Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to establish how the researcher could formulate a structural framework that would support, if possible, Grade 10 educator’s high standard of development and maintain this standard throughout their teaching careers using the collaborative lesson planning model in their teaching in the Thaba Nchu District, Free State, South Africa. A case study design was used in this study. The participants were made up of four mathematics educators selected from two different schools but teaching the same Grades (Grades 10) in the Thaba Nchu District, based on their accessibility and willingness to take part in the study. They engaged in the lesson study activities and were observed by the researcher. Two instruments were used to collect data, namely, observation and interviews. The researcher used content analysis to analyse the data generated from the observations and interviews which were conducted. The study revealed that teaching in South Africa was still based on the concept of isolation. Generally, the educators meet each other only when they have challenges that they want to discuss with each other. What makes collaborative lesson study difficult in South Africa is that it is not allocated a time within the school timetable. This results in each educator choosing his or her activities and informal assessment. Recommendations were made concerning the above findings, the main one being to promote the Japanese lesson study model involving collaboration.

Keywords:

Collaborative lesson study, teachers, Grade 10, teaching and learning, mathematics, learner-educator ratio, pedagogy, workshops.