What questions do mathematics mentor teachers ask?

Lesson study was originally a professional development initiative from Japan. In some of the previous attempts to introduce it into initial teacher education, the role of the teacher educator has been highlighted. In this study, we analyse the questions that two mathematics mentor teachers ask in mentoring sessions, one in a lesson study intervention and one in a regular practice period in teacher education. Our findings indicate that the mentor teacher's questions in the lesson study intervention were more focused on planning, observation and pupil engagement and less focused on a deep understanding of the mathematical content.