The Influence of Video Clubs on Teachers’ Thinking and Practice Elizabeth A. van Es Miriam Gamoran Sherin Northwestern University April 13, 2005 The research reported in this paper was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant REC

Using Video to Help Teachers “ Learn to Notice”  Learning to Notice Framework (van Es & Sherin, 2002)  Identify noteworthy events  Use contextual cues to reason about these events  Connect specific events to general principles of teaching and learning  How do mathematics teachers “learn to notice” in the context of mathematics education reform?

Research Questions  Teacher noticing in video club context

Research Questions  Teacher noticing in video club context  Teachers’ ideas about influence of video club

Research Questions  Teacher noticing in video club context  Teachers’ ideas about influence of video club  Influence of participation on instruction

Video Club Research Design  7 elementary teachers  10 video club meetings  Facilitated by researcher  Exit interviews  Classroom observations Video Club Design  Focus on students’ thinking  Interpret students’ ideas  Use evidence to support claims

Video Club Discussions  10 meetings videotaped and transcribed  Transcripts segmented into “idea units”  Dimensions of analysis:  Agent- Student, Teacher, Other  Topic- Math thinking, Pedagogy, Climate, Management  Stance- Describe, Evaluate, Interpret  Specificity- General, Specific  Focus on Video- Video-based or non video-based  Compare teacher comments in meetings 2 & 10

Exit Interviews  Individual exit interview for each teacher  Teachers asked to comment on:  Most and least valuable aspects of video club  Whether video club influenced knowledge of: students, math, curriculum, and math teacher  Whether and how video club influenced instruction  Interviews videotaped and transcribed  Two researchers summarized individual interviews  Identified common themes across interviews

Classroom Observations  Teachers observed 1-3 times early & late in year  Analysis focused on whole-class discussions  Analytic memos created concerning:  How student ideas solicited by teacher  Nature of teacher questions  Teacher response to: student ideas and strategies, unsolicited student ideas, and student confusions  Common themes identified across teachers

Change in Teachers’ Analyses in Video Club Context Late Meeting Early Meeting

Change in Teachers’ Analyses in Video Club Context

Teachers’ Perceptions: Influence of Participating in Video Club  Students’ mathematical thinking  Increased attention to students’ ideas “The [meetings] allowed me to kind of think about math and look at why [the students] are understanding or why they’re not.” (Yvette)  Used students’ ideas to inform instruction “I think it helped me be more patient and understand that if they’re given a chance, they really do work through a lot of things…I’ll hold back before I give them an answer.” (Linda)

 Increased “space” for student thinking  Multiple students invited to share solutions  Attention given to unsolicited questions and comments  Teacher questions probe student thinking  Questions used to draw out student thinking  Questions focus on ideas rather than answers  Teachers take on stance of learner  Teachers attend to own learning during instruction Classroom Observations: Influence on Instruction

Conclusion & Next Steps  Teachers changed in their analyses of classroom interactions in the video club context  Teachers perceived that they attended more to students’ thinking in their instruction  Classroom observations revealed increased focus on student thinking during instruction  Future research: How did the design of the video club support teachers in learning to notice students’ mathematical thinking?

Influence on Instruction Teacher:We have to first find 6/10. How do I find 6/10? Natasha? Natasha:Umm… Teacher:That’s okay… Jeff? John:Count to six. David:Okay, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Early in Year Observation: Which fraction is greatest? End of Year Observation: Finding the base value Teacher:We know the area is 375 and the height is 25… Students:It’s 15. Kobe:It’s x 5 is 15. (Points to figure). These squares… Teacher:Oh, interesting, you used the squares. How did you figure it? Kobe:‘Cause up they’re [25]. Teacher:Let’s look at this.