How Do Pre-service Mathematics Teachers Enhance Their Lessons through Lesson Study?

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate how lesson study perspective could help pre-service teachers (PSTs) to enhance their mathematical instruction. Four PSTs along with their 13 other peers who took a semester long secondary level mathematics teaching methods course in one of the large-midwestern universities in the US participated in this study. While four PSTs planned and taught a lesson in two different groups by two, other PSTs took the role of giving feedback to their classmates. PSTs enhanced their lesson plans based on the feedback from their peers and provided self-reflections on these changes. As a result of the investigation of the changes PSTs did on their lesson plans and the reflections they provided, it was revealed that they enhanced their instruction on some specific issues, such as getting students’ attention, using time efficiently, maintaining student interaction, using technology. It is also suggested to future researchers that it would be beneficial to study on PSTs’ assumptions on the difference between the real students and the PSTs who pretended as students during the peer-taught lesson study activity.