Exploring professional learning opportunities of teachers who teach mathematics during post-lesson discussions in lesson study

This study analyses the interactions in post-lesson discussions in lesson studies of two groups of teachers who teach mathematics in elementary schools, as well as the factors that influence their development, aiming to understand how these interactions foster opportunities for professional learning. The qualitative and interpretative investigation was based on content analysis of transcripts from two post-lesson discussions. The results show a predominance of cumulative talk and occasional occurrences of exploratory talk, in which opportunities for learning were observed related to knowledge of teaching practice and knowledge of students and their learning processes. These opportunities are produced under specific discursive and interactional conditions, strongly influenced by the facilitator’s actions and contextual factors such as the participants’ professional culture. The findings indicate that professional learning opportunities require intentional facilitation, characterized by a guiding role that involves the deliberate use of specific and probing questions, references to lesson planning and classroom evidence, and other timely interventions that support exploratory interactions among teachers.