Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Japan Beyond lesson study

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the history and current status of policy, research and practices of curriculum, classroom instruction and assessment in Japan. It outlines the mechanism of curriculum organization and the history of the National Courses of Study, and assesses the theories of academic ability model. It also discusses in detail the history of "Lesson Study" – a characteristic teaching practice in Japan which utilizes groups, and reviews the history of educational assessment in Japan. Case studies on the practice of portfolio assessment in the Period for Integrated Study, as well as the practice of performance tasks in subject-based education are illustrated to show various examples of teaching practices.Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Japan explores: •Child-centered Curriculum and Discipline-Centered Curriculum •Theories based on Models of Academic Achievement and Competency •Various Methods for Organizing Creative Whole-Class Teaching •Performance Assessment in Subject Teaching A good guideline for those who would like to use the idea of "Lesson Study" in order to improve their own teaching and management practices and a reference to all working in educational improvement, this book will be of interest to educators and policymakers concerned with curriculum practices or those with an interest in the Japanese education system.

1. Introduction Koji Tanaka Part 1. Curriculum 2. Historical Overview of Curriculum Development: National Control over Curriculum vs. School-Based Curriculum Development Kanae Nishioka 3. The Long Debate between Child-centered Curriculum and Discipline-Centered Curriculum Koji Tanaka 4. Theories of the Models of Academic Achievement and Children’s Moral Development Terumasa Ishii Part 2. Instruction 5. Historical Overview of Lesson Study Terumasa Ishii 6. Practices of Leading Educators: Yoshio Toi, Kihara Saito, Kazuaki Shoji, Yasutaro Tamada Koji Tanaka 7. Various Methods for Organizing Creative Whole-Class Teaching Terumasa Ishii Part 3. Assessment 8. Historical Overview of Assessment in Japan Koji Tanaka 9. Portfolio Assessment in the Period for Integrated Study Kanae Nishioka 10. Performance Assessment in Subject Teaching Kanae Nishioka 11. Conclusion

Koji Tanaka is Professor at the Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Education, Kyoto University, Japan. Kanae Nishioka is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Education, Kyoto University, Japan. Terumasa Ishii is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Education, Kyoto University, Japan.