Lesson Study as a Professional Development Practice: Perspectives of Myanmar Teacher Educators

Abstract

Lesson study (LS) is a professional development practice in which teachers collaborate to develop a lesson plan, teach and observe the lesson to collect data on student learning, and use their observations to refine their lesson. LS was introduced into education and teacher education in Myanmar through two international projects, but there has been barely any follow-up research exploring whether and how LS is practiced as a regular professional development activity since the international projects terminated in Myanmar. The present study aims to fill this gap by exploring Myanmar teachers' and teacher educators' understanding of lesson study, their LS practices, the benefits of LS they have identified, and the challenges they have experienced in establishing LS as a long-term, sustainable professional development practice. Mixed methodology was used in the research that forms the basis of this study, with an online questionnaire survey for the quantitative study and a semi-structured interview for the qualitative study. The results of the semi-structured interviews complement the results of the questionnaire and provide a deeper explanation along the following four themes: knowledge and practice of the method, the perceived benefits of the method and the challenges of its implementation. The quantitative research results show that 47% of the participants, i.e. all participating teacher educators, were aware of the method, while 53% of the participants, i.e. all participating teachers from public education, had no knowledge of LS. Therefore, the focus of the study had to be limited to teacher educators' understandings, perceptions, practices and experiences of LS. Their understandings of LS slightly vary, while their perceptions of the method are overwhelmingly positive; nevertheless, since the completion of the international projects, the use of lesson study has declined in their practice due to a marked decrease in administrative support, and, consequently, in their own commitment
to LS. The study can shed light on the factors that determine the success of the introduction and adaptation of a new method that can be called innovative.