Lesson study as a tool in professional development: Engaging pre-service and in-service kindergarten teachers in joint reflective practice

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Published: Nov 8, 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/hjre.14845
Ευθυμία Πεντέρη
Democritus University of Thrace
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8054-6462
Abstract

Lesson study has been widely implemented as a teacher-led professional development tool to improve students’ achievement and progress, especially in the upper elementary and middle school. Over the years, its use has been expanded in other educational levels as well in pre-service teachers’ training programs, with various forms and adaptations to correspond to different educational and professional contexts, needs and purposes. We present a form of lesson study that combines the reflective practice of both pre-service and in-service kindergarten teachers including the participation of the academic supervisor-facilitator in a pilot program initiated by the Laboratory of Pedagogical Research and Educational Practice of the Department of Education Sciences in Early Childhood. More specifically, the Lesson Study approach was the subject of the kindergarten teachers’ in-service training program and the context of the practicum for the pre-service kindergarten teachers. The academic supervisor-facilitator, an experienced kindergarten teacher and PhD holder, facilitated the process of co-designing the lesson, implementing the lesson in two kindergarten classrooms, as participants teachers formed two joint groups of trainees, reflecting and re-designing. The stages of the process, the roles, the interactions and the beliefs of the participants are presented and discussed with regard to teachers’ professional development and the connection between the university department and the professional community. 

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Author Biography
Ευθυμία Πεντέρη, Democritus University of Thrace

PhD, Department of Education Studies in the Pre-school Age, Democritus University of Thrace 

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