Cognitive Dynamics in Teacher Knowledge Development: Insights from Two Chinese Teams

<p dir="ltr">Lesson Study (LS) is increasingly being used as a vehicle for delivering curriculum<br>reforms, counting on its potential for scaffolding joint professional learning and prac-<br>tice innovation among teachers. Few studies, however, have investigated the cogni-<br>tive factors and processes that can affect teachers’ generative outcomes through LS.<br>To address this knowledge gap, this article presents a two-case study from China that<br>adopts a discourse-based approach to study teacher cognition in LS meetings. The<br>findings present convergent and divergent patterns of teacher knowledge articulation<br>and use among the teacher teams which lead to more or less successful knowledge<br>development. Difficulties arise particularly when teachers hold their knowledge too<br>rigidly to entertain new practical possibilities. The study highlights the complexities of<br>curriculum implementation at the classroom level as teachers can hold a diverse<br>range of practical conceptions close to or distant from new curriculum ideals.<br>Collaborative practice such as LS can be enhanced through developing teacher cap-<br>acity to propositionally articulate existing and new knowledge, and in some cases to<br>unlearn in order to relearn.</p>