Abstract
The adaptation of lesson study to different national contexts raises problems that are attracting the attention of researchers. In this chapter, we show how we have conducted lesson study in Portugal , taking into account the national educational context and our perspective on the teaching of mathematics, the exploratory mathematics curriculum approach, with particular attention on the development of students’ mathematical reasoning . We present two examples of lesson study, one conducted with in-service teachers of grades 5–6 and another in initial teacher education with prospective teachers of grades 7–12. We reflect on what we have identified as the main obstacles to the realization of lesson study in these contexts due to cultural factors and teachers’ concerns. We conclude with a summary of the adaptations that we have made in this teacher education process, with a view to the suitability and potential of lesson study in our country.
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How this preparation may be carried out is presented in Ponte, Quaresma and Mata-Pereira (2015).
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This is similar to what some Japanese, such as Fujii (2016), describes as a typical problem solving lesson, with the difference that we include the discussion and synthesis, since often there is no clear division between these two lesson elements.
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This is a professionally oriented degree, that prospective teachers may apply to after they completed a three year bachelors’ degree in mathematics or with a strong mathematics component (at least equivalent to two years of study in mathematics).
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In fieldwork activities in initial teacher education, the school cooperating teacher receives the prospective teachers in his/her class and carries out activities with them according to a plan established with the university supervisor. This supervisor often participates in the fieldwork activities together with the prospective teachers.
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Most of these students had failed one or more years and were behind the expected grade level for their age.
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Additional information about this lesson study, highlighting professional learning of the participating prospective teachers may be found in Ponte, Quaresma, Mata-Pereira and Baptista (2015b).
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da Ponte, J.P., Quaresma, M., Mata-Pereira, J., Baptista, M. (2018). Fitting Lesson Study to the Portuguese Context. In: Quaresma, M., Winsløw, C., Clivaz, S., da Ponte, J., Ní Shúilleabháin, A., Takahashi, A. (eds) Mathematics Lesson Study Around the World. ICME-13 Monographs. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75696-7_5
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