Lesson Study �about Lesson Study: �An Approach to Koshi (講師)’s Professional Development

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Jongsung Kim

(Hiroshima University)

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WALS 2023, Zwolle, The Netherlands

November 28, 2023 (Tuesday)

김종성・金鍾成・Jongsung Kim　

• A Korean “stranger” (Simmel, 1950) in a Japanese university
• Seeing the familiar as unfamiliar in Japan
• Bringing new perspectives to Japan
• Connecting educational research in Japan and the world

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• Specialty
• Lesson study and teacher education
• Social studies education with an emphasis on history education
• Peace education and reconciliation

• Part 1 Lesson Study in Japan

 　- Through foreign eyes (Kim)

 　- Landscape of Lesson Study (Yoshida, Matsuda, & Miyamoto)

• Part 2 Lesson Study-based Teacher Education in Japan

 　- Pre-service Teacher Education (Mase; Kawaguchi & Watanabe)

 　- In-service Teacher Education (Iwata & Hamamoto; Miyoshi & Komatsu)

• Part 3 Lesson Study-based Teacher Education in the World

 　- LS-based TE in USA（Harris et al.）

 　- LS-based TE in Norway（Smith）

 　- LS-based TE in Germany（Hallitzky et al.）

 　- LS-based TE in Peru and Uganda（Saito & Shiraishi）

• Part 4 For a better Lesson Study-based Teacher Education

 　- Multiple stakeholders (Yoshida, Fukuda, Sugita, & Kumai)

 　- Teaching democracy (Kim) 

(Kim, Yoshida, Iwata, and Kawaguchi, 2021)

Lesson Study-based Teacher Education:

The Potential of the Japanese Approach in the Global Setting　

김종성・金鍾成・Jongsung Kim　

• A Korean “stranger” (Simmel, 1950) in a Japanese university
• Seeing the familiar as unfamiliar in Japan
• Bringing new perspectives to Japan
• Connecting educational research in Japan and the world

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• Specialty
• Lesson study and teacher education
• Social studies education with an emphasis on history education
• Peace education and reconciliation

Question

Who might be the person to talk the most during post-lesson discussions in Japan?

1. A Teacher Who Gave a Research Lesson
2. Participants
3. Teacher Educators

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Answer: Teacher Educators

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Another Question

Who might be the people to do lesson study the least in Japan?

1. Elementary School Teachers
2. Secondary School Teachers
3. Teacher educators at the Faculty of Education

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Answer: Again, Teacher Educators

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(Kyoto University Research Center for Higher Education, 2002)

Summary?!

Teacher educators who are involved in lesson study should reflect on their performance for their professional development!

Practice What You Preach!

Contents

I. Koshi (講師) Matters!

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II. Koshi’s Professional Development

• How We Became Koshis
• Lesson Study about Lesson Study
• Border Crossing and Educating Future Koshis

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III. Concluding Discussion

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I. Koshi (講師) Matters!

Koshi (講師) Matters!

• Definition: “[S]omeone from outside of the planning team with deep expertise in the content, often deep expertise in teaching, and much experience with lesson study” (Takahashi & McDougal, 2016, p. 515)

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• Roles: Bringing new research into school, bridging theory and practice, and promoting teachers’ reflections on their teaching and students’ learning during mainly post-discussion and even planning phases (Takahashi, 2014)

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• Shidou Jyogensha (指導助言者), knowledgeable other, advisor, facilitator, critical commentator, and lesson study teacher educator

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• Part 1 Lesson Study in Japan

 　- Through foreign eyes (Kim)

 　- Landscape of Lesson Study (Yoshida, Matsuda, & Miyamoto)

• Part 2 Lesson Study-based Teacher Education in Japan

 　- Pre-service Teacher Education (Mase; Kawaguchi & Watanabe)

 　- In-service Teacher Education (Iwata & Hamamoto; Miyoshi & Komatsu)

• Part 3 Lesson Study-based Teacher Education in the World

 　- LS-based TE in USA（Harris et al.）

 　- LS-based TE in Norway（Smith）

 　- LS-based TE in Germany（Hallitzky et al.）

 　- LS-based TE in Peru and Uganda（Saito & Shiraishi）

• Part 4 For a better Lesson Study-based Teacher Education

 　- Multiple stakeholders (Yoshida, Fukuda, Sugita, & Kumai)

 　- Teaching democracy (Kim) 

(Kim, Yoshida, Iwata, and Kawaguchi, 2021)

Lesson Study-based Teacher Education:

The Potential of the Japanese Approach in the Global Setting　

Outline of Lesson Study-based �Teacher Education in Japan

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(Kim, 2021)

Koshi in Lesson Study-based Teacher Education

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(Kim, 2021)

Question

Koshi has existed as a part of Lesson Study-based Teacher Education in Japan. How is that possible?

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Are these Lesson Study?

• Case 1

Researchers analyze the interactions between students and teachers during the class using a transcription of a video-recorded lesson.

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• Case 2

With a college teacher’s facilitation during a method course, pre-service teachers critically analyze a lesson plan and discuss how to improve it.

Jugyou Kenkyuu (授業研究) and Lesson Study

Jugyou Kenkyuu

Jugyou Kenkyuu broadly aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning of actual classroom lessons; therefore, any lesson-related research that meets the purpose, either practical or theoretical, can be Jugyou Kenkyuu (Katakami, 2011).

Lesson Study

• “Teachers collaboratively plan, observe, and analyze actual classroom practice” (Lewis, Perry, Hurd, & O’Connell, 2006, p. 273)
• Teachers conduct a “sequence collaborative reflective practice” (Dudley, 2015, p. 5)

(Kim, 2021)

Jugyou Kenkyuu: Who, What, How, and Why?

(Kim, 2022)

Jugyou Kenkyuu: Who, What, How, and Why?

Jugyou Kenkyuu as Teacher Education

Jugyou Kenkyuu as Educational Research

(Kim, 2022)

Other Reasons (Kim, 2021)

• Teacher culture to respect teachers’ (lesson study) experiences

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• Teacher culture to share their lesson study

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• The administrative and institutional backdrop of lesson study:
• Budget for lesson study, including inviting lesson study facilitator, holding Kenkyuu Taikai, and publishing a bulletin about their lesson study

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• Subject Pedagogy (教科教育学)

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Research on Koshi

• Koshi and its roles are described as an element for successful lesson study (Fernandez, 2002, 2005, 2010; Fujii, 2006; Huang & Shimizu, 2016; Lewis & Takahashi, 2013; Lewis & Perry, 2017; Perry & Lewis, 2009; Purwanti & Hatmanto, 2019; Seino & Foster, 2020; Takahashi, 2014; Takahashi & McDougal, 2016; Takahashi & Yoshida, 2004; Wolthuis et al., 2020; Watanabe & Wang-Iverson, 2005)
• Koshi’s performance (Seino & Foster, 2020): Final comments

Lack of Research on Koshi itself and their Professional Development:

• “Became/Become” : Koshi Education
• “Being” : Koshi’s Aim and their performances during LS
• “To Be” : Koshi’s Professional Development

II. Koshi’s Professional Development: � Projects of Hiroshima Lesson Study Group

Reasons for the Lack of Research on Koshi

• Lesson study is like air in Japan.

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• Koshis see their work as a service, not as a research subject.

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• Koshis tend not to share their work with others (sectionalism).

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• There is no established system to educate Koshi.

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Hiroshima Lesson Study Group

• Members: Editors of “Lesson Study-based Teacher Education: The Potential of the Japanese Approach in the Global Setting” (Kim, Yoshida, Iwata, and Kawaguchi)

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• Project 1: How We Became Koshis
• Project 2: Lesson Study about Lesson Study
• Project 3: Border Crossing and Educating Future Koshis

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Project 1: �How We Became Koshis

• WALS 2021: Symposium
• Aim: Clarifying how Koshis in Japan are involved in school-based lesson study and why their involvement patterns differ.
• Theoretical Framework: Koshi as teacher educator, second-order practitioner (Murray, 2002)

Project 1: �How We Became Koshis

• Three self-study presentations by Yoshida, Iwata, and Kawaguchi
• Findings
• The aims of and approaches to lesson study varied: Supporting lesson study itself for school professional development, supporting teachers to transform their teaching, and supporting teachers to express their thoughts in language
• The ways of being educated as Koshi are similar: No systemic training but legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991)
• Implications
• Understanding ourselves and our work as Koshis more deeply
• Necessity to do lesson study about lesson study

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Project 2: �Lesson Study about Lesson Study

• WALS 2022: Paper Presentation
• Aim: Showcasing Koshis’ performance and exploring their learning during lesson study about lesson study
• Theoretical Framework: Teacher educator professional development (Vanassche et al., 2015)

Project 2: �Lesson Study about Lesson Study

• Understanding a lesson study cycle that includes lesson observation and reflection, especially Koshi’s involvements in lesson study as a “lesson” in teacher education

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“Lesson” = Lesson Study

“Lesson” Study = Lesson study about lesson study

• Research Lesson: A lesson to consider T-ball game strategies to improve attack and defense with thirty-two 6^th-grade elementary students.
• Iwata’s performance as a Koshi and Kim, Yoshida, and Kawagichi’s observations and comments as members of Teacher Educator PLC

Lesson Study about Lesson Study

Learning Techniques and Perspectives �of Observing Lessons

“I was observing his viewpoints. Then I felt my view and his view was very similar. This is because the teacher has already been to the place I wanted to see. Thus, I felt very close to you. I also found it interesting that he did not take notes but tried to capture the images with a camera.” (Yoshida)

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“In advance, I guess where the climax will be in the instructional plan. I take pictures of the teacher's actions and the changes in the children when I get to that scene, and I prepare to talk about it. I take pictures of those moments to tell the story.” (Iwata)

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Questioning Individual Premises of �Lesson Study

“I have been involved in physical education for so long that I have always taken for granted the importance of weather for the sports that take place outside. This time, when the two of you said, ‘Physical education is vital to consider the season and weather’, I discovered, Oh, that is unique to physical education.” (Iwata)

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“(When I watched the physical education class), I could not keep the class record very much. I realized how much I had focused on verbal communication in class.” (Yoshida)

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Realizing Their Own Characteristics �and Philosophies of Lesson Study

“This time, I became aware that I was trying to look at it through the eyes of a teacher. When I recognized that the other two were not following the teacher, I understood how much I emphasized the teacher’s point of view. I felt I had perceived the class with the teacher at the center.” (Kawaguchi)

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“I always try to convey that I am the Other, not the teacher, but I am on the teacher’s side. On the other hand, I also try to differentiate teachers so that they think my story is worth listening to. But I felt Iwata-sensei conveyed that he was an ally, so I wondered why he doesn't get anxious.” (Yoshida)

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Resources, Mirrors, and Critical Friends

• “Stealing” other Koshis’ crafts
• Understanding various approaches of Koshis
• Relativizing and reflecting on one’s own involvement as a Koshi
• Understanding Koshi’s performance as the target of “lesson” study
• Being “critics” and “cheerleaders” for each other

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Teacher educator PLC based on trust and respect for one another’s specialty can help to overcome sectionalism and individualism, which is one of the major obstacles of teacher educator professional development.

Project 3: �Border Crossing and Educating Future Koshis

• WALS 2023: Group Talk
• Aim: Exploring the Koshis’ learning during border crossing and the possibility of showcasing border crossing to educate future Koshis
• Theoretical Framework: Teacher educator professional development (Vanassche et al., 2015) and Border crossing (Giroux, 2007)

Project 3: �Border Crossing and Educating Future Koshis

A history lesson at a KR high school in Seoul

Koshis’ Border Crossing

Future Koshis’ Border Crossing

Presentation 1:

“What We Observed Was Not the Same”

Presentation 2:

Border Crossing Matters

Presentation 3:

Educating Future Lesson Study Teacher Educators

Project 3: �Border Crossing and Educating Future Koshis

• Findings
• Koshis’ border crossing: Relativizing one’s performance in LS as Koshi, Learning theoretical frameworks of LS, Pitfall of generalization, Importance of contexts, and Importance of Koshi’s border crossing
• Future Koshis’ border crossing: Discovering borders, Reconfirming and relativizing how to analyze lessons and how to play roles as Koshis, Understanding the importance of Koshis’ border crossing
• Implications
• Koshi’s border crossing matters!
• Creating many opportunities for Koshi’s border crossing with future Koshi is important for Koshi’s professional development.

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Importance of (Future) Koshi’s Talk

• Redrawing borders.

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• However, the border is not easily redrawn. Border crossing sometimes fortifies the border.

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• Having own territory is also essential. But, the important thing is not to persist in one’s own border but to be ready to visualize the border and relativize and redraw it with others.

III. Concluding Discussion

Koshi as Teacher Educator

• Teacher educator as ‘second order practitioner’ (Murray & Male, 2002) or ‘teacher of teachers’ (Loughran, 2013; Swennen et al., 2010)
• Importance of lesson study about lesson study
• Importance of overcoming sectionalism
• Necessity of holistic and long-term approaches to educate Koshi

The InFo-TED Conceptual Model of

Teacher Educator Professional Development

Koshi as Teacher Educator

• Koshi is more than the final commentator of the post-lesson discussion.

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• The necessity of understanding Koshi in a broader context: Lesson study leader, School lesson study advisor, Research collaborators, etc.

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• The necessity of holistic research on Koshis and their performance

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Researching Koshi’s Professional �Development Matters!

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• “Became/Become” : Koshi Education
• “Being” : Koshi’s Aim and Their

Performances During LS

• “To Be” : Koshi’s Professional Development

Lesson Study �about Lesson Study: �An Approach to Koshi (講師)’s Professional Development

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Jongsung Kim

(Hiroshima University)

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WALS 2023, Zwolle, The Netherlands

November 28, 2023 (Tuesday)

Thank you for listening. (jongsung@hiroshima-u.ac.jp)