Using sociocultural discourse analysis, we examined when and how a Lesson Study team in initial teacher education integrated theoretical input with practical knowledge when reasoning about subject-specific learning by and teaching of their pupils. We found 10 reasoning sequences in which theoretical input helped student teachers externalize their practical knowledge and reflect on the relation between practical knowledge and theoretical input. Three times this process resulted in new understanding of subject-specific pedagogy. Our findings support the assumption that Lesson Study is an appropriate learning task to help student teachers relate theory to practice and develop their subject-specific pedagogical insights.

Purpose This exploratory study investigates the extent to which lesson study (LS) in initial teacher education (ITE) teams address subject-pedagogical aspects during their conversations and what subject-pedagogical aspects are addressed.Design/methodology/approach The two-case design of the study – one LS team in ITE comprised of an ST and experienced teachers and one comprised of an ST and novice teachers – is aimed to discover similarities and variations in their focus of attention.Findings The conversations of both LS teams were to a large degree about subject-pedagogical aspects. Both teams paid relatively less attention to discussing the themes “subject matter” and “learning objectives” and more to “pupils” learning and “teacher activities.” Concerning the theme of “pupils” learning, the LS team with experienced teachers focused more than the novice LS team on discussing the aspects “pupils” initial situation and “expected learning behavior.” The novice LS team focused more than the experienced team on discussing their observations of individual pupils' thinking.Originality/value The results indicate that LS in ITE with a mix of ST and experienced teachers can facilitate exchange on subject-pedagogical aspects of the research lesson. This may help develop and deepen the subject-pedagogical knowledge, views and routines of STs. The differences found between the two LS teams provide starting points for differentiation in the support of LS teams in ITE. Follow-up research could focus on the questions of whether and how LS teams in ITE bring more coherence to their attention for subject-pedagogical aspects of the lesson.

In the current study on noticing as reasoning of Lesson Study (LS)-teams in initial teacher education (ITE), we analyzed the reasoning two mixed LS-teams set up about pupils' subject-related learning of. Both teams consisted of a student teacher and experienced teachers. Both teams paid more attention to identification (describing pupils‘ learning behavior) and planning elements (considering and deciding how to act) than to interpretation elements (determining and explaining pupils’ problems with learning). They differed in the extent to which they considered plans and provided continuity in their reasoning. Stimulating meaningful reflection may help further develop noticing among LS-teams in ITE.

Docenten vinden activeren van leerlingen en differentieren belangrijk, maar vaak niet makkelijk. De Rijksuniversiteit Groningen heeft in samenwerking met de Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden en dertien VO-scholen twee professionele leergemeenschapen georganiseerd om hieraan aandacht te besteden bij Nederlands en wiskunde. Er is gekozen voor Lesson Study als manier van werken en professionaliseringsaanpak. Beide PLG’s hadden hun eigen vakspecifieke insteek: leesvaardigheid bij Nederlands, en het begrijpen van wiskundige concepten bij wiskunde. De PLG Nederlands had als nevendoel het ontwikkelen van lesmateriaal. Een tweede doel was Lesson Study door de PLG-deelnemers als toekomstige Lesson Study-begeleiders in de eigen school te laten brengen, om op deze manier de leercultuur in de scholen te stimuleren. De PLG’s hadden een looptijd van vier jaar (2013-2017).

A prerequisite for sustainable Lesson Study (LS) in schools is that teachers develop a research stance towards teaching practice. One way to establish this is by already starting with LS in initial teacher education (ITE). In this featured symposium, we discuss how lesson study nowadays is used in ITE four different cultural contexts, how adaptations are used in ITE contexts, the challenges that implementation poses, experiences of student teachers and teacher educators, and outcomes for student teachers. The different approaches from Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway will be presented and critically compared and discussed. In the Dutch context, educational research is seen as an engine for innovation and practical improvement. Teachers of the future are viewed as self-responsible and have decision-making power. They use educational research and do practical research themselves to develop their practice and vision. To develop knowledge and skills to be able to conduct practical research for the benefit of professionalization and practical improvement, the University of Groningen has opted for Lesson Study (LS) in ITE. In recent years, experience has been gained with various forms of LS in ITE: a variation in which three student teachers who share the same subject matter work together, and a form in which student teachers work together with experienced subject teachers at their school practice. In school year 2018-2019 school, all 120 students of the teacher training program carry out LS: the majority of the student teachers in the first variant, supervised by trained teacher educators, and some 10 student teachers in the second variant, in the context of a school-university partnership, supervised by trained mentors, and where their subject matter teacher educators can be consulted as knowledgeable others. The experiences and outcomes gathered this year will be reported at the WALS 2019 in Amsterdam.