Lesson Study & Graduate Programmes in Japan

For teachers who are interested to observe lesson study in Japan, there are several options. At the start of each calendar year, the APEC HRD Lesson Study group meets in Japan and this meeting includes opportunities to see lesson study. In 2010, a group of Singapore teachers were with me when we attended the APEC event. There were also many teachers from Thailand and MOE officials from Brunei who came with their respective country specialists.

Another option is to join a study group organised by Global Resources (US-based agency). There was one such previous visit and another one this July. It targets primarily US teachers. It is led by two or three Japanese professors who are based in the US (Yoshida Makoto, Akihiko Takahashi and Tad Watanabe - all big names in lesson study and mathematics education). I am speaking to Makoto about the possibility having one for Singapore teachers in December 2010 or June 2011.

This year's EARCOME is in Japan and the programme includes lesson study.

Those who intend to study for masters or doctoral degree in Japan may consider Hiroshima University or Tsukuba University. These universities have been offering doctoral programmes in maths education for many years. More recently another group of universities which include the famed Tokyo University has also started to offer Ph.D. in maths education. If you are keen on studying in Japan you may look up their websites.