Journal of Scholastic Inquiry: Special Edition
Volume 10, Page 111
Mathematics Lesson Study in Elementary Pre-service Teacher Preparation Rosemarie Michaels Dominican University of California
Abstract As elementary teachers are expected to understand and engage students in mandatory mathematical practices, teacher preparation programs are tasked with ensuring pre-service teachers begin their careers with the pedagogical knowledge and skills to be able to do so. A university lesson study program was collaboratively designed with elementary teachers to intentionally integrate mathematical pedagogical knowledge and pedagogy required by state and national standards. A mixed-method design was used to answer the research question: How does lesson study facilitate the development of elementary pre-service teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and pedagogy in mathematics? Findings indicate that lesson study has a positive impact on the development of pre-service teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and mathematics pedagogy. Lesson study programs that focus on mathematical pedagogical knowledge and pedagogy in collaboration with classroom teachers can serve as models for exemplary practice in elementary pre-service teacher preparation. Keywords: Lesson study, elementary teacher preparation, mathematics pedagogy, pedagogical knowledge Introduction This study describes the effect of a university lesson study program on elementary preservice teachers’ mathematical pedagogical knowledge and pedagogy. This paper contains a review of literature on lesson study with pre-service teachers preparing to teach mathematics in elementary school, methods for implementing lesson study in collaboration with classroom teachers, and lesson study’s impact on the development of mathematical pedagogical knowledge,
