数学教育における「潜在的授業力」に関する研究 ―アメリカにおける授業実践との比較から―

抄録

　　 Hirabayashi(2006) discusses a traditional aspect of mathematics education in Japan from the concepts of GEI(art), JUTSU(technique), and DO(way).  These are traditional Japanese cultural concepts and they seem to be the fundamental philosophy of Japanese people; however, it is not easy to define these concepts with words. We can point out, at least, that Japanese mathematics education surely has its own cultural aspect, and some parts seem to not easily be understood by foreign researchers, partially because these cultural aspects are not easily described in words, and no explicit definition of these cultural ideas exists.  One famous practice in Japanese mathematics education is “Lesson Study”.  There are many teachers and researchers who try putting it into practice all over the world, but the strict definition of Lesson Study, the proper procedures of Lesson Study, how Lesson Study should be practiced, etc.  does not exist.  Nevertheless, Japanese mathematics teachers have been doing Lesson Study for many years without an explicit definition and characterization of the practice. This is one example of the culture of Japanese mathematics education which is based on Japanese philosophy.

　　 In this paper we examine three examples of fundamental aspects of Japanese mathematics teaching which are, at least partially, hyidden and implicit.  We examine these aspects by contrasting and comparing Japanese and US viewpoints in specific instances and support our claims with empirical evidence.  First, we begin with the ability to evaluate a high-quality lesson.  A US high school lesson was viewed quite positively by all Japanese researchers but US researchers had a neutral or negative evaluation of the lesson.  This difference may be caused by views that value different aspects of the lesson.  Many features of a lesson which Japanese and US researchers use to evaluate the quality of a lesson may be implicit and hidden.  Second, we examine the ability to craft a Lesson Plan.  Most Japanese teachers are able to craft a detailed Lesson Plan for Lesson Study, but many very capable US teachers struggle to craft a detailed Lesson Plan.  The ability to craft a good Lesson Plan is a key skill to be an excellent teacher in Japan, but it seems not to be in the US.  This difference may point to implicit, culturally driven, aspects of being an excellent teacher in the two countries.  Third, we examine the definition and characterization of Kyozaikenkyu.  There are several differing explanations about the concept of Kyozaikenkyu in the US.  It is unclear for US teachers, however, no Japanese teachers struggle doing Kyozaikenkyu, even though it lacks a strict definition.  It seems the concept of Kyozaikenkyu is unconsciously shared with Japanese teachers.

　　Finally, we use the model of Implicit Abilities of Teaching to discuss these three cultural characteristics. Thinking about implicit abilities, although still a hypothesis, may help to make sense of these fundamental cultural aspects of Japanese mathematics education.