Although continuous professional development (CPD) is a key strategy for physical education (PE) teachers to update skills and knowledge in order to provide the best possible education to students, various concerns have been voiced regarding the effectiveness and feasibility of CPD in the context of PE. One approach to CPD that seems promising in this respect is lesson study, which is a form of collaborative, teacher-led and inquiry-based professional learning. This study reports on teachers’ experiences with lesson study and was specifically aimed at teachers’ perceptions of what was learned through lesson study and how this was done. Ten PE departments (35 teachers) followed a workshop on the topic of the need-supportive teaching of games which was followed by multiple lesson study cycles. Questionnaires and focus group interviews provided insight into teachers’ experiences. Overall, participating PE teachers appreciated lesson study as CPD, especially valuing the collaborative and practice-oriented approach. As lesson study allows for professional experimentation this enabled teachers to transfer new knowledge and ideas into their own specific educational contexts. Nevertheless, results also indicated that in its current form and especially within existing school structures, lesson study might be too demanding in terms of time and resources. Only if schools are willing to make the required investments could lesson study be expected to reach its full potential.
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