The Japanese Lexicon: Describing Classroom Events for Improving Mathematics Instruction Through Lesson Study

• In Event: The Lexicon Project: Examining the Content, Structure, and Implications of Pedagogical Naming Systems From Different Cultures

Abstract

Objective
The current study aims to address the terms that Japanese teachers use to describe the phenomena of the school mathematics classroom. The study explores the constituent elements and structural characteristics of the Japanese lexicon, as a part of the international Lexicon Project that aims to document and compare the naming systems in participating countries.

Perspective(s)
The Japanese tradition of Lesson Study has created a teaching community in which discussion of mathematics lessons is an integral part of professional practice (Fernandez & Yoshida, 2004). Within the discourse of Lesson Study, particular lexical terms have specific significance. Hiebert and Stigler (2017) argue that a focus on teaching, not on teachers, can shape a coordinated system for improving classroom instruction. Identifying and unpacking technical vocabulary shared in a community of teachers provide a platform for examining the way to improve classroom instruction.

Methods and data
A team of Japanese researchers and experienced teachers viewed a set of video recordings to identify with single words or short phrases that are used by mathematics teachers with a consistent and agreed meaning. Each term was operationalized with a description, examples and non-examples. A process of local and then national validation was subsequently pursued to refine the lexicon.
The Japanese National Lexicon consists of 70 terms. The lexical items are organized in six categories: General Phases of Lessons (15 terms); Structured Problem Solving Phases (24 terms); Organization of lesson (15 terms); General teaching strategy (11 terms); Explicit reference to the Values related to Mathematics (6 terms); Others (5 terms). The two dimensions: ‘Agency’ and whether the lexical term referred to observable ‘Form’ or an inferred ‘Function’ were used to categorize the data further.

Results/Conclusions
In terms of agency, a significant characteristic of the Japanese lexicon was naming mutually-constructed events by teacher and the students; e.g. ‘Neriage’. A distinctive result to emerge from the documentation and analysis of the Japanese Lexicon was that the values were implicit in many of the identified terms. Also, the mathematical character of a lexical term appears as explicit reference to the values related to mathematics, such as ‘Riyu’, or justification, and ‘Shiki, or literal symbols. Additionally, the Form versus Function distinction reveals the multi-layered intentions of Japanese teachers such as ‘Kikan-shido’, or instruction between desks.
This study provides insight into the naming system employed by mathematics teachers in Japan in relation to their classroom practice by documenting and interpreting the constructs used in discussions with others. The central importance of the lesson plan as a critical vehicle for teachers’ use of their professional lexicon is discussed.

Scholarly significance
For more than a decade, educators and researchers in the field of mathematics education have been interested in lesson study as a promising source of ideas for improving education. The Japanese lexicon can be a window through which teacher and researcher can reflect on what is valued in describing and improving lessons by the comparisons with other countries.

Authors

• Yoshinori Shimizu, University of Tsukuba

• Yuka Funahashi, Nara University of Education