What Knowledge do Teachers use in Lesson Study? A focus on Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and Levels of Teacher Activity.

Abstract

This research combines the frameworks of Ball et al. (2008) and Margolinas et al. (2005) to demonstrate the elements of subject and pedagogical content knowledge, utilized at varying levels of teacher activity, in a cycle of lesson study. Qualitative data generated in a mathematics-based lesson study, conducted with eight primary school teachers in Switzerland, is analyzed and visualizations of the knowledge occurring at each phase of lesson study is provided. This fine-grained analysis of the mathematical knowledge incorporated by teachers in lesson study demonstrates that all forms of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, at each level of teacher activity, can occur across a cycle. In addition, the paper provides evidence that phases of lesson study do not necessarily occur in succession but can rather take place in a confluence of teachers’ work across a full cycle. The paper’s conclusion draws on the necessity to analyze more deeply teachers’ interactions to track not only Mathematical Knowledge use, but Mathematical Knowledge building by participating teachers.