Lesson Study and History Education

Abstract

This article examines the experiences of a group of fifth-grade teachers who used lesson study, a teacher-driven form of professional development, to teach history in a project supported by a Teaching American History Grant. The project addressed the following questions: What does a lesson study cycle for history education look like? What contributes to effective lesson study in history education? What are the unique challenges of lesson study in history education? Based on analyses of the teacher-designed study lessons, teachers’ online journal entries, a teacher survey, videos of lessons and debriefing sessions, and field notes from lesson study observations, the article concludes lesson study in history helps teachers feel they have improved their instruction and have advanced student learning if the unique features of history instruction are taken into consideration. This study contributes to the research on lesson study by examining a relatively unexplored content area, history, and makes suggestions on how to use lesson study in history education.