Teaching Practicum Workbook for Special Education Trainees: A Modified Lesson Study Approach, Aug/2010

Preparing teachers to educate children with special needs involves highly complex interacting processes that are social, cultural, dynamic, adaptive, affective, behavioural, communicative and cognitive in nature. Special education trainees faced with such challenges are strongly advised to work closely and collaboratively with their coaches and mentors as well as coach-mentors in their learning journey to socially construct and develop their expertise as an effective educator in the complex learning environment.

This workbook is written for special education trainees introducing them to the concept of lesson study, which originated from Japan. The aim to facilitate getting trainees and experienced teachers together to study the processes of teaching and learning in classrooms and then devise ways to improve them collectively. The authors have endeavoured that the synergistic collaboration in the lesson study process to research teaching materials, write individualised education plans, develop lesson plans, and practise teaching with revision will not only hone the pedagogical skills and content knowledge of teachers but also improve the knowledge base of the teaching profession. Classroom life is full of habits and routines, deeply rooted in culture, which remains invisible until they are viewed from a different angle or in new context. The trainees may reveal ground breaking improvements to the current practices. Experienced teachers, on the other hand, have tacit knowledge of the various profiles of students, what works and why, with a good grasp of best practices using existing resources.

Japanese Lesson Study as a model for teacher professional learning has attracted world attention. As teaching is a cultural activity, where teachers follow cultural scripts that are consistent with what they experienced as students, modification to the Lesson Study for local use in the Teaching Practicum (for special schools) has been attempted for the first time.