Abstract• Purpose -A structured review of literature on Lesson Study (LS) in initial teacher education (ITE) was conducted. The focus was on how learning and observation were discussed in studies of LS in ITE.• Design -Each national team (in Norway and England) undertook independent searches of published peer-reviewed articles. The resulting articles were then combined, screened and collaboratively reviewed, the focus being on two areas of enquiry: 1) How learning is represented and discussed;2) The extent to which observation is described and used to capture evidence of learning.• Findings -The literature review indicated that there was no universally held understanding of, or explanation for, the process of observation, how it should be conducted, and who or what should be the principal focus of attention. There was also a lack of clarity in the definition of learning and the use of learning theory to support these observations.• Research limitations -This study was limited to a review of a selection of peerreviewed journal articles, published in English. It arrives at some tentative conclusions, but its scope could have been broadened to include more articles and other types of published material e.g. theses and book chapters.• Practical implications -Research that investigates the use of LS in ITE needs to be more explicit about how learning is defined and observed. Furthermore, LS research papers need to assure greater clarity and transparency about how observations are conducted in their studies. 2• Originality/Value -This literature review suggests that discussion of both learning and observation in ITE lesson study research papers should be strengthened. The review highlights three principal challenges that ITE LS researchers should consider: a) how to prepare student-teachers to observe (professional noticing being a promising option), b) the wide variation in the focus of classroom observation in ITE lesson studies c) discussion of what is understood by learning needs to stand at the heart of preparation for lesson studies in ITE.

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In this paper, we analyse a grade 8 (age 13–14) Japanese problem-solving lesson involving angles associated with parallel lines, taught by a highly regarded, expert Japanese mathematics teacher. The focus of our observation was on how the teacher used carefully planned board work to support a rich and extensive plenary discussion (neriage) in which he shifted the focus from individual mathematical solutions to generalised properties. By comparing the teacher’s detailed prior planning of the board work (bansho) with that which he produced during the lesson, we distinguish between aspects of the lesson that he considered essential and those he treated as contingent. Our analysis reveals how the careful planning of the board work enabled the teacher to be free to explore with the students the multiple alternative solution methods that they had produced, while at the same time having a clear overall purpose relating to how angle properties can be used to find additional solution methods. We outline how these findings from within the strong tradition of the Japanese problem-solving lesson might inform research and teaching practice outside of Japan, where a deep heritage of bansho and neriage is not present. In particular, we highlight three prominent features of this teacher’s practice: the detailed lesson planning in which particular solutions were prioritised for discussion; the considerable amount of time given over to student generation and comparison of alternative solutions; and the ways in which the teacher’s use of the board was seen to support the richness of the mathematical discussions.

Drawing on research in mathematics initial teacher education (ITE) in England, this chapter explores the potential of lesson study to support pre-service mathematics teachers' pedagogical development. We draw attention to ways in which lesson study can be highly transformative of beginning mathematics teachers' pedagogical learning. We consider the current ITE context in England and analyse potential opportunities and challenges for incorporating lesson study into mathematics ITE courses. We conclude by proposing a theoretical model for using lesson study in mathematics ITE that takes account of these contextual issues and offers ways to make the most of the opportunities available. We particularly highlight the importance of a productive partnership between university and school, the need to focus both collaborative lesson planning and observation on a clear research question that relates to student learning of mathematics, and the necessity of a tight protocol for post-lesson discussions.

This chapter considers ways in which lesson study may be introduced and sustained within the school-university partnerships that already exist within an initial teacher education (ITE) course. In particular, we describe the challenges and opportunities associated with ITE lesson study partnerships and ways in which lesson study can deepen and even transform the nature of the school-university partnership. We draw on third-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (Engeström, 2001) to highlight preservice teachers' roles as 'boundary crossers' between the activity system of the university ITE course and the activity system of the school department in which they are placed. We argue that pre-service teachers, despite their inexperience as teachers, have an important opportunity to introduce the practices of lesson study that they are learning about into the schools in which they are placed. They are also able to promote approaches to lesson planning and observation that support the values of the course and thus, through mentor development, strengthen the school-university partnership more widely than the specific lesson studies carried out. We outline three models for productive ITE lesson-study partnerships, and argue that even a relatively small number of lesson-study events throughout the school year can establish the beginnings of a transformation in the school culture away from a performative focus on evaluating the teacher and towards a more productive focus on school students' learning. This, in turn, deepens the partnership between university and school by aligning both parties more closely around a shared focus on studying learning.

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