Lesson Study: Teacher-Led Professional Development in Literacy Instruction

Lesson study is a form of professional development long favored by teachers in Japan that has recently gained attention in many parts of the United States. Teachers participating in lesson study immerse themselves in a cycle of instructional improvement focused on planning, observing, and revising “research lessons.”; These research lessons are actual classroom lessons that provide opportunities for teachers to implement their ideas about effective teaching as they learn to carefully record student learning in order to evaluate the research lessons, the students, and their own understandings about teaching and learning.