Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education

Fall 2018 Teacher Forum

Oct. 21, 2018

Lesson Study: A Powerful Practice for Teacher Learning with Jennifer Lewis

• The components of lesson study

• Improved teaching and learning through lesson study

• Lesson study adapted for different schools

Jennifer Lewis presented a day of lesson study, a form of professional development for teachers originating in Japan and now practiced worldwide. Participants took part in a live "research lesson," including the opportunity to observe children learning in a collaboratively designed lesson, followed by an analysis of the lesson and a discussion about the practice of lesson study.

Dr. Jennifer Lewis is an associate professor of mathematics education at Wayne State University. Her research focuses on teacher learning in urban settings and on learning from and building systemic efforts in high-poverty schools. She also investigates how mathematics teachers are trained in high-performing school systems in countries such as Japan and Finland. Before earning her PhD at the University of Michigan, Jenny taught elementary and middle school in Oakland, California, for 10 years.

She is the founding director of TeachDETROIT, an urban teacher residency program that prepares teachers for work in Detroit schools, with a special emphasis on preparation for working with children of color living in poverty.

She brings her experience in Japan to her work with teachers in Detroit in a modified form of Japanese professional development.