Past Visiting Days

The day began at 8:45 a.m. with our arrival at the education lab and a brief introduction to Lesson Study and our process to date. We then sat in on a session from the seminar “Introduction to School Pedagogy,” taught by Julian Bucher. After a short lunch break, we started the evaluation session together, which ended openly and provided plenty of time for questions, suggestions, and discussion.

A total of 17 participants were present: in addition to seven teachers from the school, we welcomed LemaS multipliers, visitors from Japan, interested parties from neighboring schools, and an editor from the German School Portal.

Two LS teams had prepared exciting research questions and lessons, which the guests were able to observe. The exchange of perspectives from different contexts generated interesting ideas for the further development of teaching.

In the summer, we welcomed six colleagues from Riska Secondary School in Sandnes, Norway, to Potsdam. The school has been working with Lesson Study since 2016 and uses this method intensively to jointly develop teaching and strengthen professional learning communities. During their stay, the guests took part in the classroom observation day at the University of Potsdam and exchanged experiences with the other participants about Lesson Study.

On March 3, 2025, Klein Hehlen Elementary School in Celle opened its doors and classrooms for the third open house day for all interested parties from the LemaS network. Together, they observed a German lesson in the 2nd grade and then reflected on it in two small groups. At the end, the groups presented their observations and assessments of the students' learning to each other, which led to an interesting discussion.

The LemaS team at the University of Potsdam has formed its own Lesson Study team to further develop the seminar “Introduction to School Pedagogy” for bachelor's students studying to become teachers.

The research lesson on the topic “How do we teach our students how dimensions of good teaching can be made measurable through observation indicators?” was conducted in Klara Kager's seminar, followed by a joint evaluation of how lesson study can be transferred to schools.

In mid-September, two Japanese scientists from Kyoto University visited Germany. The Gorch Fock School in Hamburg, which has been conducting Lesson Study since the LemaS 1 phase,

enabled us to participate in a research lesson and the subsequent evaluation session. Together, we observed a math lesson in a second-grade class that focused on the cognitive activation of the students.

On May 16, 2024, the Thomas Müntzer Elementary School in Blönsdorf, Brandenburg, opened its doors and classrooms to all interested parties from the LemaS network. Together, they observed a math lesson in a second-grade class and then reflected on it. The aim of the lesson was to encourage high-achieving students to reflect on their own potential and select appropriate learning opportunities.