Lesson Studies, which is primarily a classroom research initiative to promote the growth of teacher professional development, was introduced in Malaysia in 2004 as a research project and postgraduate study. Subsequently, there were other research studies on Lesson Studies launched under the APEC project that looked into the study of Innovative Teaching Mathematics in 2006, Mathematical Thinking in 2007 and Mathematical Communication in 2008.  Another project was “The National Lesson Study Conference in the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation-Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics (SEAMEO-RECSAM)” in 2008. In 2010, an open class was held at the Syed Shah Sahabudin Science Department, Malaysian Ministry of Education involving 14 schools and 100 teachers. It was eventually in 2011 where Lesson Studies was officially adopted by 289 primary and secondary schools which were given initial exposure related to the process of implementing Lesson Studies in schools.

The Malaysian Ministry of Education strongly encourages teachers to collaborate through Professional Learning Community programmes as an effort to improve teacher professionalism. As of today, Lesson Studies is one of the tools included in the Professional Learning Community that encourages teachers to collaborate in planning the process of teaching and learning to ensure and maximise the development of student learning. Efforts can also be seen taken by School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) from district education offices and institutes of teacher education (IPG) to be involved in the implementation of Lesson Studies.

The World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS) holds international conferences every year since 2007 to promote Lesson Studies that provides the opportunity for research on Lesson Study to evolve into forming new knowledge and teaching strategies, especially in various current educational challenges. WALS conferences have always been anticipated since it serves as a platform to share and discuss issues related to teaching and learning in a meaningful dimension through Lesson Studies.

The WALS international conference will be held in Malaysia in 2022, organised by the Faculty of Education, UKM in collaboration with the support from the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Education. We are delighted to witness great collaboration between the Faculty of Education, UKM and the WALS Organization that is manifested in the WALS 2022 Conference. The University has always been committed in leading the development of a learned and dynamic society.

For the past two years, the WALS Conference has been held fully online due to COVID-19. This year, the committee members strive to implement hybrid where face-to-face activities will be conducted during the conference, including school visits and online presentations. Our aim is to engage all levels of education to share the implementation of their practices in Lesson Studies, ranging from pre-school to higher education and all types of studies.

As the conference organisers, we would like to invite international delegates to participate in this conference by not only sharing their research on improving the quality of learning but also communicating their experiences and practices in Lesson Studies. Past conferences under WALS have provided a useful and effective platform to discuss issues on teaching and learning among the teachers, researchers and practitioners. We are pleased to continue the tradition and set the platform ready to welcome everyone for more sharing of Lesson Studies.

Join us for the WALS 2022 Conference in Malaysia!