Modified Lesson Study for Trainee Special Education Teachers

In this participatory action research study, the authors introduced Lesson Study, which originated from Japan (see Fernandez and Yoshida, 2004), in the Teaching Practicum (TP) to get experienced and trainee special education (SpEd) teachers together to study the processes of teaching and learning in classrooms. They then devised ways to enhance their teaching (Chia and Kee, 2010). It was envisaged that TP not only honed the pedagogical skills and content knowledge of SpEd teachers, it also improved the knowledge base of the SpEd teaching profession. Classroom life is always full of habits and routines deeply rooted in culture that remains invisible until viewed from a different perspective or in a new context (Stepanek, Appel, Leong, Mangan and Mitchell, 2007). This study reports on the processes and challenges using a modified version of Lesson Study for the first time as the overarching framework for TP for trainee SpEd teachers in Singapore. The study involved three local special schools for children with autism. Results and feedback from 58 trainee SpEd teachers and their school coaches and coach-mentors were collated by the authors to provide a potential model for understanding the processes and products of using the modified Lesson Study approach as a formative evaluation for future TP.