A comparative perspective on teacher collaboration: the cases of lesson study in Japan and of multidisciplinary teaching in Denmark

Carl Winsløw (1)

1 Department of Science Education [Copenhagen]

In this chapter, we present and compare two quite different organisations of teachers' collaborative work: that of lesson study as a means for professional development of mathematics teachers in Japan, and that of Danish high school teachers' collaboration in the setting of multidisciplinary modules. Each of these turns out to be crucially affected by certain school level paradidactic infrastructures, defined conditions and constraints of teachers' collaborative work in preparing, observing and evaluating actual teaching. The systematic and comparative study of paradidactic infrastructures is proposed as a way to interpret and ultimately overcome difficulties which arise, for instance, in attempts to realize major educational reforms.

Keywords: mathematics teaching; teacher collaboration; paradidactic infrastructure; paradidactic system; didactic observation system; lesson study; study inside school; transdisciplinarity; multidisciplinarity; curriculum reform

Domains: History and Overview [math.HO]; Education

Carl Winsløw. A comparative perspective on teacher collaboration: the cases of lesson study in Japan and of multidisciplinary teaching in Denmark. Gueudet, G., Pepin, B. & Trouche, L. From Text to 'Lived' resources: Mathematics Curriculum Material and Teacher Development, Springer, pp.291-304, 2012, Mathematics Teacher Education, ⟨10.1007/978-94-007-1966-8⟩. ⟨hal-00632741⟩