou (instruction or lesson) and kenkyu (research or study), lesson study involves teachers collaboratively planning a lesson, observing it being taught and then discussing their findings. In line with recent research on high-impact professional development, lesson study starts with an end goal (Stoll et al., 2012), engages teachers in and with research (Bell et al., 2010) through structured collaboration (Timperley et al., 2014), includes processes to mobilise knowledge across schools (Stoll, 2009), and operates over a sustained timeframe (Hallgarten et al., 2014). Lesson study in Japan encourages a teacher learning culture in which healthy critical conversations about teaching and learning can take place. Like other more familiar UK models of professional development, such as joint practice development (Sebba et al., 2012