Digging Deeper: Transforming Practice Through Lesson Study: Core Insights, Empathy, and Critical Perspectives

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:45 am - Gold 2

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

This symposium explores how Lesson Study can be a transformative practice when grounded in its core components, empathy, and critical reflection. The first presentation examines key components of effective Lesson Study implementation from the perspectives of teachers and leaders, highlighting foundational structures and purposes. The second presentation centers empathy as a design principle in a community garden lesson, illustrating how Lesson Study can nurture student-centered, socially responsive teaching. The final paper investigates the use of a "critical friend" lens to unpack cultural assumptions in a lesson on cultural icebergs. Together, these studies offer powerful illustrations of how Lesson Study supports deeper professional learning through collaborative inquiry, critical dialogue, and a focus on meaningful, equitable student experiences.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Lesson Study

Chair

• Karie C. Brown, Georgia State University

Papers

• Empathy-Driven Lesson Study: The Case of the Community Garden Design-based Lesson - Gloriana Gonzalez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Sourabh Garg, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Jane Pak, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Lesson Study: Unpacking a Lesson on Cultural Icebergs Through a Critical Friend Lens - Lisa Rose Johnson, Old Dominion University

• Teacher and Leader Insights on the Core Components of Lesson Study - Meghan Smith Durkin, Stanford University; Marley Angelita Murrell, Stanford University; Hilda Borko, Stanford University