"Studying the Effects of an Analysis-Based and Video-Enhanced Pre-Service Mathematics Intervention on Beginning Classroom Practices"
Assistant Professor Rossella Santagata and doctoral student Cathery Yeh presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 10.
Abstract
Recent research in teacher education has drawn consensus that an analysis-based and video-enhanced curriculum in teacher preparation may assist in strengthening the connection between the university setting and classroom practice and thus better prepare future teachers to be effective in the classroom (Mason, 2002; Hiebert, et al., 2007; Jacobs, et al., 2007; van Es & Sherin, 2008; Star & Strickland, 2008). However, most existing work on this subject has concentrated on developing conceptual frameworks; less is known about the relation between pre-service teacher's abilities to analyze teaching and their classroom practices. This study, part of a larger NSF-funded project, investigates the effects on pre-service teachers' beginning classroom practices of a video-based intervention focused on developing specific sub-skills for analyzing teaching with a focus on student thinking and learning. Study findings reveal that, compared to a control group, pre-service teachers who participated in the intervention were able to implement instructional practices more attentive to student thinking and learning. Specifically, these pre-service teachers were observed to probe more deeply into student thinking by asking questions after an initial response that focused on students' conceptual understanding. Intervention participants also built instructional decisions on student input by encouraging student-to-student talk and using student comments and solutions to guide classroom discourse.
