Objective and Theoretical Framework

Digital video has become an increasingly popular tool in teacher development as it has many advantages.  This medium allows one to situate the exploration of mathematics instruction without having to be present in the classroom (Sherin, 2004).  Video recordings of practice can be viewed multiple times to decompose complex practice into tangible components that can analyzed. It can slow down the teaching process and allow viewers to reflect upon discrete components in the complex process of mathematics teaching.   The use of digital video in pre-service teacher education is steadily increasing; however, there is still much work needed in understanding how this medium can facilitate teachers in their learning.  As pre-service teachers do not necessarily gain new insights about their practice from watching classroom video alone, attention needs to be made about what and how pre-service teachers learn as they interact with a video-based professional development (LeFevre, 2004).  

The goal of the project under study is to make progress on this issue by investigating the impact of a pre-service teacher education course designed to develop specific dispositions, knowledge, and orientations to learn from teaching.  The curriculum draws from literature on expert-novice teacher differences (Berliner, 2001).  This literature suggests that expert teachers focus on evidence of student thinking and learning to inform their pedagogical decisions.  However, pre-service teachers do not enter the credential program with these analysis skills (Star & Strickland, 2008; van Es & Sherin, 2002).   Centered around video representations of teaching, this course uses a framework, the Lesson Analysis Framework, to guide pre-service teachers’ analysis of classroom lessons. The Lesson Analysis Framework help pre-service teachers develop routines to systematically observe, analyze, and reflect on classroom instruction, specifically as it pertains to student thinking, mathematical thinking, and the interrelation between pedagogical decisions and student learning.  Key questions guide teachers’ lesson analysis: What are the main ideas that students are supposed to understand through this lesson? Did the students make progress toward the learning goals? What evidence do we have that students made progress? What evidence do we have that students did not make progress? What evidence are we missing? Which instructional strategies supported students’ progress toward the learning goals and which did not? Finally, what alternative strategies could the teacher use? How do you expect these strategies to impact students’ progress toward the lesson learning goals?  If any evidence of student learning is missing, how could the teacher collect such evidence?

The impact of the course on pre-service teacher analysis abilities was investigated through a study of pre-service teacher group conversations during video-based course activities and through pre/post test study of pre-service teachers’ abilities to reflect on a videotapes lesson taught by another teacher (Santagata & Guarino, 2010). Results from this previous study revealed changes in their analysis abilities from the beginning to the completion of the course.  Pre-service teachers developed a deeper awareness of the interrelation of teacher instructional decisions to student thinking.  Specifically, pre-service teachers came to attend to the details of student thinking and of the teacher’s instructional moves that made student thinking visible.  

This study builds on the research summarized above and investigates pre-service teacher development and progression in the acquisition of dispositions, knowledge, and skills for analyzing mathematics teaching. Specifically, we examine pre-service teachers discussions of student learning and instructional decisions in response to video-based activities, and we study the progression of these discussions over the course of the intervention.  

                                                                                                                          Methods

Participants
Analysis for this study is based on data from two groups of pre-service teachers, five participants in each group, enrolled in the analysis-based course.  Participants attended the three hour course once a week for ten weeks. All course lectures and group discussions for both groups were videotaped and transcribed.   

Analysis Method
Based on previous research on analysis-based interventions, the Lesson Analysis Framework developed by Santagata & Guarino (2010) and the coding by Ghoussini (2011),  coding dimensions were created to characterize the small group discussions and their growth and progression through the course.  Student discussions were placed into one of four categories: 1) awareness and orientation; 2) ability to analyze teaching in light of student learning; 3)  proposing alternative teaching strategies; and 4) connecting analysis to own practice.

Results
Analysis revealed that conversations between the groups evolved over time, with commentaries coming to focus on student mathematical thinking and teaching mathematics in light of student understanding.  Furthermore, group comments shifted from a focus on noticing aspects of teaching to providing alternative teaching strategies that encourage greater opportunities to understand student thinking. 

                                                                                                       Discussion and Scholarly Significance

As teachers do not necessarily gain new understandings for teaching by watching video alone.  Therefore, we need to look closely at what teachers attend to when watching video records and how they interpret what they notice (Brophy, 2004). Studying pre-service teacher learning through this lens will allow us insight into the ways in which pre-service teachers engage themselves in the goals of the curriculum.  This has implications for designing teacher preparation programs that provide greater opportunities for pre-service teachers to develop the analysis skills to learn from their teaching.  

                                                                                                                          References

Berliner, D.C. (2001).  Learning about and learning from expert teachers.  International Journal of Education Research. 35(5), 463-482.

Brophy, J. (2004).  Using video in teacher education. Elsevier, New York: Emerald.

Ghousseini, H & Sleep, L. (2011).  Making practice studyable.  ZDM Mathematics Education, 43(1), 147-160.

LeFevre, D. M. (2004).  Designing for teacher learning: Video-based curriculum design.  In J. Brophy (Eds)., Using video in teacher education, (pp. 235-258). Elsevier, New York: Emerald.

Santagata, R., Guarino, J. (2010) Using video to teach future teacher to learn from teaching. ZDM Mathematics Education, 43(1), 133-145.

Sherin, M. G. (2004). New perspectives on the role of video in teacher education.  In J. Brophy (Eds.), Using video in teacher education, (pp. 1-27). Elsevier, New York: Emerald.

Star, J.R. & Strickland, S.K. (2008). Learning to observe: Using video to improve preservice mathematics teachers’ ability to notice. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(2),107-125.

van Es, E.A. & Sherin, M.G. (2002).  Learning to notice: Scaffolding new teachers’ interpretations of classroom interactions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10(4), 571-596.