Cognitive dynamics in teacher knowledge development through lesson study: Insights from two Chinese teams

Lesson Study (LS) is increasingly being used as a vehicle for delivering curriculum reforms, counting on its potential for scaffolding joint professional learning and practice innovation among teachers. Few studies, however, have investigated the cognitive factors and processes that can affect teachers’ generative outcomes through LS. To address this knowledge gap, this article presents a two-case study from China that adopts a discourse-based approach to study teacher cognition in LS meetings. The findings present convergent and divergent patterns of teacher knowledge articulation and use among the teacher teams which lead to more or less successful knowledge development. Difficulties arise particularly when teachers hold their knowledge too rigidly to entertain new practical possibilities. The study highlights the complexities of curriculum implementation at the classroom level as teachers can hold a diverse range of practical conceptions close to or distant from new curriculum ideals. Collaborative practice such as LS can be enhanced through developing teacher capacity to propositionally articulate existing and new knowledge, and in some cases to unlearn in order to relearn.