C C N M T L Locations at the MS Campus: 204 Butler, 535 West 114th Street and the HS Campus: State Armory at 216Ft. Washington Avenue, 2nd Fl. VITAL: Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning A learning environment for higher education

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING A collaborative activity At TC, Herbert Ginsburg and Susan Jang At CCNMTL, Michael Preston and many others

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Overview of talk Background Learning context and method Course elements VITAL Conclusions

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Background Course on Development of Mathematical Thinking at TC  The topics are how kids engage in mathematical activity from birth through school age, and how to improve math education  60 students from diverse programs: psychology, math ed, early childhood ed, special ed, instructional technology

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Goals for the course Students should learn: key ideas and concepts to interview and observe to be independent thinkers and practitioners

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Context and Method Apart from traditional readings and lectures, the instructor’s central method involves video:  Careful selection of clips  Student analysis  Instructor questioning and direction of class [example] All this is intended to produce …

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Active student learning Specifically:  Active interpretation, making hypotheses  Relating readings to video  Opportunities for reviewing, examining evidence  Discussion with peers  Revision of hypotheses

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Course components Readings [syllabus] Video library Online, video-based assignments and lessons before class Lectures with discussion of videos Reflections after class Final project [demo]

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Conclusions (1) How does VITAL affect student learning?  Students seem better prepared each week  I think the students do have more grounded understanding

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Conclusions (2) How does VITAL affect teaching?  The model for student/instructor interaction (Assignment → Lecture → Reflection )  I get to know the students better by examining their comments and essays  I am forced to prepare more, for example to accommodate lectures to the comments and assignments [see lecture]  I can improvise more because students prepare better

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Conclusions (3) What needs to be improved?  Assignments need to be carefully structured as to make most effective use of VITAL  Instructor needs to be able to insert comments into students’ assignments  Observation and interview assignments need to be more interactive and responsive  Need to expand digital library with new videos, electronic text, and other digital resources  Need to develop better means for peer interaction

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Toward the future With Rochelle Kaplan at William Paterson University, we are now engaged in a large-scale, NSF-supported project to refine the course, improve VITAL, and test out both in new contexts. We hope you will stay tuned …

COLUMBIA CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA TEACHING AND LEARNING Thank you! Our information: Herbert Michael Center for New Media Teaching and Learning: