Empirical evidence of the impact of lesson study on students’ achievement, teachers’ professional learning and on institutional and system evolution

In this article we review the evidence of the impact of lesson\u3cbr/\u3estudy on student learning, teacher development, teaching\u3cbr/\u3ematerials, curriculum, professional learning and system enhancement.\u3cbr/\u3eWe argue for lesson study to be treated holistically\u3cbr/\u3eas a vehicle for development and improvement at\u3cbr/\u3eclassroom, school and system levels rather than as a curricular\u3cbr/\u3eor pedagogical intervention. We illustrate the need for\u3cbr/\u3ethis approach to evaluating lesson study through a complex\u3cbr/\u3ecase exemplar which used Research Lesson Study (a form of\u3cbr/\u3elesson study popular in the UK and Europe) to develop\u3cbr/\u3elearning, teaching, curriculum and local improvement capacity\u3cbr/\u3eacross schools initially involved in a two‐year mathematics\u3cbr/\u3ecurriculum development project that later evolved into\u3cbr/\u3ethree self‐sustaining, voluntary lesson study school hubs in\u3cbr/\u3eLondon. We discuss resulting changes in culture, practice,\u3cbr/\u3ebelief, expectation and student learning. We argue as a result\u3cbr/\u3efor greater policy level understanding of this expanded\u3cbr/\u3econception of lesson study as a vehicle in classroom, school\u3cbr/\u3eand system transformation