Abstract
This article briefly describes the case of three U.S. elementary schools that combined school-wide lesson study with curriculum study (kyouzai kenkyuu) of the Japanese mathematics curriculum. These schools showed strong improvement in students’ mathematics achievement, eliminating the achievement gap usually found for historically underserved student groups in the U.S. The sites offer an existence proof of the power of school-wide lesson study supported by Japanese curriculum materials. The effectiveness and sustainability of lesson study efforts outside Japan has been questioned, and we suggest several factors that may distinguish these three successful sites, including: access to a high-quality lesson study model; access to Japanese curriculum materials and expertise; local teacher leadership; and school cultures emphasizing caring, collaborative learning communities (for teachers and students). Based on examination of these sites, this article proposes three ways that Japanese educational researchers might use Japanese curriculum knowledge to leverage educational improvement in other countries.
