Investigating the Use of Lesson Study with Preservice Science Teachers

The study aimed to explore the integration of lesson study into science teacher education programs to enhance preservice science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for STEM. The lesson study cycle encompassed planning, teaching, reflecting, re-teaching, and re-reflecting phases, and the participants' experiences regarding PCK for STEM in these phases were investigated. Lesson study was incorporated into the Practice in a Science Teaching course within the science teacher education program, and four lesson study cycles were completed. Participants designed four research lessons in the format of content representation focusing on different science units and implemented them in middle school classrooms. A case study was employed, and the four preservice science teachers in their final year participated in the study. In-depth data were collected through various sources, including interviews, content representation, and observation protocols, and descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data. The main findings of the study revealed that the phases of lesson study were influential in improving preservice science teachers' PCK for STEM. The collaborative nature of lesson study allowed preservice science teachers to construct knowledge collectively, teach in real classroom environments, observe their peers, and reflect on the lessons. These activities enhanced their understanding of the curriculum, learners, instructional strategies, and assessment in the context of STEM education at the end of the study. [This paper was published in: "EJER Congress 2023 International Eurasian Educational Research Congress Conference Proceedings," Ani Publishing, 2023, pp. 148-162.]