Lesson Study at the Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Lesson Study (LS) at the Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, has shown significant growth over the years. To this effect, we have established the Lesson Study Unit/Centre (Figure 1) where we do a number of activities associated with LS, such as undergraduate students developing diagnostic tests to identify the goal of the research lessons and developing the actual research lessons. In addition, we often hold a group supervision and writing session for the postgraduate students whose research foci are LS. The group supervision and writing sessions often take place during school recess for about five days, since the majority of our postgraduate students are full-time teachers (Figures 2 and 3).
Early this year (2025), the Lesson Study Centre was used to hold a poster presentation workshop (Figure 4) in preparation for the World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS) conference to be held in Hiroshima, in November 2025. Dr Mazibe from our sister university – the University of South Africa (UNISA) – shared his expertise and insights into the intricacies of poster presentation. A total of four PhD and five MEd students attended the workshop, with two students based in the UK joining the session virtually.
As a means of community engagement, we often host teachers from local schools in the Lesson Study Centre (Figure 5) to offer support related to Lesson Study practices, e.g., where we collaboratively diagnose learners’ difficulties in mathematics and plan lessons to be taught in their various schools where we are often invited to observe the lessons and participate in the post-lesson reflections.
Additionally, practical issues about Lesson Study have been incorporated into pre-service teachers’ mathematics methodology modules, where they engage in hands-on activities related to the practice and implementation of Lesson Study.
Milestones of Lesson Study at the University of Pretoria
Evident with the growth and maturing of Lesson Study at the University of Pretoria, a short course on Lesson Study titled: Teacher Development Through Lesson Study: Theory and Practice has been introduced and is endorsed by the South African Council for Educators (SACE). The short course is intended to provide teachers with insights into the theoretical perspectives of Lesson Study and then practically implement the stages thereof in real time and real context. This short course has been offered to mathematics subject advisors from three provinces in South Africa, namely, Gauteng (Figure 6), Western Cape (Figure 7) and KwaZulu-Natal (Figure 8).
