PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore whether the insights gained by teachers in a learning study can be shared by others and used to enhance other students’ learning.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory study analysed how four Mathematics teachers implemented the knowledge gained about student learning from a learning study about decimal numbers in their teaching. The teachers enacted two lessons with different conditions in terms of the knowledge identified about student learning in a total of eight classes in the fifth and sixth grades.FindingsThe findings indicate that, when the teachers enacted the knowledge in their lessons, students’ learning improved significantly as compared to when only some parts of this knowledge were enacted.Practical implicationsThis suggests that teachers can produce knowledge that is also usable for other teachers and that enables better possibilities for student learning.Originality/valueThe study provides insights as to what extent findings from learning studies can be valuable for others.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conceptual classification of learning study as a research approach.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is mainly theoretical, drawing on articles concerning classroom‐based research approaches as well as on some distinctions between a university‐based science of the universal and a clinical science of the particular.FindingsThe main argument of the article is that learning studies can neither be subsumed under “design and development research” (because this type of research does not include the professional actor) nor under “teacher research” (because it does not pay much attention to theoretical knowledge) nor should it be regarded as a hybrid between design experiments and lesson studies. In spite of similarities to both it should rather be described as clinical research (in analogy to medical clinical research). The use of teachers’ experiences and tacit knowing in the knowledge‐producing process, the iterative process of specification of theory, and the uniqueness of the learning problems among different groups of pupils are central aspects of a particularistic clinical research process. In comparison with lesson study, the learning study is more focussed on constructing knowledge concerning objects of learning as well as teaching‐learning relations. Teachers are included in the research as interpretative professionals making professional sense of particular educational events.Originality/valueThe paper promotes the conceptual discussion of the learning study approach, as well as of both lesson and learning studies as research approaches, i.e. as knowledge‐producing practices.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of lesson study for the development of a science of teaching cast in the form of John Dewey's “laboratory model” of learning to teach.Design/methodology/approachThe early sections compare the “laboratory” with the “apprenticeship” and “rationalist” models of learning to teach, which emphasise the primacy of practice and theory respectively. The unity of theory and practice embodied in the “laboratory model” is outlined, linking the development of teachers’ theoretical understanding with the development of their practice. A distinction between pedagogy and teaching is drawn. The later sections examine the potential of lesson study to develop as a teachers’ based pedagogical science, particularly when informed by variation theory. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which different theories of learning can be integrated into learning study, and points to ways in which particular studies can contribute to the systematic construction of pedagogical knowledge.FindingsThere can be no pedagogy without casting teaching as an experimental science, in which pedagogical theories are appropriated, tested and further developed as a source of pedagogical principles. Pedagogy therefore consists of a science of teaching in which teachers actively participate in knowledge construction. Lesson study when informed by an explicit learning theory, such as variation theory, provides a strong basis for the development of a practitioner‐based science of teaching.Originality/valueThe paper creates original links across disparate work in the field of teaching and learning.

PurposeTeachers in the USA have been conducting lesson study for more than ten years since it was introduced from Japan in the late 1990s. Although interest in conducting lesson study in the USA is still strong and greater numbers of teachers have become involved in this professional learning, there are significant obstacles to conducting high quality and effective lesson study that enhances teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge, as well as improving their instruction and student learning in classrooms. Because of the needs of improvement in lesson study in the USA, so it can be administered effectively and sustained, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the current status of lesson study in the USA, what high quality and effective lesson study is, and what ideas might be help to improve lesson study in the USA.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, issues that are common barriers to conducting effective lesson study, such as: US teachers’ misunderstanding or lack of understanding of lesson study; teachers’ insufficient knowledge of content, pedagogical content, curriculum knowledge; lack of support from administrators for lesson study; non‐systematic approach to implement lesson study; and having short‐sighted vision to conduct lesson study will be discussed. The discussions are based on the author's 12 years of experience working with teachers, schools, and school districts in the USA, interactions and information exchanges with other lesson study educators and researchers and professional development coordinators in schools and districts in the USA, and existing research documents in the USA. Through this discussion, the author attempts to provide suggestions for improving lesson study in the USA.FindingsIn order for lesson study to be successful, teachers need to think of lesson study as a way to improve their own learning as well as student learning. Spending more time studying mathematical content and curriculum, developing a strong pedagogical content knowledge with colleagues, and establishing a professional community of learning through lesson study will help it to be effective for improving classroom teaching and learning.Originality/valueThe paper provides some helpful suggestions for improving quality and effectiveness of lesson study in order to improve: classroom teaching – teacher's content, pedagogical content and curriculum knowledge; and student learning. The paper is particularly valuable for lesson study practitioners, and administrators and staff developers who are implementing lesson study in schools.