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This study aims to understand how graduate students in a maker education course discuss beliefs about making and implement these beliefs as pedagogy in their curricular designs.

Interview transcripts from seven students were analyzed thematically for conceptions of making and learning. Lesson plans were also coded for elements of making, and the authors compared students’ articulated ideas about making with the practical implementation of making in their designs.

Students reflected on the nature of making and the possible benefits and tensions surrounding the use of making for learning. Multiple students discussed benefits for their future learning and careers. Comparisons between interview and lesson plans highlight both successful alignments and key gaps in the application of making principles, including struggles that students encountered when translating their beliefs about making into real-world pedagogy.

Given the limited sample size, future research should explore the extent to which educators in other contexts encounter similar or different obstacles in their development of maker-focused pedagogies.

Findings can be used to inform future maker education courses to better support students in successfully translating core principles of making from general beliefs into effective and practical pedagogical strategies.

Despite widespread interest in combining making with educational spaces, much remains to be understood about the strategies that educators use to integrate elements of making into their pedagogy. This study contributes discussions of the benefits and tensions that maker educators may encounter when blending tenets of making with the needs of formal education.

This study seeks to understand the factors and orientations that are relevant to preservice teachers' (PSTs) beliefs about their ability to design lessons for inquiry-based K-6 social studies instruction.

Seventy elementary PSTs participated in a series of inquiry-based learning activities in a social studies methods course. The study uses exploratory factor analysis, a quantitative method to explore teacher self-reported efficacy for designing inquiry lessons.

The findings revealed that three capabilities related to design are relevant to elementary social studies PSTs' self-efficacy for designing inquiries: lesson design competence, lesson design disposition and lesson design practices. Most PSTs expressed low self-efficacy in all three capabilities. PSTs with a higher disposition for designing inquiry lessons may show a strong sense of self-efficacy for inquiry-based curricula design and practice in elementary social studies education.

The article discusses the importance of understanding PSTs sense of efficacy and categories of such self-efficacy beliefs at the level of lesson design within the context of teacher education. It discusses the need for teacher educators to facilitate educationally sound critical reflection on lesson design skills, disposition and practices that foster PSTs' sense of ability to teach via inquiry in elementary classrooms.

The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: Can student teachers use variation theory to design and review lessons? Can exposure to variation in designs for lessons with the same intended object of learning develop student teachers understanding of design?

The student teachers were undertaking an English‐medium education degree, a feature of which was peer teaching, with the teachers collaborating planning, teaching and reflecting on lessons. A sample of individual student teachers’ written reflections on the design and effect of 15 lessons involving seven objects of learning was collected and analysed using a comparative method. The lesson designs in terms of the pattern of variation and critical aspects afforded, and the teachers’ evaluations of the lessons, are described.

Four critical cases show how variation in the enacted object of learning created by the student teachers in their lessons, and in the lived object of learning of their students, impacted on the lived object of learning to teach of those student teachers. In the design and enactment of their lessons, student teachers used variation to effect in ten out of 15 lessons taught.

The use of the variation framework appeared to be successful in varying what had previously been invariant for many student teachers, who had themselves been educated in teacher‐centric classrooms. Its use offered a systematic, evidence‐based approach to designing, teaching and reviewing lessons, and, therefore, an opportunity to integrate the roles of teacher and learner in pursuit of the object of learning. By specifying the variation framework as a design tool, and not a method of teaching, the opportunity is opened up for further critical investigation of its usefulness in initial teacher education.

This article aims to explore, by drawing on, and coordinating and combining Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Community of Practice theoretical perspectives, what we might learn about how to design for Lesson Study that best supports both collective and individual learning.

The article primarily makes a theoretical contribution. It does, however, draw on, and is informed by, the design of a large-scale study that sought to improve teaching and learning in mathematics with the particular aim of improving grades of post-16 learners in national examinations in England. Lesson Study was central to the designed intervention and such design is explored from the two theoretical perspectives.

Theoretical analysis suggests how the careful design of Lesson Study can facilitate both individual and collective learning in terms of the theories networked here. In particular, it is suggested that supporting collective learning requires careful attention to how “disturbances” in activity systems need to be designed for rather than being left to chance and how architectures that can support individual learning in terms of identity development should pay attention to supporting emerging practices as well as defining what is non-negotiable.

The article takes a novel approach by coordinating and combining two different, and well established, theoretical approaches, which, significantly, are used quite widely in social science research. Together they provide a rich view of learning at both individual and collective levels and suggest ways in which we might better support design for Lesson Study.

This study aims to present a high-end lesson study (HELS) model to develop students' subject competency. Data were collected from a Beijing suburban key senior high school in China. How the subject competency framework (SCF) supports HELS and develops students' subject competency in practice are discussed in this study.

This study provides a four-dimensional SCF developed by the chemistry education research team at Beijing Normal University. Basic procedures of the HELS model involve the project plan, students' pre-test, lesson design workshop, first-round teaching implementation and improvement, second-round teaching implementation and evaluation, students' post-test, and results discussion. Data were collected from each of the procedures, and analysis of the data is conducted in both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

The results show that the SCF supports HELS implementation by (1) identifying key teaching objectives based on curriculum standard requirements and students' subject competency performance; (2) organizing teaching content based on the core knowledge to develop cognitive mode; (3) designing tasks and activities regarding understanding–applying–transferring and innovating categories and sub-categories of SCF; (4) establishing students' cognitive perspectives and reasoning paths to promote their subject competency by teacher–student interaction.

The HELS model provides theory-based pedagogical guidance for conducting lesson studies. It presents the SCF and orientation. The SCF is used throughout the entire process of HELS, including the identification of teaching objectives, the selection and organization of teaching content, and the design and implementation of teaching activities. It reflects a systematic instructional design–implementation–discussion–improvement–evaluation process. The SCF-based HELS can be applied to different topics and disciplines.

The purpose of this study is to examine student perceptions of flipped learning lessons designed to teach information literacy skills.

A mixed-method design was implemented using a paper-based survey and an online focus group. The survey asked questions about the participants’ perceptions of the flipped lessons. The focus group was used to clarify the participants’ responses to the survey questions.

A majority of the students enjoyed completing the lessons. Responses also indicated that a majority of the students felt that the lessons helped them prepare for class. However, issues with computers and internet connectivity at home resulted in some of the students completing the lessons before or after school.

This study was limited to a class of 21 students enrolled in a public school in North Texas.

There is limited research supporting the value of flipped learning in relation to the technology implementation role of school librarians. This study provides insights into how school librarians can develop flipped learning lessons in collaboration with classroom teachers to improve the information literacy skills of students.

This study developed an online lesson study, investigated teacher professionalism after following an online lesson study and examined students' environmental literacy.

This study used a mixed-method research design. The qualitative approach entailed observing science learning focussing on environmental issues during Zoom meetings and interviews with teachers to gain insight into the online lesson study design. The quantitative approach involved testing learning outcomes, focussing on students' environmental literacy after one year of learning science by integrating environmental issue.

The result reveal that the online lesson study design is both asynchronous and synchronous. The teachers' teams asynchronously conduct the planning sessions. The implementation, observation and discussion sessions are conducted synchronously using an online meeting platform. Analysis of online learning during the lesson study shows that mind-on activities are performed using an online meeting platform. By contrast, hands-on activities are performed asynchronously with homework assignments. The relationship between teachers’ participation in lesson study and students' environmental literacy acquisition is positive. To improve the students' environmental literacy, online or hybrid lesson study in the future should synergise with environment-based co-curricular activities and science learning using a problem-based approach.

The limitations of this study are linked to the research subjects, who were situated in South Tangerang, an urban area in Indonesia. The outcomes may differ if the teachers and students are situated in rural areas. Additionally, an online lesson study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Indonesia was under lockdown. Consequently, students and teachers must be required to engage in remote learning from their homes using digital devices. Online teaching has caused suboptimal environmental literacy among students (64.55 ± 9.04), especially in terms of knowledge, skills and participation. Therefore, it is imperative to strategize for an enhanced teaching approach towards environmental issues in the classrooms. Teaching methods that actively engage students with their surrounding environment positively affect their environmental knowledge and awareness (Kalyanasundaram et al., 2024). In future lesson plans, educators should create learning activities within the classroom (intra-curricular) and involve family members at home (co-curricular). It is pivotal to incorporate tasks into online teaching that facilitate direct interaction between students and nature to shape their attitudes, behaviours and concern for the environment (Douglas et al., 2024).

This study’s practical implication is that integrating environmental issues with science learning by framing them as crucial problems for students significantly influences students’ environmental literacy. Teachers strive to meet environmental education objectives that encompass knowledge, awareness, attitudes, skills and participation. Furthermore, teachers use problem-based learning to further improve their students' environmental literacy.

This study focuses on an analyses of an online lesson study design for science learning integrated with environmental issues. It examines the direct impact of online lesson study on increasing teacher professionalism and its influence on students' environmental literacy.

Despite numerous kinds of research regarding the potential of lesson study (LS) in internship and microteaching in teacher education curricula, studies examining the adaptation of LS in the lesson planning (LP) course have not been established. To fill this gap, this study aims to explore the perceptions of pre-service biology teachers of an adapted LS in the LP course toward their instructional design skills and teaching competency.

This study opted for basic qualitative studies. The participants were eleven pre-service biology teachers in their third year who had already taken a LP course. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Collected data were then transcribed and thematically analyzed using grounded theory and focused on participants' perceptions about the development of their teaching competency in lesson planning through LS.

The findings revealed that participants appreciated the planning and consultation phases, teaching practice, peer observation as well as observer feedback from the reflection phase in supporting the development of their basic teaching skills. There was also a change in their perceptions related to the concept of teaching.

The findings of this study offer insight regarding the benefits and challenges of involving pre-service biology teacher students in the LS for biology teacher education programs with a focus on the method or LP course.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study of teacher learning through participation in sustained collaborative subject-based professional development groups supported by a facilitator, using a model of teachers’ conceptions of teaching developed from phenomenography to identify what are the critical features of teaching that must be present if teachers are to learn, and using a variation theory of learning to explain how they learn.

The groups engaged in cycles of lesson study action research to improve the learning outcomes of their students. The authors intended to engage the teachers in an exploration of their own and their students’ experiences to understand the relationship between the enactment of the research lesson(s) and the educational outcome. The authors collected over 157 hours of video recorded teachers’ meetings involving 15 groups, 47 hours of follow-up interviews and 97 hours of lessons. In this paper the authors report on the progress of one of those groups. The authors analysed the transcripts to see what, if any, dimensions of variation were opened in discussion, affording the opportunity for learning. The authors sought the simultaneous juxtaposition, the bringing together, of threads that have entered the discussion that have the potential to open dimensions of variation – to add critical features to the “what” and “how” dimensions of teaching.

The authors identified necessary conditions for teacher learning through collaborative subject-based professional development groups. Any member of the group might bring this about. The facilitator or coach might be expected to perform this role in the group, and to sustain the group’s attention on the critical features of the object of learning.

The paper provides valuable insights into strategies to change teacher perspectives from a transmission oriented to a construction oriented view of teaching in the face of new and challenging curriculum demands.

In the work reported here the authors have used variation theory to design lesson study. This is rather different from a learning study where the teachers engaged in the study use variation theory to design their research lesson(s). It is a learning study of teachers’ professional development.

This study explores how lesson study (LS) can enhance teacher candidates' ability to develop their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

A multiple case study design was undertaken using the social-constructivist paradigm. The authors explored similarities and differences within and among four cases of teacher candidates who collaborated with a cooperating teacher and a university mentor. The data were collected from field observations, post-lesson discussions and follow-up interviews; it was then content analyzed and validated using negative case analysis.

Learning from post-lesson discussions within their own LS clusters, including a teacher candidate, his/her cooperating teacher and university mentor, could help teacher candidates develop their PCK for STEM, rather than gain experience through several rounds of LS engagement. The foci of post-lesson discussions, which were discussed by each LS cluster the most, were students' context, teaching and STEM prototypes, while knowledge of instructional strategies for teaching STEM was mostly related to the previously mentioned foci. Teacher candidates' confidence in teaching STEM lessons seemed to improve when they designed and discussed the overall lessons with their LS clusters.

The STEM-specific LS model was proposed to support the exploration of the struggles and successes of student learning before designing the purpose of the LS and enacting its phases; the implementation of LS could be the tool for enhancing teacher candidates' PCK for STEM teaching.

The authors investigate the use and potential of a theoretical combination of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) and the Theory of Didactic Situation (TDS) to support Lesson Study (LS) in upper secondary mathematics.

Case study performed by university researchers, based on theoretical analysis and case studies based on documents and observation from lesson studies.

Even within a project lasting just about three years, teachers (with no preliminary experience of lesson study) engaged in lesson design based on the combination of theoretical perspectives from TDS and RME in ways that confirm the potential of that combination to enrich and focus teachers' professional development within the framework of LS . It is not clear to what extent the intensive and continued engagement of university researchers has been or would be essential for similar and longitudinal realizations of these potentials.

As current European frameworks seek to engage researchers and teachers in collaboration and exchange across countries, networking of major paradigms of research (like TDS and RME) and uses of them as supports for teachers' inquiry (like demonstrated in this paper) is of considerable institutional interest and potential impact on schools.

Teachers' Inquiry in Mathematics Education (TIME) is a prerequisite for the development of Inquiry Based Mathematics Education, which in turn is required in many countries across the world, with the aim of fostering critical and competent citizens.

This combination of (major) mathematics education theories to support and enrich LS has not previously been investigated. While several aspects of adapting to LS Western contexts have been investigated in the past, including the inclusion of perspectives and tools from academic research, the role of university researchers is also quite open. While authors do not offer a systematic study of this role, authors examine how this role may involve development of new practical combinations of different, complementary theoretical tools, which indeed hold potential to support lesson study in a European context.

To increase the spread and reuse of lessons learned (LLs), the purpose of this paper is to develop a standardised information structure to facilitate concise capture of the critical elements needed to engage secondary learners and help them apply lessons to their contexts.

Three workshops with industry practitioners, an analysis of over 60 actual lessons from private and public sector organisations and seven practitioner interviews provided evidence of actual practice. Design science was used to develop a repeatable/consistent information model of LL content/structure. Workshop analysis and theory provided the coding template. Situation theory and normative analysis were used to define the knowledge and rule logic to standardise fields.

Comparing evidence from practice against theoretical prescriptions in the literature highlighted important enhancements to the standard LL model. These were a consistent/concise rule and context structure, appropriate emotional language, reuse and control criteria to ensure lessons were transferrable and reusable in new situations.

Findings are based on a limited sample. Long-term benefits of standardisation and use need further research. A larger sample/longitudinal usage study is planned.

The implementation of the LL structure was well-received in one government user site and other industry user sites are pending. Practitioners validated the design logic for improving capture and reuse of lessons to render them easily translatable to a new learner’s context.

The new LL structure is uniquely grounded in user needs, developed from existing best practice and is an original application of normative and situation theory to provide consistent rule logic for context/content structure.

Computer assisted instruction (CAI) is a powerful technology that librarians have been quick to discover. However, surprisingly little quality software exists for library applications. Librarians are faced by the necessity of designing their own software to support specific objectives. The design and production of CAI software involves numerous steps, which are discussed in this article.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the merits of lesson study (LS) as a research approach for research in (science) education. A lesson was developed to introduce students to model-based reasoning: a higher order thinking skill that is seen as one of the major reasoning strategies in science.

Participants of the LS team were three secondary school teachers and two educational researchers. Additionally, one participant fulfilled both roles. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used to investigate the effect of the developed lesson on students and to formulate focal points for using the LS as a research approach.

The developed lesson successfully familiarized students with model-based reasoning. Three main focal points were formulated for using LS as a research approach: (1) make sure that the teachers support the research question that the researchers bring into the LS cycle, (2) take into account that the lesson is supposed to answer a research question that might cause extra stress for the teachers in an LS team and (3) state the role of both researchers and teachers in an LS team clearly at the beginning of the LS cycle.

This study aims to investigate whether LS can be used as a research approach by the educational research community.

This study aim was to analyze how lesson study can enhance learning for students with intellectual disability, and how teachers' collaboration affects the design and analysis of the intervention.

Lesson study was used as a methodological framework. Ten special educational needs teachers met the researcher for three collaborative meetings. Between meetings, teachers performed and adjusted a lesson on a particular mathematical issue: quantity and size judgment. To evaluate the lesson design, students completed pre- and post-lesson examinations and attitude tests with Likert-type scales.

Students' knowledge increased during the study. The mean scores for the first group (six students) were 4.3 in the pre-test and 6.5 in the post-test (effect size 0.9). For the second group (four students), the mean score was 3.8 in the pre-test and 4.3 in the post-test (effect size 0.2). Attitude measurement showed split opinions; seven students had a positive experience and three had a predominantly negative experience. Assessment of teacher certainty using transcribed audio recordings of teachers' statements during the collaborative meetings indicated a positive relation between teacher expressions of certainty and student learning. The teacher–researcher collaboration increased teachers' focus on student learning and deepened the researcher's analysis.

There is an urgent need to explore collaborative development in special educational needs teaching. Lesson study is an effective way of examining teachers' collaborative processes using data on teachers' reasoning about teaching and students' learning.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and initial implementation of a lesson study network in the US intended to support implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Participant observation and artifact collection document the development of the teaching through problem solving (TTP) network over a 14-month period.

The TTP network draws heavily on Japanese practices (e.g. lesson study) and Japanese materials (e.g. coherent, focussed mathematics curriculum) to support changes envisioned in the US CCSS related to students’ mathematical practices and dispositions. The reasons for choice of these key Japanese features are explicated, and teachers’ initial reactions described.

The design shows promise for combining teacher “ownership” with implementation of high-quality approaches designed by others; and allowing instructional innovations developed in Japan to flow into US practice. TTP in mathematics has persistently resisted implementation in the US, so the network is designed to target a central problem in implementing the CCSS.

A method for instructional innovations to spread from classrooms in one country to another is suggested.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conceptual classification of learning study as a research approach.

The paper is mainly theoretical, drawing on articles concerning classroom‐based research approaches as well as on some distinctions between a university‐based science of the universal and a clinical science of the particular.

The main argument of the article is that learning studies can neither be subsumed under “design and development research” (because this type of research does not include the professional actor) nor under “teacher research” (because it does not pay much attention to theoretical knowledge) nor should it be regarded as a hybrid between design experiments and lesson studies. In spite of similarities to both it should rather be described as clinical research (in analogy to medical clinical research). The use of teachers’ experiences and tacit knowing in the knowledge‐producing process, the iterative process of specification of theory, and the uniqueness of the learning problems among different groups of pupils are central aspects of a particularistic clinical research process. In comparison with lesson study, the learning study is more focussed on constructing knowledge concerning objects of learning as well as teaching‐learning relations. Teachers are included in the research as interpretative professionals making professional sense of particular educational events.

The paper promotes the conceptual discussion of the learning study approach, as well as of both lesson and learning studies as research approaches, i.e. as knowledge‐producing practices.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and delivery of a lesson study unit in mathematics to pre-service primary teachers and to identify the opportunities and challenges resulting from the need to deliver the unit wholly online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cross-case analysis, using a before-and-after design, was used to compare the development and delivery of the unit in 2019 and 2020, with the pivotal event of interest between the before-and-after cases being the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The content and structure of the unit, as well as its collaborative aspects, remained substantially the same in the before-and-after cases. While there was a low level of engagement with pre-recorded lectures, there was a high level of engagement and participation in the online synchronous seminars, together with a marked increase in overall satisfaction with the unit. Pre-service teachers were unable to teach and observe one another's planned research lessons in school. Instead, after a detailed examination of the task, the lesson plan and student solutions, they observed a pre-recorded video of a research lesson at a local school and participated in a streamed post-lesson discussion. Pre-service teachers regarded this new component as a highlight of the unit and an important connection between the theory and practice of lesson study.

The inclusion of the video-recorded research lesson in 2020 introduced a new level of authenticity for pre-service teachers, allowing them to observe a high quality structured problem solving mathematics lesson taught in a local public school, as part of a local implementation of lesson study-something that is not generally possible. While there is often a view that the benefits of lesson study result mainly from collaborative planning and teaching of the research lesson, this paper highlights the value of involvement for all participants in research lesson observation and post-lesson discussion, as well as the opportunities afforded by the use of “virtual lesson study”.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a learning study (Lindström, 2015) with Swedish sixth grade pupils on the English grammatical structure, the progressive aspect (PROG). The focus is on how the lesson design and the treatment of the subject content, informed by variation theory, affected the learning of the PROG.

Four teachers of English as a foreign language, including the teacher researcher, collaborated to plan, teach, evaluate and analyse a series of six research lessons. The theoretical framework was the variation theory of learning which was used both to design the lessons and analyse teaching and learning. A basic assumption is that learning is a function of discernment, and discernment is conditional upon experiencing variaion. Empirical data consisted of interview transcripts, pre- and post-lesson assessments, and video recordings of the lessons.

The use of the present tense when teaching the PROG was insufficient. When the past tense was introduced, along with particularly powerful examples, pupils’ understanding of the PROG improved. Furthermore, reversing the conventional order by instead beginning the lesson with examples in the past tense, helped the pupils to generalise the meanings of the PROG. Improved pupil learning outcomes were observed when the PROG was treated from the perspective of wholeness, simultaneity and complexity.

The findings challenge conventional ways of teaching the PROG and thus have value for instruction of English as a foreign language.

The purpose of this paper is to examine practicing mathematics teachers’ learning through parallel lesson study in China. Lesson study in China has been practiced for decades. Parallel lesson is an enriched mode of lesson study to address the implementation of new curriculum.

The expansive learning perspective has been used to explore the ways practicing teachers learned to improve teaching through the transformation of learning objects and boundary crossing.

Two cases are illustrated and compared to highlight features of teachers’ learning through parallel lesson study. The practicing teachers developed their competence in transforming instructional objectives and task selection and implementation. In addition, they also developed professional vision in alignment with the reform-oriented curriculum.

This study makes significant contribution to understanding teachers’ learning through lesson study in China. Meanwhile, it also demonstrates how the theory of expansive learning could be used as a conceptual framework to examine teachers’ learning through lesson study.

Research advocates for the use of good teaching practices and approaches while integrating technology in digitally enhanced learning. This is on the premise that previous studies on mobile learning have neglected this aspect of technology integration resulting in numerous challenges. Moreover, there is evidence in the literature showing a scarcity of studies on the use of mobile learning in teaching productive skills. On the other hand, linguists recommend the use of responsive lesson design frameworks in language teaching, claiming effectiveness in teaching all language skills. However, responsive lesson design frameworks are yet to be implemented in a classroom setting. To bridge these gaps in scientific literature, our study decides to utilize the CAPE framework as a good teaching method for improving the productive skills of students in mobile-based instruction.

This study utilizes a mixed-methods research design with an experimental approach. Post-tests and interviews were employed to elicit information from the student-participants on the objective of the study.

Following the analysis of the collected data, notable findings were obtained. While there was evidence to show that the students perceived m-learning as boring and ineffective when incorporated with a traditional lesson framework, our study unveiled that students showed a different perception when incorporated with the CAPE framework.

Our study unveils that integrating responsive lesson frameworks with m-learning improves the speaking and writing skills of students.

This study provides empirical evidence to show the role of good teaching practices like integrating responsive LDFs and mobile learning in improving the productive skills of students. This study is the first to investigate the integration of CAPE and mobile learning in enhancing expressive skills.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the cultural script of the teaching of a lower secondary science lesson on the topic “Classification of Non-living Things” in Singapore through the eyes of Japanese and Singaporean researchers and teachers. In particular, the study analyzes the structural content, i.e. organization of learning activities of a lower secondary science lesson of Singapore and the culture of teaching, i.e. views about teaching held as tacit knowledge of science teachers. It focusses on students’ inquiry skills in a participative and problem-driven science lesson in the Singapore classroom.

This exploratory study adopts a cultural approach of viewing teaching and learning and compares classroom practice in two countries – Japan and Singapore. Contextually, the cultural differences in beliefs and values define how educators learn about what is “good” teaching.

The cultural script of teaching of the science lesson case values the setting of learning tasks that encourage a variety of ideas. It also sets a tone of inquiry-based learning where students are open to questioning, the formulation of ideas and the presentation of solutions. In the science lesson case, the teacher aimed at providing opportunities for students to think for themselves and to engage in group discussion. This study identifies key aspects of the science lesson for revealing the teaching script based on a cross-cultural lesson analysis. Figure 1 summarizes such facets of teacher teaching and student learning in detail as a result of the lesson analysis. Furthermore, it draws attention to recognizing areas of the lesson script which the Japanese team found effective/ineffective as well as identifying the Singaporean team's reflections on feedback from Japanese educators.

Through this study, the research team raises the following questions. Are there common practices that make for effective learning and if so what are these? From the perspectives of Japanese and Singaporean researchers and educators, what might be the different elements of teaching that will bring about better student learning?

An important avenue for inquiry in teaching is how to create teaching-learning processes that nurture students’ ability to deal with the unexpected as well as their application skills – competencies that are required of students to function in the twenty-first century. The research team suggests a cross-cultural analysis approach for future research investigating the cultural script of teaching.

Lesson study has emerged as an approach to improving the quality of teaching in the USA. The purpose of this paper is to provide an investigation into teachers’ attitudes toward lesson study. Evidence suggests that lesson study may increase teachers’ content knowledge and their ability to anticipate student misconceptions during lessons. Nevertheless, certain issues have surfaced in the literature. Teachers may struggle with the demands of collaboration, critique of their lessons, and observation of their teaching. Moreover, lesson study may conflict with the existing mandate-monitor culture within many school districts. Understanding how teachers perceive lesson study is vital to gauging the effectiveness of the process.

In all, 55 teachers at two elementary schools in urban Los Angeles participated in the researcher-designed survey. For the teachers in this study, participation in lesson study was mandatory, and most had participated in a version of lesson study that emphasized following the established curriculum and district-approved strategies. Data were analyzed using correlational analysis.

Results yielded significant associations between teachers’ comfort levels with collaboration, lesson observation, lesson critique, and their support for lesson study. Higher degrees of control by the district over the lesson study process were linked to teachers feeling less responsible for student learning.

The findings from this study have important implications for the prospects of lesson study as a model of teacher development in the USA.

This paper fulfils a need to investigate factors that impede and promote the effective implementation of lesson study in the USA.

This paper reports on how a group of secondary school teachers collaborated in a school‐based professional development called Learning Study to improve accounting students' performance on the drawing up of cash budgets.

In drawing up cash budgets – the object of learning – a power point presentation incorporating systematic variation was designed to reduce the overwhelming mass of (often irrelevant) data normally presented to students in textbooks and examiners' reports as part of the solutions to cash budget problems. In total, three lessons were designed focusing on how the object of learning could be handled. In each lesson the critical aspects corresponding to the object of learning were identified and a systematic pattern of variation was applied.

It was found that student learning improved progressively over the three lessons.

There is evidence to suggest that this Learning Study has made an impact, not only on student learning but also on teacher learning, and has contributed in some way to creating a learning culture in this school.

The purpose of this paper is to report on how a grade level team in a Singapore primary school used lesson study to mediate the implementation of the English language national curriculum. It aims to explore how this process had mobilised different teachers’ knowledge, challenged their beliefs of teaching and student learning, and created impact on their learning and knowledge.

An interpretive qualitative study using a case study methodology was employed. Data collected included participant observations and individual interviews. Transcripts of lesson study discussions were open coded for the content of teacher discourse and the sources of influences on the teachers’ reasoning and action.

The findings indicate that each stage of the lesson process engaged teachers’ deliberative discourse differently and constituted their building a common inquiry stance into the problem of student learning in reading and writing, moving away from a lesson-based view to embracing a curriculum-based deliberation, and challenging their shared assumptions and enabling their learning to adopt the students’ lens in improving the research lesson.

This study provides an illustrative case on how teachers’ talk about work practices in lesson study mediated teacher learning in a group context. The study established the importance of an interconnected view of teacher interaction in lesson study that factored in the consideration of the influences at the teachers’ level and at the school’s level that enabled and/ or impeded a broader consideration of practice and richer conditions for the mentoring of novice teachers in the team.

This study aimed to explore how an adapted theoretical framework by networking two theories could help document teachers' collective learning through lesson study.

Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMPG) and Documentational Approach to Didactics (DAD) has been used individually to document teachers' professional learning from different aspects. The IMPG captures teachers’ growth through the iterative process and dynamics (i.e. enactment and reflection) among four domains (personal domain, external domain, practice domain and consequence domain). At the same time, the DAD primarily focuses on teacher learning through the interactions between resources and teachers. To deepen understanding of teachers' learning through lesson study, in this study, a networked theoretical framework through which the DAD model is enriched by incorporating some ideas from IMPG is proposed. A lesson study, including five stages of study, plan, enact, reflect and refine, facilitated by a researcher was conducted in Shanghai China. The data sets including all videotaped meetings and research lessons and lesson plans of the lesson study are analyzed based on the adapted framework qualitatively.

The results show that the teachers' document evolved from adopting the traditional teaching materials to adapting both traditional ones and e-resources with careful consideration of student learning through the lesson study process.

This study advances our understanding of networking strategies and their usefulness for deepening teacher professional learning as document development through lesson study. However, the sustainability of this type of professional learning needs to be further explored.

This study expands teacher learning through lesson study as the document development and enriches the DAD theory by illuminating the process of the documentational genesis.

This study aims to describe the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of a kindergarten educator who implements a lesson plan about informal inferential reasoning designed in a lesson study group.

To this end, we analyzed teaching interventions in two kindergarten lessons focused on the playful task of tossing two coins, associated with inferential statistical reasoning. The study highlights the importance of arguing and promoting this reasoning to develop statistical thinking. It is crucial to recognize how early students can be subject to learning experiences that promote a language of uncertainty, assess the evidence provided by the data, and make generalizations.

The results reveal that while the educator demonstrated knowledge and skills relevant to the curriculum and conceptual teaching strategies, the understanding of the content by the students and the integration of the PCK components still present a challenge.

The lesson study collaborative teaching practices that promote PCK have proven effective for informing the design and implementation of instructional practices supporting the development of early statistical thinking in young children.

The study enriches the knowledge regarding the potential of the lesson study (LS) in the professional learning of kindergarten educators. It also contributes to a comprehensive approach based on authentic playful experiences in grade K that supports the development of early statistical thinking in young children.

Variation Theory has been used as a source of guiding principles for pedagogical design, lesson analysis and improvement in Learning Study (LS). The purpose of this paper is to argue that the LS approach provides an important opportunity for teachers and researchers not only to improve the teaching strategies together but also refine the Variation Theory in action.

A case study of teaching writing in Chinese at Primary 4 level of a LS project is selected using analysis of covariance to identify lessons that had significant differences in student learning outcomes. Analysis focuses on examining one of the major claims in Variation Theory which is that “contrast should precede generalization” in order to explore if this argument is able to provide a possible answer to the difference in student performance in the two classes of students of similar ability learning the same topic. Teachers’ contribution to the discussion of the application of the theory is analysed to explain the different teaching strategies chosen.

The case study shows that in a LS platform, teachers’ teaching act and their interaction with theorists contributed to a dual process of developing the practice as well as the theory itself. The results of students’ learning serve as evidences for the claim that “contrast should precede generalization” as the theory suggested.

Most of the lesson study and LS projects emphasize teachers’ learning through the participation in the process. This paper illustrates that in conducting LS approach, when there is conscious effort to direct discussion toward how to handle the content in terms of Variation Theory explicitly, the result could contribute to the development of the theory itself. Hence, the LS provides an important opportunity for teachers and researchers to refine strategies as well as theories of teaching and learning together.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight similarities between Japanese lesson study, Chinese lesson study and learning study.

This editorial review is intended to stimulate a discussion about a critical aspect of both Lesson and learning studies exemplified by the texts published in issue 6.2 of this journal.

The author identifies neriage, the comparison and discussion phase of Japanese lesson study, as a critical aspect of both Lesson and learning studies and emphasises that both involve research leading to teachers learning what makes effective lessons possible. Attention is drawn to the importance of being explicit about the theory of learning behind Lesson and learning studies and how its implementation leads to teacher learning.

This editorial review provides a framework for evaluating the quality of lesson and learning studies in educational institutions.

K-12 educators face persistent and nascent challenges as they grapple with making an emergency transition to remote online modes of engaging with their students. Crossing the digital divide that exists between multi-site educational engagement is challenging. This paper aims to address the particular challenge of maintaining or, perhaps re-conceptualising, the constructs that support social interaction in the face-to-face setting. A second pressing challenge is considering issues of equity when making the emergency transition to remote online engagement that are, in the physical classroom, somewhat mitigated by practitioners and the systems that support them.

DESIGN-ED is the output of a design-based research study.

However, in the rush to support this transition, it is possible that such challenges could be exacerbated if practitioners are not supported by a sustainable pedagogical process to frame their engagement with K-12 students in remote online formats. This paper explores these nascent challenges, presents a conceptual framework and explicates a subsequent design research model the form of a practitioner focussed “toolkit” that has the consideration of equity at its core. The “DESIGN-ED Toolkit” adopts and adapts a contemporary, effective and rapidly iterative design process from industry known as design thinking.

The core components of this this process (empathy, definition, ideation, prototype and test) are pedagogically translated for use in complex and dynamic educational settings such as remote online engagement.

Lessons learned from the design, development and iterative refinement of this toolkit over three years are presented, and affordances of engaging with such a process are explored.

Lessons learned from the design, development and iterative refinement of this toolkit over three years are presented, and affordances of engaging with such a process are explored.

Teacher noticing is a critical aspect of teaching competence that has garnered significant scholarly attention. This systematic review aims to comprehensively analyze the integration of teacher noticing into lesson study, exploring how different stages of lesson study influence the development of teacher noticing.

This article systematically reviews 15 empirical studies on teacher noticing within the context of lesson study, focusing on research design, subjects, methods, theoretical frameworks and the specific impact of different stages of lesson study on teacher noticing.

The review reveals a geographical concentration of studies in Western countries, particularly in the United States, with a relative scarcity of research in East Asian contexts. Most studies focus on pre-service teachers, employ qualitative methods and are grounded in Van Es’s (2011) Learning to Notice framework. The findings indicate that different stages of lesson study significantly influence teacher noticing, particularly in the planning, teaching and reflection stages, where shifts in focus and depth of noticing are evident.

This paper explores how various lesson study stages impact teacher noticing development. It offers future research directions and calls for more cross-cultural studies. Certain activities within classroom research may restrict attention development, particularly when these activities fail to encourage in-depth cognitive analysis across all stages sufficiently. Future research should explore how to avoid these limitations in the classroom research process and design more effective strategies to support deep observation and analysis by teachers at each stage. In the reflection stage of classroom research, certain factors may restrict the focus on student thinking.

By synthesizing the existing research into a comprehensive narrative, we provide an essential foundation for future studies on teacher noticing within lesson study contexts. This work not only charts the historical development of the field but also encourages more profound and actionable research engagement with the nuanced processes of teacher observation and reflection during lesson studies.

This paper explores how various lesson study stages impact teacher noticing development. It offers future research directions and calls for more cross-cultural studies and a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to fully understand the effects of lesson studies on teacher noticing.

The purpose of this paper is to explore in what way gradually increasing teachers’ theory-based instruction affects the students’ learning outcomes, illustrated by the example of learning how to regulate body tension in the upper secondary school.

In total, 72 students from four classes participated in the study. The way the students were offered to understand “regulation of tension” was designed by variation theory, and the method used was learning study, an iterative process whereby the results from the first lesson are the basis for the design of the next implementation in a new group of students.

There is a significant increased learning outcome in all four lessons, but in Lesson D, where the highest increase (129 percent) was found, all students improved their results. The use of the theoretical framework had effect on the teachers to vary only the most important aspects in the instruction in the last cycle, where the features chiselled out during the study (e.g. heart rate, respiration, muscle tension) were contrasted more clearly, which had an impact on the students’ learning. Based on the theoretical framework, the teachers got more skilled at experiencing what should vary and what should be kept invariant in order to facilitate the students’ learning. In the last intervention, the teachers found one pattern of variation which was more powerful than the previous. In this one, the physical activities were kept invariant, but different responses of the sympathetic nervous system were contrasted, one at a time, to establish knowledge of different bodily responses to tension.

Learning study has mainly been used in subjects such as Mathematics or other theoretical issues but this paper describes in what way learning study can be used in PE. So second, the result of this study contributes to knowledge about how students’ learning outcome in PEH can increase by directing focus on an object of learning rather than actual learning activity. The object of learning in this study is to learn to regulate tenseness and the learning outcomes have been analyzed in the perspective of variation theory.

“Content Representations” (CoRes) is an instrument that links content with aspects about its teaching and is recognized for its utility designing lessons and elucidating teachers' knowledge. Lesson study (LS) is a practice through which teachers collaborate to plan, teach and reflect on a lesson. Both have been acknowledged separately as being valuable for teachers' training; however, there is little research addressing the consequences of combining them. This study filled in that gap by examining how higher education (HE) teachers used the CoRes and perceived its integration within LS.

The authors performed a multiple case study with features of ethnomethodology and conducted an inductive content analysis of the data gathered through document analysis, in-depth semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The research was approved by the ethics committee of the host university, and participants were faculty members from different health sciences disciplines.

The authors found that participants considered that the use of the CoRes during LS allowed them to organize their ideas, consider more details for lesson design, address new topics and engage in greater reflection. However, participants (specially senior faculty) showed a superficial dedication to filling in the CoRes and considered the instrument bothersome, urging caution when engaging in the combined practice of CoRes and LS.

This is the first research in the international literature approaching the integration of the CoRes and LS with HE teachers. Its results fill a research gap and can help LS practitioners make an informed decision about whether to incorporate CoRes into it.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a learning study with a complex object of learning – democracy.

The study consists of four research lessons in four different classes in grade 6. In the study two teachers, 78 students and two researchers participated. In the first lesson (A) 21 students participated, in the second class (B) 17, in the third class (C) 21 and in the last lesson (D) 19 students. The research lessons were 80 minutes each, designed based on variation. The students took a pre-test before the lesson and a post-test after.

The results show the relationship between the pattern of variation used by the teacher during the lesson and students’ learning outcome. In lesson A contrast was used between democracy and dictatorship. In lesson B the aspects were varied due to the discussions between the teacher and the students that resulted in less focus on the whole perspective. The design of lesson C offered students a sequential presentation of the aspects, the concepts were handled separately and simultaneity was not used. In lesson D the whole was in focus during the entire lesson and the aspects were presented simultaneously in relation to the whole. Group A's increased at the test scores was 63 per cent, B 32 per cent, C 29 per cent and D 91 per cent.

The results points at using learning study with complex objects of learning requires offering the relationship between aspects of the phenomenon presented by a background of the meaning of the concept develop the students’ understanding.

This paper explores the potential and pitfalls of Lesson Study (LS) in Dutch initial teacher education (ITE). This context is examined through data drawn from student-teachers and teacher educators participating in LS.

Three case studies of three teacher education institutes in the Netherlands are presented, focusing on student-teachers' learning in two cases and teacher educators' learning in the third case.

The case studies show that LS in the context of Dutch ITE has high potential. All cases yield clear benefits for working collaboratively as a result of participating in a LS. Student-teachers appreciate the explicit focus in LS on how students learn and teacher educators stress how LS may strengthen their role as “teachers of teachers.” Time, planning arrangements, commitment and a LS facilitator are highlighted as essential conditions for LS application in ITE.

The three cases address a specific ITE context focusing on different target groups (student-teachers and teacher educators in applied and/or research universities). Consequently, results are explorative regarding Dutch ITE.

The potential of LS in Dutch ITE is recognized and stressed; this study may act as a catalyst for further and wider application of LS in this context, taking into account possible pitfalls and conditions.

This is one of the first studies exploring the potential of LS in Dutch ITE using both student-teachers' and teacher educators' perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the early implementation of a model of mathematics teacher development in Italian schools, inspired by Chinese lesson study (CLS), focusing on similarities and differences.

A research lesson study on fractions in the fourth grade was conducted. The approach was designed based on the theory of semiotic mediation (TSM) enriched by means of quaternary analysis and the variation pedagogy of CLS. In this study, qualitative methods were employed involving the collection of data including lesson plans, observations and post-lesson analyses.

The purpose of this study is to determine what works and what does not work in the Italian context. Answers to the following research questions are provided: How did LS incorporate quaternary analysis and variation pedagogy in the TSM? How and why were changes introduced in the structure of the lesson plan with respect to the CLS? How did members of the Italian Mathematics Teaching Research Group increase their knowledge of teaching methods and content?

The issues to be considered in further studies include the possible conflicts emerging between the cultures of teaching in China and Italy and the way to overcome them.

The main ideas of CLS are consistent with the general indications of the Italian Ministry of Education for the three-year program (2016-2019) of mandatory teacher development.

Reporting the findings of an Italian LS is aimed at exploring the differences and similarities among the different forms of LS, under the influence of cultural and institutional constraints.

This paper aims to uncover the secrets of design success in global companies, recent research by the Design Council has involved unprecedented access to senior design leaders and heads of design in eleven world leading companies.

This paper discusses the study “Eleven Lessons: managing design in eleven global corporations.”

The result is a study (entitled “Eleven lessons: managing design in eleven global corporations,”) that sheds light on exactly how these global leaders manage design and integrate their design teams into their businesses to help themselves stay competitive.

By providing a unique insight into these design processes the 11 lessons study offers up plenty of insights, practices, design tools and lessons which other businesses can take advantage of.

The authors designed a science and engineering curricular program that includes design features that promote student interest and motivation and examined teachers' and students' views on meaningfulness, motivation and interest.

The research approach consisted of mixed methods, including content analyses and descriptive statistics.

The curricular program successfully included all four of the US National Academies of Sciences' design features for promoting interest and motivation through scientific investigation and engineering design. During interviews, teachers and students expressed evidence of design features associated with interest and motivation. After experiencing the program, more than 60% of all students scored high on all four science and engineering meaningfulness and interest survey items.

A curricular program that extends science learning through the engineered design of solutions is an innovative approach to foster both conceptual knowledge development and interest and motivation in science and engineering.

This study explores variation theory-based interventions’ contribution to enhancing preschoolers’ subitizing abilities during iterative lessons. Results are presented according to low, middle and high achievers, focused on those with prominent challenges.

In total 68 Swedish preschoolers participated. They were randomly assigned to one of the intervention/control groups: 23 mixed design, 24 variation theory design and 21 controls. Data from 59 pupils were analyzed. A learning study with three lesson designs for each intervention group was used in autumn 2022 and spring 2023, respectively. The mixed design met ordinary textbook material and variation theory (VT) group instructions designed by VT during autumn, whereas all met instructions designed by VT in spring. Each group was divided into two subgroups. The controls followed business-as-usual math teaching. Two tests assessed pupils’ results before and after the interventions.

All groups showed significant improvements between pre- and post-tests. Pupils in the mixed and VT groups developed more knowledge than the controls. The low-achieving group developed the most. The VT group exhibited a more complex pattern of variation and a greater increase than the mixed group. The intervention groups showed a greater improvement in both tests’ results than the controls.

There is agreement on the importance of subitizing abilities as a predictor of future mathematical development; however, lesson design and research on pupils’ development regarding lessons offered are limited.

Although CLS has been implemented in China for over a century, it is barely known to educators internationally. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the salient characteristics of Chinese lesson study (CLS), introduce the major themes of this special issue, and invite dialogues about the theories and practices of CLS.

The authors of this editorial paper conducted an extensive literature review on CLS, analyzed the contents and methods of the existing research categorically, compared CLS with other models of LS globally, and present this special issue articles and their major contributions thematically. The theoretical framework of the paper relies mainly on cultural theories and theories on research paradigms such as improvement science, which explain why and how CLS functions in Chinese education system over time.

Existing studies suggest that CLS is a deliberate practice for developing instructional expertise, a research methodology for linking research and practice, and an improvement science for instruction and school improvement system wide. In addition to the theorization of CLS, this special issue also introduces some adaptations of CLS outside of China such as the USA and Italy.

This paper, for the first time, spells out some salient features of CLS, and discusses issues in adapting CLS in other parts of the world. It will enrich the understanding of LS theories and practices in China and promotes trans-cultural development of LS internationally.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a seventh grade mathematics lesson in Iran and Japan through a comparative analysis for illuminating what actually goes on in the classroom in different cultural contexts. Emphasis is here placed on Iranian oral and Japanese literal teaching traditions.

Qualitative research methods were employed for data collection, including cross-cultural lesson analysis meetings in Iran and Japan and semi-structured interviews with the participants of the meetings. In doing this, the study plans to make apparent the structure of meaning hidden in lesson practice – a so-called cultural script of teaching – by comparing this practice in cultural context, through the eyes of educators from different socio-cultural perspectives.

The findings are intended to clarify the mathematical communication approach used in Iran and Japan. Mathematical communication proceeds through speaking rather than writing in Iran, discussing before summarizing and taking notes (speaking/listening), while in Japan, it proceeds through writing before telling and speaking (writing/reading).

This study delivers a transnational learning opportunity for educators to learn how to provide evidence-based analysis of a lesson for professional learning to raise the quality of teaching. However, as this is a case study, it opens up the possibility for comparative lesson analysis of more sample lessons, and how active learning and dialogic teaching can be designed in different educational contexts. In addition, it may be interesting for educators to see how this comparative lesson analysis helps practitioners to revise their teaching. These are very important research questions which the researcher hopes to cover in his next manuscript.

Comparative lesson analysis has the potential to expand more “research in practice” for designing mathematics lessons from the perspective of the students – so-called “customized teaching.” In addition, how the silent process of each individual student in the lesson has impacted on their learning and understanding – so-called “personalized learning” – is one of the issues arising from the case studies.

The value of comparative lesson analysis as a lens is in its ability to reveal to educators their own unconscious teaching script. It provides an opportunity for evidence-based critiques of our own teaching traditions that we accept culturally, share tacitly and may not even be aware of in the construction process.

This study combines careful measurement with “insider” and “outsider” perspectives to provide a deeper understanding of the real world of the classroom and the cultural context of teaching.

This paper investigates the effectiveness of metacognitive teaching methods on students' reading comprehension through a lesson study case conducted in Shanghai.

This study adopts an experimental design with control groups and experimental groups. Plan–do–check–act (PDCA) cycles of lesson study were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of modeling, self-questioning, think aloud and KWL strategy in Chinese language lessons. Metacognitive teaching strategies were implemented at a junior high school in Shanghai. The data was collected via lesson observation, interviews and pre- and posttests.

Results identified a significant difference between the incremental scores of students' reading comprehension in the experimental group and control group. The findings from the lesson observation showed that metacognitive teaching strategies in Chinese language developed students' reading comprehension. Moreover, PDCA cycles of lesson study helped the teachers improve metacognitive teaching strategies.

Few studies have been conducted to validate metacognitive teaching through lesson study in the context of China schools, and this study contributes to a new research dimension of lesson study on developing pedagogical practices to improve student learning outcomes.

Collaborative professional development for inclusive teaching is a limited area of research, although there is an extensive need for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teachers. Research findings of how teachers’ professional development can contribute to support the development of powerful learning situations for all students are presented in this special issue. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge of how the use of lesson study can develop teachers’ capabilities to offer high-quality education for students with SEND.

The guest editor presents each of the papers and introduces key themes and concepts.

The collection of papers is divided into two themes; the first has a focus on lesson study used by teacher educators during SEND in-service training. In this theme, the teachers are the students who are studying different fields of SEND, supported by teacher educators. The second theme studies different forms of lesson studies carried out by researchers and teachers in the collaboration focused aspects of content that are of importance for students in SEND.

The papers focus on areas of education with a limited research tradition, and as a result, the studies may be seen as starting points for further research. The results so far lack generalisability. Therefore, the researchers have to test the findings further under different conditions and with wider groups of teachers and students.

The results of the papers can be used to develop both SEND teacher education, and collaborative professional development for in-service SEND teachers. This issue will, therefore, be of interest to school and system leaders.

The papers contribute initial findings from an under-researched area and also combine lesson study with methods and designs not previously explored.

Combining empirical insights from two lesson studies (LSs), this research aims to investigate EnEFL (English as a foreign language) teachers’ development in understanding and practical skills regarding the recent national English curriculum reform in China. It also strives to incorporate students’ performance and perceptions in the evaluation of the effectiveness of these LSs and teachers’ development.

Two LSs were conducted in the same school with 3 years in between. Standardized procedures were followed in the two LSs, including pre-LS interviews, talk-lesson session, rehearsal lessons, and one public lesson. Triangulated data were collected from lesson plans, reflective journals, discussion notes, and interviews to probe into teachers’ learning and development. Students’ task performance and perceptions were analyzed to help reexamine the influence of teachers’ development on student learning.

The teachers in the two LSs encountered similar problems in both understanding and implementing the curriculum reform. The LSs helped them reach a contextualized understanding of the key concepts. Besides, developments were also seen in their instructional skills to adopt innovative methods and activities. The students’ task performance and perceptions endorsed the teachers’ efforts.

First, this research combines data from two standardized LSs at different periods of curriculum implementation in the Chinese EFL context, which provides insights into teachers’ difficulties and development regarding curriculum reforms on a longer timeline. Second, students’ performance and perceptions are included as important data sources to assess the effectiveness of the LSs and teachers’ development.

The purpose of this study is to explore how lesson study (LS) can be transitioned to an online mode, with the purpose to derive recommendations for performing online LS while being loyal to the defining elements of a face-to-face LS.

A theoretical analysis into the core components and procedures of LS resulted in five big ideas that capture essentials of LS. Using these big ideas, constraints were derived for online LS and a pilot online LS was performed. Data were collected on the process and team members' reflections. The experience in the pilot was mapped against the outcomes of the theoretical analysis.

Setting up close collaboration and the observation of the online lesson appeared to be the most challenging issues. A set of recommendations in the form of do's and don'ts was derived from the experience.

The set of recommendations can be applied by practitioners who face the challenge of performing LS in an online environment, and can serve as a start for further research in online LS.

The original contribution of the article is the combination of the theoretical analysis of LS combined with the practical experience in the pilot. This gives rise to a framework that can help understanding LS in general and online environments in particular.

A basic assumption of many management trainers and course promoters is that the training/learning event — the lesson — is the major variable on which the success of their work depends, subject only to the need to have some degree of homogeneity of trainees if it is a group event. Thus many courses are designed in detail before places on them are offered for sale, before the individual trainees have clarified what each of them is prepared to learn. The burden of this article is that there are in the management training process five interdependent variables: the new behaviour required, the trainee's work environment, the trainee himself, the lesson that he experiences, and the trainer. So that the lesson — the trainer's input — needs to vary in each case according to the other four variables. And so that the actual behaviour which results — which may or may not be the new behaviour that is required — will in turn reflect the mix of the remaining variables too.

This study investigates the implementation of the Practicum Lesson Study (PLS) model, which is designed to be used by preservice teachers (PSTs), mentor teachers and advisors during school practicum.

Employing a design-based research (DBR) framework and a multiple case study design, the research in this study evaluated the PLS model through eight distinct cases across two phases of research. In both phases, the qualitative research explored the nature of the stages and steps followed in each case, providing detailed descriptions of the procedural arrangements, teaching sessions and discussion meetings. Views of the participants regarding their satisfaction levels towards the PLS model, its benefits and challenges were collected through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire.

The results of the research highlighted significant benefits of the PLS model, such as self-reflection, peer reflection and collaborative practices. These processes notably enhanced PSTs’ abilities to dynamically adjust teaching strategies based on real-time observations and feedback, effectively integrating suggestions from meetings with practical classroom experiences. However, the study also identified several challenges, such as managing diverse opinions and coping with information overload.

Based on the comprehensive exploration of the PLS model, the study offers several implications for practitioners and suggestions for future research such as a closer examination of changes in beliefs and identity over time during PLS.

The study carries the significance of employing a DBR in the context of implementing LS during ELT school practicum.

Film has long been an instructional tool in social studies education; however, most research and methods for using film to teach social studies are situated at the secondary level. As such, the purpose of this study was to extend and expand what is known about using film in elementary social studies classrooms. More specifically, this qualitative content analysis study explored how and why elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) used film clips from Molly of Denali to design critical Indigenous studies lessons. The data offer insight into the possibilities of using film as a strategy to teach anti-oppressive elementary social studies education.

The authors used qualitative content analysis in this study. Data for this study included 17 lesson planning assignments and corresponding written rationales completed by PSTs in an elementary social studies methods course. Data collected as a result of convenience sampling, given both the authors were the instructors of the methods course. To analyze the data, the authors used a multi-step coding process and a combination of inductive and deductive coding.

Grounded in a framework of anti-oppressive and anti-colonial education, PSTs designed elementary social studies lessons that used film clips from Molly of Denali to increase representation, center a counter-narrative and serve as a motivator. PSTs also infused other sources into their lesson plans, thus extending their lessons beyond the film.

Given the lack of research on how film can be used in elementary social studies classrooms, this study fills a void in the literature. Results of this study suggest that similar to the benefits of using film in secondary classrooms, film can be an engaging and motivating source of information for elementary students. Moreover, when used within a critical pedagogical framework like Sabzalian's (2019) critical orientations of Indigenous studies, film can increase representation and teach anti-oppressive counter-narratives in the elementary classroom.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the contributions to the current issue.

The paper is intended to stimulate a discussion about the nature of lesson study (LS), its use in initial teacher education (ITE) and the role of learning theory in the design of the research lesson.

The term LS was first used to describe a Japanese LS. It was seen as career-long teacher-initiated collaborative professional development through which teachers researched lesson designs to teach problem-solving and develop independent thinking skills in their students. As it has been adopted across the world, it has been adapted. This raises questions about the form and effect of LS in its various forms, about the role of learning theory in the design of research lessons and about the appropriateness of introducing LS in programmes of ITE.

This editorial review provides an overview of the insights and issues identified by the authors in this issue of the journal.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different arrangements, such as lesson structures and patterns of variation, enhance students’ genre awareness, their understanding of genre features of informative text and can generate new learning.

This is an example of learning study consisting of a design experiment, and embedded in the design was the selected test criteria. The variation theory of learning served as the major guiding principle for the pedagogical design, lesson analysis and evaluation.

The findings of this study give support to variation theory being a powerful pedagogical tool for improving students’ understanding of informative texts and enabling them to generate new learning. Students in the target group who had more opportunities to encounter the “first contrast, next contrast and last generalisation” pattern of variation performed better than those in the comparison group, who were exposed to the “first generalisation, next contrast and last generalisation” pattern. The pure hierarchical lesson structure used for the target group was found to be more conducive to learning than the mixed structure (sequential–hierarchical structure) used in the comparison group.

Both the lesson structure and patterns of variation and invariance used are extremely important in developing a powerful method of enhancing students’ genre awareness, their understanding of genre features of informative text and to generate new learning.