According to Catherine Lewis of Mills College, "Japanese Lesson Study" is the a three-phase process in which a group of teachers collaboratively

• develop a lesson
• teach or observe a lesson
• discuss the lesson.

The lesson itself is referred to as a "research lesson". It is the object that is studied. She also calls the three steps the "Research Lesson cycle"

Here are some important web sites related to lesson study.

Lesson Study Research Group (LSRG) Web Site http://www.tc.edu/lessonstudy

The Lesson Study Research Group (LSRG) of Teachers College organizes this web site.  Makoto Yoshida was one of the leaders of the lesson study project at an elementary school in Patterson, NJ where 20 teachers from the staff engaged in lesson study.

A Lesson Is like a Swiftly Flowing River - How research lessons Improve Japanese Education. (http://lessonresearch.net/lesson.html) American Educator, Winter 1998. Of the print materials, the most readable and an excellent overview of lesson study.

Lesson Study: the Core of Japanese Professional development (www.lessonresearch.net/aera2000.pdf) Catherine Lewis gave an invited address to the SIG-RME at AERA, April 2000. It is a comprehensive examination of Lesson Study by one of the leading researchers in this area.

"Can You Lift 100kg?" (http://lessonresearch.net/canyoulift.html) shows the three parts of the Lesson Study –  the teachers’ planning, the lesson, and the post-lesson discussion.

This web site has links to many other resources on lesson study. Some of the material located here would be difficult to find elsewhere.

A Teaching Style That Adds Up (http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=24timss.h19&keywords=lesson%20study) David J. Hoff's article, in Education Week describes how lesson study has transformed the teaching on one teacher and many of his colleagues at Paterson Public School No. 2. It shows the impact that the TIMSS videos had on a teacher and a principal.

The Fine Print Interview with James Stigler (http://wpln.org/fineprint/fineprint2001/fineprint021701.html) This includes an interview with James Stigler about The Teaching Gap and a discussion of how teachers in Nashville reacted to be part of a lesson study project. You need a fast connection to listen to this audio.

Lessons: in Perspectives: How Culture Shapes Math instruction in Japan, Germany, and the United States. http://www.csus.edu/ier/reports/math.pdf James W. Stigler's presentation to the California Education Policy Seminar provides a comparative look at culture's influence on instruction.

or Lesson Study Transparancies

or Lesson Study Conference, August 2002

or Lesson Study Conference Application, August 2002