Having a talented teacher in the classroom is the most important school-based factor impacting student achievement. In a single school year, the difference between an effective and an ineffective teacher can be a full grade level of student achievement. (The Task Force on Teaching and Student Achievement, 1999)

Where were you in 1999? This year was significant in the education world. The practice of Japanese Lesson Study came to international attention through the 1999 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and we learned the power that teachers hold.  In 1999, I was teaching 25 first graders labeled as “struggling students.” As the saying goes, “I’ve come a long way, baby!” particularly in my study of educational research. At the time, I did not know about the TIMMS study nor the implications and promise that it offered for instructional practice for students labeled as strugglers.  Regretting my ignorance of the TIMMS report is an understatement, for this report held powerful information to support the very children I called my students.

When the TIMSS report highlighted the exemplary mathematics instruction in Japan, it was noted that the manner in which Japanese teachers study, research, and reflect upon their instruction was unique among countries involved in the study. Could students’ in-depth understanding of mathematics link to the teachers’ approach to studying their instruction?  TIMSS researchers discovered the phenomenon of Lesson Study and the value that is placed upon teachers’ expertise, knowledge, and autonomy by digging into the practices of the teachers and studying video of students at work.

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