Guide for planning and analyzing mathematics lessons in lesson study
From APEC HRDWG Wiki
As part of the APEC Education Network (EDNET) project Classroom Innovations through Lesson Study, a Guide for Planning and Analyzing Mathematics Lessons in Lesson Study was created to help educators learn about Lesson Study so as to improve mathematics education. The main focus of the guide is to provide educators with the tools to effectively analyze and develop high-quality lessons by focusing on those elements which are associated with greater student learning.
Download
The full guide is available for download in Adobe PDF Format. Click here to download.
Summary
The guide outlines important elements to be considered when developing a lesson, including moving from telling to explaining to guiding; effectively situating a lesson within a unit; pacing the development of conceptual understanding; identifying key questions; and incorporating assessment. In addition to guiding effective planning, these elements also form a frame for the analysis and assessment of lesson quality.
More specific considerations for planning and implementing effective lessons are also provided, including clarity of objectives; alignment and quality of tasks, activities and problems; anticipating and responding to mistakes and misconceptions; and the skillful use of effective questioning. Once again, this set of considerations supports both lesson development as well as individual and collaboration lesson review and critique. Finally, to support a collegial process of thoughtful and constructive study of lessons, the guide provides detailed directions and questions for conducting analyses of lessons and guiding their revision and improvement.
Examples
To show how the Guide might be used to frame discussion of a lesson, we have created examples of analyses of select Lesson Study Videos. These videos provide the raw material for productive discussion for education who seek to understand what makes a lesson effective and to acquire new ideas for teaching, and the Guide for Planning and Analyzing Mathematics Lessons in Lesson Study provides a tool that teachers can use to analyze the videos.
