Lesson Study Summer Institute
Teaching Math Through Problem-solving (TTP)
An online workshop, June 16 – 20 and August 4 – 8
In this online workshop, teams learn about the exciting approach used in Japan, Teaching Math Through Problem-solving (TTP), and are guided through lesson study to develop a TTP lesson to be tested in the following school year. This workshop is a great way for teachers to learn about these two powerful practices – one for better student learning, and one for better teacher learning.
Teams will work together in a space convenient for them while interacting with Lesson Study Alliance leaders by video link, making this workshop accessible to teachers everywhere.
Experience Lesson Study in Japan!
Fall 2025 Level 2 Lesson Study Immersion Program
For leaders of Lesson Study, present or future, IMPULS* in Japan and Lesson Study Alliance are again offering their Level 2 Lesson Study Immersion Program in Japan, October 28 – November 6, 2025.
Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Space is limited, so apply now! Application deadline is August 29.
*IMPULS = International Math-teacher Professionalization Using Lesson Study
Stay tuned
Stay tuned for information about upcoming events. The best way to hear about these is to subscribe to one of our very low-traffic mailing lists:
Lesson Study Reports Database
Check out our searchable database of research lesson reports. These reports are intended to support the work of lesson study teams and are free to download.
About Lesson Study
Lesson Study is a structured process for teachers to work together to discover solutions to common teaching-learning challenges. Read “What is Lesson Study? A Primer”.
The members of Lesson Study Alliance help teachers and schools implement an especially powerful form of Lesson Study called Collaborative Lesson Research, or CLR.
About Us
We are a coalition of educators dedicated to helping each other and others learn about lesson study and use the process to improve teaching and learning. The most important work is done by the hard-working teachers who design and teach public research lessons, assist with the annual conference or summer workshops, and more. Backing them up are Tom McDougal, who handles the day-to-day business of Lesson Study Alliance and supports teachers through the lesson study process, and Dr. Akihiko Takahashi of DePaul, who contributes his expertise by giving talks and serving as a knowledgeable other.
Our activities include:
- hosting the international Chicago Lesson Study Conference
- hosting smaller conferences and training sessions for teams of teachers;
- facilitating and giving final comments for research lessons;
- providing site-based professional development, including knowledgeable other services; and
- supporting and distributing LessonNote, a free iPad application used in classroom observation and discussion.
Contact us at info@LSAlliance.org or 773-888-3404.
Blog
Fractions as numbers vs. fractions as ratios
A grade 4 team was recently considering the following task for a lesson in which they hoped to have students make a connection between fractions and decimals: What would you say about this? I wrote them two emails about it. First email: What would be the purpose of...
Learning goals should describe cognitive change
A surprisingly difficult but critically important part of designing a lesson is establishing the learning goals. Many teachers write learning goals in the form of behavioral outcomes: “Students will be able to…” Frequently this is what their administrators want, and...
It’s not the teacher’s job to teach the students!
What?? you might be thinking. What else could the teacher's job be but to teach? The teacher's job is to ensure that students learn – all of them, we hope, though we know we will usually fall short. In Japan, most (elementary) math lessons are designed as "teaching...
The choice of numbers matters!
I am looking at a lesson research proposal for grade 5 on division of decimal values by a whole number. The problem the team plans to use is 4.26 ÷ 3, and their goal is for students to discover that the same processes they use to model division with whole numbers...
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