Japanese mathematics teachers' professional scholarship

This is the 26 month seminar for Yukiko-Asami Johansson, outlining results of the first year of her PhD-study and especially the plans for rest of the project. First questions and comments are offered by our external expert: Dr. Koji Otaki, Hokkaido U. of Education, Japan. Everyone interested are welcome to attend.

Abstract

The seminar will start with a short presentation of the research design of my PhD project: “The ecology of Japanese school mathematics. – Focus on the teachers’ didactical organisations”. A considerable number of studies concern Japanese teachers’ collectively shared knowledge of teaching practice. Developing this research, my study contributes to provide an institutional aspect on the Japanese teachers’ didactical knowledge. The aim is to investigate the conditions that constitute the Japanese mathematics teachers’ professional scholarship - especially their didactical organisations. I collected data within classroom practice from three different contexts (Japan, Sweden and Finland) about the mathematical organisations and about the teachers’ didactical organisations. Here I will present a case study from an open lesson in a Japanese mathematical classroom. The observed lesson and the post-lesson discussion is presented and analysed: Which components of didactical knowledge appear and are developed during the post-lesson discussion? To which levels can one relate the participants’ reflections during the post-lesson discussion?