Using Lesson Study to Prepare Preservice Special Educators

Learning to teach students with disabilities is challenging. Preservice special educators must develop critical knowledge of content as well as skill for enacting evidence-based practices effectively. Preservice special educators need increased opportunities to learn core knowledge coupled with a mechanism to support them in situating their newly acquired knowledge and skills in classroom practice. This column describes lesson study (LS), a practice-based approach that can be integrated within a teacher preparation program preparing preservice special educators to teach students with high-incidence disabilities. The column includes (a) a description of steps that teacher educators can take to integrate the LS process into their teacher preparation program, (b) reproducible items needed to facilitate LS, and (c) recommendations for evaluating the effect of LS on preservice special educators’ knowledge and skills.