From fearing errors and misconceptions to discussing them: mathematics teachers’ practice in a lesson study

Resumo

Background: Leading mathematical whole-class discussions remains a challenge for in service teacher practice. Lesson study is a collaborative professional development process based on real and current contexts of practice, which may contribute to face this challenge. Objectives: This study aims understand how lesson study may contribute to teachers’ practice regarding whole-class discussion by identifying what productive networks link teachers’ planning to lead and reflect on whole-class discussion. Design: This study follows an interpretative and qualitative approach. Setting and Participants: It was carried out in Portugal with three in service teachers, who planned and led a lesson for grade 5. Data collection and analysis: Data collection included audio and video recordings of the planning sessions, research lessons and post-lesson discussion and reflection, which we analysed by discourse analysis. Results: These discursive marks are associated with these productive networks: sharing challenges, facing challenges, sharing knowledge, accessing students' mathematical activity, actively listening, working with tasks and, finally, planning the lesson. The third mark, lesson study’s catalysts, is associated with facilitator attitude, group collaboration and the observation/reflection of the research lesson. Conclusions: Sharing challenges, facing challenges, and accessing students’ mathematical activity through a diagnostic task were especially relevant. Overall, productive networks did not operate in isolation; rather, they were interrelated and mutually reinforcing.