Nina Helgevold

The latest Norwegian curriculum reform (2020) highlights student participation and influence as important values in school. The main interest of this study is to explore Student Voice in Lesson Study in a lower secondary school in Norway, seeing how student voice activities are arranged as well as how students' perspectives are listened to. The researchers interviewed teachers and collected student data from group conversations and written texts. Results show that students are positive about talking to their teachers about lessons and being consulted on how teaching can be improved. The teachers point at both advantages and challenges. They emphasise becoming aware of students' perspectives and students as active agents in their own learning, which promotes students' motivation for learning. Challenges include setting aside time for student interviews and getting students to speak their opinions. Together, students' and teachers' experiences can contribute to a broader discussion within the Lesson Study community about the rationale behind the inclusion of pupils' perspectives and methods which could be used to achieve successful outcomes.

Purpose: Efforts in using Lesson Study (LS) as a tool for Professional Development (PD) has in a Norwegian context often tended to be short-lived. Some schools have managed to find solutions for sustainability, and a selection of these are the focus of this study. The objective is to explore supportive factors for sustainability.Design/methodology/approach: This is a case study that explores how LS has been organized and developed in a cluster of three schools in a municipality at the west coast of Norway. These schools have been selected through a purposeful selection based on their long-lasting persistence in using LS as a tool for PD. Data is retrieved from interviews with school leaders and teachers (process facilitators), in addition to teacher surveys.Findings: One of the most important factors for sustainability in LS was found to be school leaders’ commitment, knowledge and engagement in LS. Further, the results highlight “anchoring” LS in the teacher group and securing the relevance of LS in relation to the curriculum. The school leader groups in this study have involved teachers by including them as process facilitators and considered teachers’ views on the content and organizing of LS. Additionally, university collaboration, networking among local schools and schools abroad, knowledge resources and structures (for the LS work) were important factors for sustainability. The step-by-step process of building a culture for LS allowed LS to be a dynamic approach to the schools’ PD.Originality/value: This is the first study that has investigated possible explanations for sustainability of LS in a Norwegian context. The findings can serve as an inspiration or a guide to a sustainable LS approach.

The World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS) conferences in 2020 and 2021 showcased a new age of online learning for pupils, teachers, and researchers, providing both challenges in managing something unexpected and opportunities to solve issues around how to carry out lesson study (LS) online. This study analyses 29 presentations and submitted abstracts which focused on online LS as these practices were developing. The presentations represent different cultures and educational systems. A challenge across these different systems and cultures was that regular practices needed to be transformed due to the pandemic, involving crossing boundaries between different perspectives and practices. The situation also brought forward innovative tools and strategies which we argue could have a lasting effect on the conduct of LS in the future.

This introductory chapter provides the background of this book and situates it in the current research literature and theoretical perspectives. An overview of the structure as well as a brief description of the chapters in each section is given.

Offering a rich, critical investigation of how technology can be used to strengthen and promote lesson study in both virtual and hybrid environments, this edited book presents insights into the numerous challenges as well as opportunities for supporting teachers’ and teacher educators’ professional learning in such a novel setting. Providing an international perspective, research in this book highlights on the one hand the necessity of exploring how the known theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches for researching on lesson study and effective characteristics of conducting lesson study can be adapted to the new environments. On the other hand, further analysis reveals the benefits of using various advanced technologies in lesson study, the new practice of professional development of teachers and teacher educators, and also documents related issues of conducting lesson study in such complex contexts. The chapters focus on online cross-cultural lesson study; the key aspects of conducting online lesson study and the effectiveness of it. Features of facilitation and the development of facilitators for online lesson study are explored, alongside the ways in which online lesson study can help address various problems of practice such as implementing equitable teaching, facilitating student interaction in virtual environments, and migration to remote teaching in STEM. This resourceful text provides needed support to both researchers and practitioners, from primary to higher education, with special attention to both teacher and student learning.

This concluding chapter synthesises the unique contributions of this book and discusses associated challenges in conducting online/hybrid LS. Finally, suggestions for further research in this field are considered.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to better understand how lesson study (LS) contributes to challenging teachers' views of mathematics teaching and learning.Design/methodology/approach: This study is part of a wider ongoing project aiming at improving primary mathematics teaching in Malawi through professional development (PD) of teachers using a LS model. The units being analyzed are teachers' written reflections and lesson plans. The analytical approach is qualitative content analysis.Findings: Initially, the participating Malawian primary teachers report traditional views of mathematics teaching and learning. After having participated in a LS cycle, they reported on the need to work on how to involve and create space for learners' participation in mathematic lessons and highlight the importance for learners to discover mathematics on their own.Research limitations/implications: This is a small-scale study due to LS being quite new in the Malawian context and the need to test before possible upscaling.Practical implications: The paper includes a description on how LS might contribute to challenging Malawian teachers' views of mathematics teaching and learning; this can be valuable information for others who are attempting to use LS in a similar context.Originality/value: This paper fulfills an identified need to learn more about how LS might contribute to challenging teachers' views of mathematics teaching and learning worldwide.

Purpose: Finding ways in which technology can be used to modify, strengthen, scale up and sustain lesson study (LS) is an emerging field of research. It has become even more important due to a pandemic leading to teacher and student learning being delivered online. The purpose of this paper is to present research findings about experiences of online LS and identify issues for further research.Design/methodology/approach: A systematic search of articles from 2010 to 2020 identified 13 relevant papers, and through analysis, some major themes were identified. All papers in the special issue were synthesized from the lens of the identified themes; finally, further directions are discussed.Findings: In general, various online LS models were found to have features that resulted in positive effects on teaching and learning, but, whilst several characteristics of effective online learning were identified, some studies also highlighted issues.Research limitations/implications: There is a need for larger scale projects over an extended period to assess the effectiveness of online LS. Future research focused on carrying out learning study online as well as consideration of equity issues associated with online LS are also suggested.Originality/value: The studies presented in this issue address the opportunities and challenges of conducting online LS during a pandemic and beyond. Together, the literature review and contributory papers provide an international perspective of using online LS and identify important issues for further research.

Praksislærere opplever at de alene har ansvaret for lærerstudenters praksisopplæring, og at praksisskolerektorer mer tar et administrativt enn et faglig ansvar for praksisopplæringen. Med dette som utgangspunkt diskuteres her skolebaserte praksisplaner som redskap i utvikling av felles forståelse av å være praksisskole. Utvikling av de skolebaserte praksisplanene inngikk som en del av en videreutdanning for praksislærere, hvor noen utvalgte begrep ble knyttet til arbeidet med disse planene. Basert på analyse av skriftlige svar på en spørreundersøkelse tyder resultatene på at skolebaserte praksisplaner kan være ett viktig redskap i utvikling av en felles forståelse av det «å være praksisskole». English abstract English title: School based field practice plans as tools in developing a common understanding of being a practice school Research concludes that mentor teachers find they solely are responsible for student teachers during field practice, and that field practice school principals take an administrative rather than a professional responsibility for student teachers. As part of a course on mentoring, mentor teachers and the practice school principal collaborated on developing a school-based plan for field practice, focusing on some selected concepts. Based on written answers to a survey, the results indicate that school-based field practice plans can be a valuable tool in developing a common understanding of «being a field practice school».