professional vision in action: an exploratory study · 2013-08-02 · miriam gamoran sherin,...

Miriam Gamoran Sherin, Rosemary S. Russ, Bruce L. Sherin, & Adam Colestock 27

Volume 17, Number 2, Fall 2008

Professional Vision in Action:An Exploratory Study

Miriam Gamoran Sherin, Rosemary S. Russ,Bruce L. Sherin, & Adam Colestock

Northwestern University

Issues in Teacher Education, Fall 2008

Forthepasttwodecades,muchofmathematicsteachereducationandprofessionaldevelopmenthasfocusedonhelpingteachersdeveloptheir subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge(Shulman,1987).Theideahasbeenthatteachersneedadeepunder-standingofmathematics,andonethatispedagogicalinnature.Morerecently,researchersandteachereducatorshavebeguntoconsiderhowteachersapplythisknowledgeinplanningforandcarryingoutinstruc-tion (Franke,Carpenter,Levi,&Fennema,2001;Lampert,2001).Ofparticularconcernarethewaysinwhichteachersemployknowledgeintheverymomentsofinstruction,whentheyareleadingdiscussionsorinteractingone-on-onewithstudents. GiventhecurrentcontextofreformintheU.S,thein-the-momentdemandsthatmathematicsteachersencounterhavebecomeincreasinglygreat.Ratherthancarefullyfollowapre-plannedlesson,mathematicsteachingtodaycallsforagreatdealofon-the-flydecisionmaking(Smith,1996;Wallach&Even;2005).Teachersmustbeabletoquicklydiagnosestudents’thinking,decidewhetherornottopursueanunexpectedtan-gent,andcontinuallyassesstheprogressofanon-goinglesson.Otherresearchershavealsonotedtheimportanceofthiskindofexpertiseboth

Miriam Gamoran Sherin and Bruce L. Sherin are associate professors, Rosemary S. Russ is a post-doctoral fellow, and Adam Colestock is a graduate student, all with the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Professional Vision in Action28

Issues in Teacher Education

forteachingingeneral(e.g.Berliner,1994;Rodgers,2002),andmorespecificallyfortheteachingofmathematicstoday(Ball,&Cohen,1999;Chamberlin,2005). Manykindsofknowledgemustbebroughttobearbyteachersdur-ingthemomentsofinstruction.Inpriorworkwehavefocusedononeaspectofthisknowledgethatwecallprofessional vision. Goodwin(1994)coinedthetermprofessionalvisiontocharacterizethespecializedwaythatmembersofaprofessionalgrouplookatthephenomenaofinter-estofthem.Thus,adetective’sprofessionalvisionallowshimtomakesenseofacrimescene,andanarchitect’sprofessionalvisionallowsthearchitecttorecognizekeyfeaturesinthedesignofbuildings.Ateacher’sprofessionalvision,ontheotherhand,isconcernedwiththephenomenaofclassroominteractions.Morespecifically,teachers’professionalvisioninvolvestheabilitytonoticeandinterpretsignificantinteractionsinaclassroom(Sherin,2001,2007). Thestudyofteachers’professionalvisionposessomeuniquechal-lenges.Theapplicationofprofessionalvisionhappensinamannerthatisfleeting,andthatisdistributedthroughthemomentsofinstruction.Becauseoftheongoingnatureofinstruction,itisnotrealistictoexpectthatonecould“pause”instructionmomentarily,askateacherwhatheorsheisattendingtoatthatmoment,andthencontinueuninterrupted.Toaddressthisproblem,wehavereliedextensivelyonvideoasatoolforstudyingprofessionalvision.Weaskedteacherstolook,retrospectively,atshortexcerptsofvideothatwehadcollectedoftheirownteaching,ortheteachingofothers. Inthisarticle,wereportonourattemptstoemployanewtechno-logicalsolutiontostudyprofessionalvisioninaction.Wehaverecentlybeguntoexploretheuseofanewkindoftinywearablevideocamerathatcanbewornbyteachersinordertocaptureclassroomeventsfromtheirownperspective.Ourpurposehereisto,first,drawsomeinitialconclu-sionsabouttheviabilityofthisnewtechnologicalsolutionasameansthroughwhichtostudyprofessionalvision,andtoperhapsenhanceit.Second,wewillreportonsomeofourfirstattemptstousethecameratoanswerbasicquestionsaboutthenatureofteachers’professionalvisionasitisappliedinaction.Workingwithonehighschoolmathematicsteacherweask:(a)Whatkindsofeventsstandouttotheteacherdur-inginstruction?and(b)Towhatextentcantheteacherarticulatewhythoseeventsaresignificant?

Using Video To Study and Enhance Professional Vision

Severalattributesofvideoindicatethatitmightbeavaluablemedia



forexploringteachers’professionalvision.First,videoappearstocapturemuchofthecomplexityofclassroominteractions.Whiletheperspectiveofthevideographercertainlyinfluenceswhataspectsofclassroominter-actionsareportrayed(Goldman-Segall,1998),videohasthepotentialtorichlyrepresentclassroomenvironmentsandthemultipleactionsthattakeplacesimultaneously.Second,videoprovidesapermanentrecordthatcanbeviewedrepeatedly.Thusunlikealivemomentofteachingthatisoverinaninstant,videoallowsonetopreserveaninteractionforlaterconsideration.Andratherthanhavingone’smemory—whichcanvary—serveastherecord,videodocumentswhattookplaceinanunwav-eringformat(McAdams,1993).Third,whenviewingvideo,teachersdonotneedtorespondwiththeimmediacythatistypicallyrequiredduringinstruction.Insteadwatchingvideocanbeatimeforteacherstoengageinextendedreflectiononwhatistakingplaceinalessonandwhy. Giventheseattributes,wehypothesizedthatvideohasthepotentialtoprovidebothameansofstudyingprofessionalvisionandofdevelopingteachers’professionalvision.Inparticular,inpriorresearch,weexploredthepossibilityofusingvideo clubsasacontextinwhichtostudyandattempttoenhanceprofessionalvision.Invideoclubs,groupsofteacherswatchanddiscussexcerptsofvideofromtheirclassrooms.Wespeculatedthat,byreflectingonvideooutsidethedemandsofinstruction,teach-ersmightestablishnewwaysofnoticingandinterpretingclassroominteractions. Muchofourresearchhasinvolvedorganizingyear-longvideoclubsfocusedonmathematicsteachingandlearning.Moreover,severalofthevideoclubswestudiedweredesignedwiththegoalofhelpingteacherslearn to closely attend to students’ mathematical thinking.Towardsthisend,aresearcherwouldtypicallyvideotapeoneoftheparticipatingteacher’sclassroomsandthenselecta5-7minuteexcerpttoshowatthenextmeeting.Whileweoftensolicitedteachers’helpinchoosingclipsforthevideoclub,theoverwhelmingresponsewasthatitwassimplytootime-consumingforteacherstoreviewavideotapepriortothevideoclubmeeting.Alsonoteworthyisthatafacilitatortypicallyattendedeachvideo clubmeetingandprompted the teachers todiscusswhatstoodouttotheminthevideoandtolookcloselyatthemathematicalideasraisedbystudentsinthevideoclips. Analysisofteachers’discussionsinthevideoclubshavebeenre-portedelsewhere(Sherin,2007;Sherin&Han,2004;vanEs&Sherin,2008).Ofparticularinterestisthat,overtime,teacherscametopayincreasedattentiontostudents’thinkinginthevideoclips.Thus,forexample,SherinandHan(2004)reportedthatteachersinitiallycom-mentedonpedagogical issues thatwereapparent in thevideo clips,



describingwhattheteacherinthevideowasdoingorsaying.Lateron,however,teachers’attentionbecamemorefocusedonthemathematicalideasraisedbystudentsinthevideo.Atthesametime,theteachersdevelopedanumberofstrategies for interpretingstudents’ thinkingincludingdiscussingthereasoningbehindstudents’methods,comparingdifferentstudents’ideas,andlookingacrossalessonatthedevelopmentofaparticularconcept.Inrelatedwork,vanEs&Sherin(2008)foundthatitwascommonforteachersinavideoclubtoinitiallyevaluatewhattheyviewed,ortosimplylistkeyeventstheyidentified.Overthecourseoftheyear,however,teachersbegantomoreofteninterprettheeventsthattheynoticed,andincreasinglyusedvideoasasourceofdetailedevidenceformakingsenseoftheseevents.

Issues in the Study of Teachers’ Professional Vision

Whilethisresearchhasyieldedvaluableinformationaboutthechar-acterofteachers’professionalvision,anumberofkeyissuesremained.First,ourtypicalapproachtovideotapinginaclassroominvolvedsettingupacamerainthebackoftheroom,viewingwhole-classinteractionsfromafairlywideangle,andoccasionallyzoomingintocapturewritingontheboard,anexplanationfromtheteacher,oraquestionfromastudent.Whilethisapproachallowedustocapturemuchoftheactivitytakingplaceinalesson,itrepresentedasomewhatdistortedviewofwhatateacherseesduringinstruction.Onthevideoweseemainlythebackofstudents’heads(dependingonthearrangementofdesksintheroom)whiletheteacher’sfaceisshownfromafrontalview.Totrulystudyteachers’professionalvision,itseemedthatwemightinsteadneedtoshowteachersvideothatrepresentedclassroominteractionsfromtheirperspective. Second,asmentionedabove,theteacherswithwhomweworkedfounditdifficulttofindthetimetoselectvideoclipstoshowtheircol-leagues.Thisresultedinacriticalpartofthevideoclubdesign—selectingclips—remainingunderthecontroloftheresearchers.Andwhileitmightbethecasethatasresearcherswehavetheexpertisetoselectclipsthatwilllikelystimulatediscussionamongteachers(Linsenmeier&Sherin,2007),theclipsneverthelessrepresentedwhattheresearchersfoundinteresting,ratherthantheteachers.Wewonderediftheremightbeawaytoshiftthisresponsibility,andtoputthevideointhehandsoftheteachersinawaythatwasmanageableforthem. Third,instudyingprofessionalvisioninvideoclubs,werecognizedthatwewereinvestigatingaparticularaspectofteachers’professionalvision—thewaythatteachersnoticeandinterpretclassroominteractionsafterthefact,forexample,astheyappearonvideo.Andasdiscussed



above,whilewebelievethatvideoprovidesausefulrepresentationofclassroomevents,werecognizedthatprofessionalvisionasitisusedbyteachersinthemomentofinstruction,whatwearecalling“professionalvisionin-action,”mightbesomewhatdifferent.Becausevideoaffordstheluxuryoftime,thewaythatteachersattendtoclassroomeventsviavideomightbequitedifferentfromthesortofinstantaneousreactiontheyhaveduringclass.

Research Design

Inearly2007,wecameacrossatechnologicalinnovationthatwebelievedwouldallowustoextendourpreviousresearchonteachers’professionalvision.Usinganewvideocamera,weattemptedtovideotapefromtheteacher’spointofview,toputtheselectionofclipsinthehandsoftheteacher,andatthesametime,tostudythenatureofprofessionalvisionin-action.Inordertoinvestigatetheviabilityofthisapproach,ratherthanworkwithagroupofteachersinavideoclubformat,wedecidedtoembarkonatrialwithoneteacher.Whileworkingwithoneteacherobviouslylimitstheextenttowhichwecangeneralize,webelievethatitisanessentialfirststepasweseektounderstandwhetherthisnewtechnologyisusablebyteachers,andwhetherithaspromiseasanewtoolforexaminingteachers’professionalvision.

The Camwear 100 Awiderangeoftechnologicaladvanceshavetakenplaceinthelastdecade,manyofwhichhaveinfluencedtheeasewithwhichresearchersandteachereducatorscanusevideowithteachers.Ofparticularinter-esttouswasthedevelopmentoftheCamwear100byDejaview(Reich,Goldberg,&Hudek,2004).TheCamwear100consistsofasmalldigitalvideocamera,approximatelyone-inchlong,andaseparaterecordingmodule,thatisaboutthesizeofacellularphone,andthatcanbewornonabelt.Becauseofthecamera’ssmallsizeitis“wearable,”andcaneasilybeaffixedtoone’sglassesortothebillofahat.Inaddition,theCamwear100features“after-the-fact”technology,whichallowsonetocapturetheprevious30seconds.Essentially,therecordfeatureofthecameraworksnonstop,butthecameracontinuallyrecordsoveritselfafter a short period of time. Pressing the“save” button, in contrast,storesthemostrecent30secondsofactioninadigitalvideofileonthememorycardhousedintherecordingmodule.Thenumberofclipsthatcanberecordeddependsonthesizeofthecardinsertedintherecordingmodule.Thecardweusedcouldholduptoforty-eight30secondclips.Thestoredclipscanbedownloadedontoacomputerandviewed.



Piloting the Camwear 100 Toexplorehowthese featuresof the cameramightpermitus toinvestigateteachers’professionalvisioninanewway,werecruitedonehighschoolmathematicsteachertotestthecamerainhisclassroom.Theteacher,RayBryant,1wasinhisfifthyearofteachingatanurbanpublichighschoolinalargeMidwesterncity.Mr.BryanttaughtYears2and3oftheInteractiveMathematicsProgram(Fendel,Resek,Alper&Fraser,2000)whichcoversarangeoftopicsfromalgebra,geometry,andstatistics.Classperiodsattheschoolwereorganizedintoblocksof90minutes,witheachclassmeetingthreetimesaweek.IntheclassMr.Bryantselectedforthisstudy,studentswerearrangedinsixgroupsoffivestudents.Typicallessonsinvolvedstudentsworkingintheirgroupstopreparepresentationsonthepreviousnights’homeworkorin-classproblemsandthenpresentingthosesolutionstotheclass.Thepresen-tationswerefollowedbywhole-classdiscussionoftheproblemsaswellastheintroductionofconceptsandmethodsbyMr.Bryant. Priortothisstudy,Mr.Bryanthadusedvideotoreflectonhisteach-ing.Inparticular,duringthepreviousschoolyear,Mr.Bryantappliedfor(andreceived)NationalBoardcertification.Aspartoftheprocess,Mr.Bryantneededtoselectvideoexcerptsfromhisclassroomandpreparenarrativeanalysesoftheexcerpts.Inaddition,Mr.Bryantparticipatedinweeklymeetingswithothermathematicsteacherswhowereprepar-ingNationalBoardportfolios.Inmanyofthesemeetings,theteacherssharedexcerptsofvideofromeachothers’classroomsanddiscussedhowtheexcerptsillustratedNationalBoardcriteriaforeffectiveteaching. Aspartofthisstudy,Mr.BryantvolunteeredtousetheCamwear100inoneofhisclassesonthreeseparatedaysinMay2007.Priortoeachclass,Mr.Bryantmetbrieflywitharesearchertodescribetheday’slesson.TheresearcherthenaffixedthecameratoahatthatMr.Bryantwouldwear.(Sincehatswerenotpermittedattheschool,Mr.Bryantexplainedtheresearchstudytohisstudentsandspecifically,hisreasonforwearingahatinclass.)OurinstructionstoMr.Bryantwerefairlysimple:weaskedhimtocapture“interestingmoments”bypressingthe“save”buttononthecamera.Noinstructionsweregivenconcerningthenumberofclipstosaveorthecontentoftheclips.Priorto the third testdate,Mr.Bryantasked foramorespecificpromptfromtheresearcher.InresponsetheresearcherofferedMr.Bryantanumberofchoicesfromwhichtheteacherselected“momentsofconfu-sion—yoursandyourstudents”and“momentsinwhichyouchangedyourplannedinstruction.”Aresearcheralsoobservedandvideotapedeachofthethreeclasssessions.Thevideotapingtookplacefromthebackoftheroomaswehaddonepreviouslyandwasintendedtopro-



videacompleterecordofthelessontocomplementanyclipsthatMr.Bryantwouldsave(Figure1). Followingeachofthethreetestclasses,Mr.Bryantparticipatedinaninterviewwiththeresearcher.Eachinterviewlastedapproximately30minutesandwasvideotaped.Priortotheinterview,theclipsthatMr.Bryanthadsavedthatdayweredownloadedontoacomputer.AstheresearcherandMr.Bryantwatchedeachclip,Mr.Bryantwasaskedtoexplainwhyhedecidedtocapturethatmomentduringclass.Inad-dition,theresearcheraskedMr.BryanttodiscusshisexperienceusingtheCamwear100thusfar.AcopyoftheinterviewprotocolcanbefoundinAppendixI.

Figure 1(a)TheCamwear100attachedtotheteacher’shat,and(b)aviewfromthecamera.

(a)

(b)



Methods of Analysis Analysisofthedataproceededinthreephases.Initially,aresearcherreviewedtheteacher’slessonplanandanyaccompanyinghandouts,theindividual30-secondclipsMr.Bryantselectedwiththecamera,andtheresearcher-directedvideotapeoftheentireclassperiod.Bycoordinatingtheserecordsoftheclass,theresearcheroutlinedthecontextoftheles-sonsurroundingeachclip.Theseoutlinesincludedadescriptionofthemathematicsonwhichtheclasswasworking,whohadbeenspeakingpriortotheclip,andwhatideashadrecentlybeenraisedinclass.Thedescrip-tionshelpedtheresearchermakesenseofwhathappenedduringtheclipsthattheteacherselected.Theresearcheralsocreatedasummaryofeach30-secondclipindicatingthetimeatwhicheachclipwascapturedduringthe90-minutelesson,aswellasthetypeofclassroomactivityrepresentedwithintheclip.Inaddition,theresearcheranalyzedtheinterviewdataandcreatedasummaryofMr.Bryant’scommentsafterwatchingeachclip.Thoughneithertheclipsnortheinterviewsweretranscribedintheirentirety,relevantandexemplaryquoteswerenoted. Inthesecondphaseofanalysis,tworesearchersreviewedtheworkofthepreviousresearcherandattemptedtoclassifytheteacher’sstatedreason(s)forcapturingeachclip.Tostart,asubsetoftheteacher’sre-flectionsfromeachofthethreedateswereconsideredandasetofpre-liminaryreasonswasidentified.Next,theteacher’sreflectionsonalloftheclipswerereviewedandcategorizedintermsofthesereasons.Thisanalysistookplaceinacyclicalprocessinwhichthesetofreasonswasrefinedasneeded.ThisprocesscontinueduntilMr.Bryant’sreasonsforselectingeachclipwerecodedwithinasetofstablecategories.AnalysisalsonotedwhetherMr.Bryantindicatedasinglereasonforselectingaparticularcliporwhethermultiplereasonswerecited. ThethirdandfinalphaseofanalysisfocusedontheinterviewsandinvestigatedcommentsMr.Bryantmadeconcerning thevideotapingprocessandreviewofclips.Thus,ratherthanexaminethenatureoftheclipsthemselves,orMr.Bryant’sreactionstotheclips,hereourgoalwastoidentifyotherissuesandconcernsraisedbyMr.Bryantindiscussionwiththeresearcher.Todoso,thethreeinterviewswerereviewed,andsegmentsofdiscussionnotaboutspecificvideoclipswerenoted.Wethenlookedacrossthesecommentsandidentifiedthreemainthemes:(a)thepracticalityoftheCamwear100,(b)theusefulnessofthecameraper-spective,and(c)theinfluenceoftheprocessonMr.Bryant’steaching.

Results

InwhatfollowswediscussthenatureoftheclipsthatMr.Bryant



identifiedas“interesting”aswellasthewaysinwhichhediscussedtheseclipsintheinterviews.WethendiscusshowMr.Byrantcharacterizedtheinfluenceofthevideotapingprocessonhisinstruction.

Collected Clips Tostart,wedescribetheclipsMr.BryantselectedinordertogivethereaderasenseofthekindsofthingsthatMr.Bryantnoticesinhisclassroom.Wediscusshowfrequentlyhecollectedtheclips,thekindsofactivitydisplayedintheclips,andtheroleoftheparticipantsintheclips. Number and frequency of the clips.OnthefirstdayofusingtheCam-wear100,Mr.Bryantsavedtenclipsduringthe90-minutelesson.Onthesecondday,heselectedsevenclips,andonthelastdayatotalofnineclipsweresaved.Inallcases,hecapturedmomentsspreadthroughoutthe90-minuteperiod.Sometimeshechosemomentsveryclosetooneanother(withintwoorthreeminutes)andatothertimestheclipsweremuchfartherapart(aroundtenminutes).Figure2illustratesthistimedistributionoftheclipsforeachclassday. ThefactthatMr.Bryantcollectedbetweensevenandtenclipsshowsawillingnessonhisparttoengagewiththetechnologyandintegrateitintohisteaching.Sincehecapturednearlyasmanyclipsonthelastdayashedidonthefirst,wespeculatethathiswillingnessdidnotwaveroverthecourseofthisshortintervention.Inaddition,hiscollectionsuggeststhatusingthecamerawasnotsointrusiveonhisteachingastostophimfromcollectingclips.Mr.Bryantconfirmedthisinhisinterviewsaying“itwasnobigdeal”tocapturethemoments.ThemoderatenumberofclipscapturedalsosuggeststhatMr.Bryantwasbeingsomewhatselectiveinthemomentshechose.Incontrast,wecanimagineadifferentteacher

Figure 2Distributionofclipselectionforthethreedaysofclass.



whomightsaveaclipeverytimeastudentanswersaquestion,whichwouldresultinamuchlargernumberofclips. Thisdistributionrulesouttwoproblemswemightimagineoccur-ringwhenateacherusesthecamera.First,thefactthattheclipsarespreadthroughouttheclassperiodsuggeststhattheteacherdoesnotstopusingthecameraashegetsfurtherintoinstruction.Weretheclips“clumped”atthebeginningofthelessonwemightimaginetheteacherwasattentivetointerestingmomentsatfirstbuteitherforgotaboutit,lostinterest,ordidnothaveenoughtimeinthemidstofinstructiontocaptureclips.Second,thefactthattheclipsareunevenlydistributedsuggeststhatMr.Bryantwasnotjusthittingthebuttonafteragivenintervaloftimehadpassed.Itappearsthathewasalwaysonthelookoutforinterestingmoments,whethertheyhappenedimmediatelyafteroneanotherorwithlongstretchesbetweenthem. Classroom activities represented in the video clips.Mr.Bryantselectedavarietyoftypesofclassroomactivityusingthecamera(seeTable1).Hecapturedwhole class discussionsthathemoderatedfromthefrontorsideoftheroom.Healsochosemomentswhenstudentswereworkinginsmall groupsashecirculatedtoanswerquestionsorcheckprogress.Studentpresentations,whicharecommoninhisclassroomandinvolveagroupofstudentsusingwhiteboardstoreporttheirproblemsolutionstothewholeclass,werealsoselectedanumberoftimes.Finally,Mr.Bryantcapturedwhatwecharacterizeaspredominantlyteacher talk.Incharacterizingtheseclipsassuchwedonotmeanthatthestudentsaresilent,butonlythattheteacherprovidesmostofthesubstantiveconceptualideas.

Table 1Distributionofclassroomactivitiesintheclips.

Classroom Activity Number Percent of of Clips Total Clips

Wholeclassdiscussion Singlecontributor 6 23.1% Multiplecontributors 4 15.4%

Smallgroupwork Singlecontributor 2 7.7% Multiplecontributors 4 15.4%

Studentpresentations Singlecontributor 2 7.7% Multiplecontributors 3 11.5%

Teachertalk 5 19.2%



ThesefourtypesofclipsarefairlywellrepresentativeofhowMr.Bryant’sclassroomoperatedonthedaysweobserved.Thestudentssatwiththeirdesksinsmallgroupsandworkedonorreviewedproblemstogether.Afewgroupspreparedpresentationsoftheirworkandpre-sentedtotheclass,whichthendiscussedthemethodsandideasofthepresentinggroup.Thus,asissuggestedabovebythefactthatMr.Bry-antcapturedmomentsspacedintimethroughouttheclassperiod,hischoiceofclipswaswelldistributedoverthedifferentactivitystructuresthatcharacterizehisclassroom. GiventhatthecamerawaslocatedonMr.Bryant’sperson,hewasobviouslypresentduringalltheclipshecaptured.However,hispres-encedoesnotmeanhewasalwaysparticipatingvocally.Aside fromtheclipscodedas“teachertalk,”approximatelyhalfwerecommentsorideasvoicedbyonestudent(withpossiblyanon-substantiveutterancebyanotherstudentorteacher).Theotherhalfwereexchangesamongmultipleparticipants—eitheronlystudentsorstudentsandtheteachertogether.ThisanalysissuggeststhatMr.Bryantdoesnotneedtobeactivelyinvolvedtofindaconversationinteresting.ForMr.Bryant,thestudentscan,largelyontheirown,createmomentsworthyofnotice. Thefirstthreetypesofclassroomactivityaccountfor80%oftheclipsMr.Bryantselected.Theyallinvolvedsomepartofadiscussionofmathematicalideas,beitoneturnofthediscussionormultipleturns.Selectingclipsduringdiscussionsisnotsurprisingforthisteacher.Indiscussinghisclass,Mr.Bryantexplainedthattheclassismoreinter-estingwhen“goodconversationshappen”thanwhenthematerialistoostraight-forwardtolenditselftodiscussions.Forexample,Mr.Bryantsays“This coupleof lessonsdidn’t really lend itself toas in-depthaconversationordiscussionasthepreviousclass”asanexplanationforwhyhecapturedfewerclipsononedaythananother.Thustheclipshecaptureson-the-flyusingthecameraareatleastpartiallyconsistentwithhisoverallimpressionsoftheclass.

Teacher’s Reflections on Clips Collected Mr. Bryant’s reflections on his clips provide additional informa-tionconcerningwhathenoticesintheclassroom.WefirstdescribethevariedreasonsMr.Bryantofferedforchoosingtheseparticularclipsasinteresting.Nextwediscusstheformthathisreflectionstook,thatis,theapproachesMr.Bryantusedtodiscussthesavedclips. Reasons offered for selecting clips.Mr.Bryant’sreflections intheinterviewprovidefurtherevidencethatheattendstoavarietyofkindsofeventsintheclassroom.Weidentifiedinhisreflectionsarangeofrea-sonsforselectingtheparticularclipshecapturedincluding:(a)student



thinking,(b)discourse,(c)teachermoves,(d)teacherstrategies,and(e)studentengagement.WecharacterizedMr.Bryantasselectingaclipbecauseofstudents’thinkingwhenhisreflectionfocusedonthesubstanceoftheideasraisedbystudents.Fordiscourse,welookedforafocusonhowtheteacherandstudentscommunicatedwithoneanother,orontheprocessbywhichideaswerearticulatedanddiscussed.Ateachermovereflectionfocusedonin-the-momentteacheractionsordecisionssuchasachangeininstructioninresponsetosomethingunanticipated.In

Table 2Teacher’sreasonsforselectingclips.

Reason Sample Explanation given by the Teacher Percent offor Selection Clips*

Student “ThereasonIcapturedthatwasbecause 37.5%Thinking Tracy…shehadacompellingargument…. [Itwas]notjustthateveryonehaddoneit thisway.[And]herargumentwasfairly logical.”

Discourse “WhenAnitastartedtocontradictGreg… 20.0% itwasthislittlebattlebackandforth, whichIlikeinaclassroom…Anditseemed veryrespectfulandnon-confrontationaland Iwastryingtocapturethat.”

Teacher “Thiswasoneofthosecriticalmoments, 17.5%Moves where…Ihadjustplannedonbrushingright throughthatandnotspendinganymoretime. Butthat’swhereImadeadecisiontostopand seewhereisthisgoingtogo.”

Teacher “Alextellsmethequestion,andIjustanswered 17.5%Strategies it…whichisnotcool.[Ithought],‘ShouldIhave justansweredthatquestion,or…[was]therea lineofquestioningIcouldhaveledhimdown thatwouldhavehelpedAlex…cometo[his] ownanswer?’”

Student “WhatIthoughtwasinterestinginthiswas 7.5%Engagement thatallfiveof[thestudentsinthesmall group]…they’reallworkingontheproject… butnobody’swritinganythingdown…Ithink that’saparticularproblemwehaveinthis school.”

*Thiscolumnaddsuptomorethan100%becausesomeclipswerecodedasbeingselectedformultiplereasons.



contrast,ateacherstrategyreflectionidentifiedaclassofinstructionalroutines that the teacher commonly used. Finally, we characterizedMr.Bryantasselectingaclipbecauseofstudentengagementwhenhisreflectionfocusedonthequalityoramountofstudentparticipationinagivenmoment.WeshouldbeclearthatMr.Bryantdidnotexplicitlyusetheseterms;thecategoriesareourresearchercharacterizationsofhisreflections.Table2listseachofthereasonsweidentifiedandacor-respondingquotefromMr.Bryant. Form of reflection: Identification of singular event versus narrative.WenowturntoadiscussionoftheformofMr.Bryant’sreflections,thatis,thewaysinwhichhediscussedthesereasons.Inparticular,wefoundthatMr.Bryant’sreflectionstookontwodistinctforms,eachofwhichmayindicatedifferentaspectsofhisprofessionalvision.For11outofthe26clips,Mr.Bryantidentifiedasingulareventwithinthe30secondsthathe foundnoteworthy.Inthese“focusedreflections,”Mr.Bryantusuallydiscussedparticularmomentsintheclasswhenhewasstruckbysomething—eitherstudents’thinking,hisownthink-ing, orhis teaching.Forexample, inone reflectionMr.Bryant saidthathecapturedtheclipbecausehewaspleasantlysurprisedbyonestudent’sarticulationofadifficultconcept.Thoughthecameracaughtanexchangeinvolvingmultipleparticipants,Mr.Bryant’sreflectionfocusedonthesinglemomentwhenherealizedhowwellthestudenthadsummeduptheidea. Incontrast,for15outofthe26clipsMr.Bryantprovidedamorecomprehensivenarrativeofthe30secondsthatmayhavealsoincludedadiscussionofthetimeleadinguptoandfollowingtheclip.Inthese“extendedreflections,”heoftentoldastoryabouttheclassroomactivitythatdescribedtheactionitself,themathematicalcontent,thestudents’commentsandquestions,anyartifactsorrepresentations,theteacher’sresponses,andtheteacher’sthinking.Forexample,Mr.Bryantdescribedoneclipinwhichstudentswerehavingdifficultyansweringahomeworkproblem. Indoingso,he talkedabout theproblem itself, its relationtopreviousproblems, thestudents’methods, thecorrectmethod,hisintervention,thestudents’response,andthetypicalbehaviorofoneofthestudentsintheclip.

Impressions of the Process of Capturing Clips Finally,wereportonthreegeneralthemesthatMr.BryantraisedindiscussinghisexperiencespilotingtheCamwear100.Theseincludethefeasibilityofusingthecameraduringinstruction,theusefulness,fortheteacher,ofthecameraperspective,andfinally,Mr.Bryant’simpressionthatusingthecameramayhaveinfluencedhisteachinginpositiveways.



Using the Camwear 100.Itseemedlikelytousthataskingateachertowearacameraanddeliberatelyselectmoments fromtheclass torecordwouldbemoreintrusiveonhisteachingthanmerelyallowingaresearchertotapetheclassfromthebackoftheroom.Yetoverall,Mr.Bryantdidnotfindthecameraoverlydistracting.Furthermore,hereportedthattheprocessofpushingthebuttonwasquitestraightfor-wardanddidnotinterferewiththeongoingnatureofhisteaching.Asheexplained,“[It]wasalittlestrangebutitdidn’t,Idon’tthink,reallygetinthewayofanything.” Mr.Bryantalsocommentedexplicitlyontheinfluenceofthecameraonthestudents.Hereportedthatinitiallythecamerawassomewhatdistractingtostudents.“[Onthefirstday]itwasontheirmindsquiteabit…It’sdifferentthanwhenyouhavethecamerainthebackoftheroomwhereIthinktheydoforgetaboutit…Ithinkinthiscasetheywerealwaysthinkingaboutwhether,itwasn’tlike,Idon’tthinktheywereperformingoranything,buttheywereclearlyawaretheywerebeing recorded.” By the second day of taping however, the situationeasedupasMr.Bryantexplained“[Today]Iwas…abletocapturemo-mentswithoutpeoplenoticingquiteasmuch.”Thus,fromapracticalperspective,usingtheCamwear100seemsquite feasible.Ofcourse,thefactthatMr.BryanthadpreviousexperiencebeingvideotapedmayhaveinfluencedhiseasewiththeCamwear100.Nonetheless,usingaCamwear100was, inseveralrespects,asubstantialdeparture fromMr.Bryant’spriorexperience.Mostimportantly,wearingthecamera,andselectingmomentstorecordashetaughtwerenewrequirements.Anditispreciselytheseuniquerequirements—andaffordances—oftheCamwear100thatwewishtounderstandinthispreliminarystudy. Usefulness of the camera perspective.Mr.Bryantstatedthathefoundtheperspectiveof thecamera, fromtheteachers’point-of-viewquiteinteresting. In contrast tohisprior experienceswithvideotaping, inwhichacamerawasinthebackofhisroom,theCamwear100providedadifferentoutlook,onethathefoundbeneficial.

Ilike[theviewfromthecamera].Ithasgoodvision.…[Withacam-erain]thebackoftheroomyoucouldprobablyseealittlebitmore,but,you’renotseeing,you’reseeingalotofbackoftheheadsfromthebackoftheclass.Here,youknow,forthemostpartthekidsarefacing,lookingatyoumore.Soyougetfacialreactions.Ithinkthat’sabigadvantage.

Infact,thisabilitytocapturestudents’facespromptedMr.Bryanttousethecameratowatchfornuanceinhisstudents’reactions.Intalk-ingwiththeresearcherheexplainedthat,attimes,hetriedtokeepa



student’sfaceinhislineofvision,inordertolaterevaluatetheimpactofaparticularteachingmove.

Mr.Bryant:I[triedto]keepthecameraoverlongenoughtokindofgaugehisreaction…Ikindofwantedtoseehow…mymakingthoselittlecommentsgothim.

Researcher:Soyouweretryingtomakethatcommentandthen…keephiminyourgazeafterwards.

Mr.Bryant:Yeah.

Thecamera’sperspectivealsoseemedvaluablewhenMr.Bryantwasaskedtodiscussthesavedclipsintheinterviews.Specifically,whenviewingtheclipswiththeresearcher,Mr.Bryantsawtheinteractionexactlyashedidinthemomentofinstruction. Influence on teaching.Whenreflectingonusingthecameraforthefirsttime,Mr.Bryantindicatedthathechangedhisteachingtocreatemoremoments to capture.Hecomparedhowheconducted theclasswhileusingthecameratohisoriginalplanfortheclass.

IthinkIdidchangethingsalittlebit…Ithinkthediscussions,particu-larlythelargeclassdiscussionsthatwehadprobablywentonlongerthanIwouldhavedonenormally.BecauseIwastryingtofindsomethingtoworkwith…Actuallyitwasagoodthing…becauseIwouldhaveploughedthroughthatrealquickandnotspentasmuchtimediscussingit…SoIdefinitelymodifiedthingsabitbasedon[thecamera].

Thus, rather thanfinding the cameraanannoyance,Mr.Bryantthought“actually itwasagood thing.”Heallowed thediscussion tocontinueinthehopesthatinterestingmomentswouldcomeoutofit,orashesaid,inthehopesof“findingsomethingtoworkwith.”Thatsomethingassimple,andpotentiallyintrusive,asaskingateachertocaptureinterestingmomentscouldcauseateachertofostermomentswherestudents’thinkingismadepublicisextremelyexciting.Itsuggeststhatprofessionaldevelopmentencouragingteacherattentiontovariousaspectsoftheclassroommaydomorethanhoneteachers’professionalvision,itmayalsopersuadeteacherstocraftclassroomactivitysoastoallowmoreofthosemomentstohappen. WhileweareencouragedwiththisreportedshiftinMr.Bryant’steaching, we do not imagine that this attempt to create interestingmomentswouldbepermanentorevenlonglasting.Wesuspectthatasthecamerabecamemorecommonplacefortheteacher,hisattemptstofosterinterestingclipswoulddecrease.



Discussion

Whathavewelearnedabouttheviabilityofthisnewtoolasameanstostudyandenhanceprofessionalvision?Canwebegintodrawanynewconclusionsaboutthenatureofprofessionalvision?Withrespecttoviability,theresultsofthisfirst,verypreliminarytrialweregener-allypositive.Manyofourmostseriousconcernsfailedtomaterialize.Theteacherandstudentsdidnotfindtheuseofthecameratobeoverlydisruptive.Furthermore,thefactthattheteachercollectedamoderatenumberofclips,distributedthroughoutmanypartsoftheclassroomsession, is suggestive of the tool’s viability. It suggests, for example,thatitmightbereasonableforateacher,workingwithouttheaidofresearchers,tocollectclipstousefordiscussionswithcolleagues.Suchclips could be shared in a variety of contexts including departmentorgrade levelmeetingsto illustrateparticular lessons,materials,orpedagogicalapproaches.Inaddition,thecamera’scapabilitieshavethepotentialtosupportvirtualteachercommunitiesthatexploreissuesofteachingandlearningovertheinternet. Inaddition,thenumberanddistributionofclipssuggeststhatthetoolmightbeusefulforthepurposesofresearch.Atleastinthiscase,theteacherwasnotcollectingclipshaphazardly.Instead,itseemedtobepossibleforhimtocollectclipsinathoughtfulanddeliberatemanner.Thissuggeststhatthroughtheuseofthistoolwemightbeabletotapintoimportantpartsofateacher’sonlinethinking. Whathavewelearnedaboutprofessionalvisionfromthisbrieftrial?Webelievethatcautionisrequiredindrawingconclusionaboutprofes-sionalvisionfromdataofthissort.ItseemsclearthattheclipscollectedtellussomethingaboutMr.Bryant’sprofessionalvision,butitisnotclearpreciselywhattheytellus.Similarly,hisreflectionsonwhyheselectedclipsseemtoberelevantdataaboutprofessionalvision.Butwecannotassumethatthereasonsthathegavebearanysimplerelationshiptohisthinkingatthetimeheactuallyselectedtheclip.Theseproblemsareamplifiedbythenatureofprofessionalvision.Webelievethatprofessionalvisiontypicallyactsinarapidandrelativelyunconsciousmanner,oftenlikesimplerecognition.Thismeansthatmuchofprofessionalvisionwillnotbeeasilyaccessible(oreasytoverbalize)byteachers. Nonetheless,webelievethatthedatadoallowustodrawsometen-tativeconclusionsaboutteachers’professionalvision.First,webelieveitisreasonabletoassumethatthemomentsMr.Bryantselectedweremomentsatwhichhisprofessionalvisionwashardatwork,evenifwecannotbecertainexactlywhatworkitwasdoing.IfMr.Bryantwasnotpayingattentionandthinkinghardaboutwhatwasgoingonatagiven



moment—and thus not employing his professional vision—it seemsunlikelythathewouldhavedecidedtostoreaclipatthattime.Thus,attheleast,itseemsreasonabletotakethedistributionofstoredclipsasindicativeoftimeswhenhisprofessionalvisionwasactive.Inthisregard,notethattheinterestingmomentsselectedbyMr.Bryantwerespreadthroughoutthelessonandacrossdifferentkindsofactivities.Thismightsuggestthattherealchallengesofprofessionalvisionarenotlocalizedtoanyparticularsub-typeofactivity.Acrossallactivities,theteacherwasactivelyparsingandprocessingclassroomevents.Thiswaseventhecasewhentheteacherwasjustwatchingstudents,andnotintervening. Inaddition,recallthatwenotedthatMr.Bryant’sreflectionstooktwoforms,singularandnarrative.Thiscouldperhapsbesuggestiveofsomefundamentallydifferentmodesinwhichhisprofessionalvisionoperates.Forexample,insomecases,the“event”thatisperceivedmightbeveryshortinduration,suchasasingleutterance.Inothercases,hemightbeparsingandmakingsenseofeventsthatspanasignificantfractionofaclassroomsession. Finally,despitethecaveatsoutlinedabove,wedobelievethatthereasonsgivenbyMr.Bryantforselectingclipsprovideinsightintohisprofessionalvisionandintothekindofactivitythatstandsouttohimduringinstruction.Indeed,Mr.Bryantwasattimesquitearticulateabouthisreasonsforcapturingaclip.Infact,whenaskedoutsidethecontextoftheclassroom,hereportedalistofthekindsofeventshetypicallyfindsinteresting;“There’sthecontent…thenthere’s…communication,engagingthestudents,equityissues.”Thusheseemedwellawareofthepotentialreasonswhyaclassroominteractionmightbenoteworthy.YetsometimesMr.Bryant’snoticingappearedtotakeamoretacitform.Specifically,heexplainedthat,attimes,hesimplyhadanimplicitsensethatsomethingwasinteresting.Hedescribedthissortofnoticingbysaying“Itmighthavejustbeenlike,‘Oh,there’samoment,’withoutreally thinkingaboutwhat it is.”Thisobservation thatMr.Bryant’sprofessionalvisionhas tacitandexplicitelements is importantbothbecauseofthecarethatwillbeneededindrawingconclusionsfromhisstatedreasonsforselectingaclip,andalsobecauseofwhatitsuggestsaboutthenatureofteachers’professionalvision. Ourpreliminaryanalysissuggeststhatthisnewvideotechnologycaninformourunderstandingofteachers’professionalvision.Assuch,weplantoextendthisworkinseveralways.First,byincreasingthenumberofteachersusingtheCamwear100,wewillbeabletoinvestigatehowtypicalMr.Bryant’sexperienceswere—bothintermsofthecamera’susabilityandintermsofwhatwecanlearnaboutprofessionalvision



fromitsuse.Second,weintendtoorganizevideoclubsinwhichteacherswillshowclipstheysavedusingthistechnology.Thiswillprovideusefulinformationontheviabilityofscalingupteacher-ledvideoclubs.Third,weplantoexploreseveraltechnologicalmodificationsinthecamera,includingincreasingthelengthofthesavedclipstooneortwominutesandcreatingsoftwarethatwillallowteacherstoeasilyannotateandcategorizetheirclips.Fourth,whilethefocusofthisstudywasamath-ematicsteacher’sprofessionalvision,itisnotcleartousthatourfindingsareuniquetomathematicsteachers.Thus,weplantoextendthisworktoothersubjectareasinanefforttospecifythesubject-specificnatureofprofessionalvision.Weexpecttheseextensionstobevaluablebothforstudyingprofessionalvisionandfordevelopingmeaningfulwaystoenhanceteachers’professionalvision.

Notes ThisresearchissupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundationunderGrantNo.REC-0133900andbytheEdisonFoundation.Theopinionsexpressedarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsofthesupportingagency. 1Allteacherandstudentnamesarepseudonyms.

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Appendix IInterviewprotocolforpost-classreflectioninterview.

Before viewing clips:Howwasittousethecamerawhileteaching?a.Didyounoticethecameraonyourperson?b.Didyounoticewhetheryourstudentsbehaveddifferently?c.Didyoufeellikehavingtomakeadecisionaboutcapturingamomentimpactedyourteachinginanyway?d.Consideringthe30secondlimit,didyouuseanyparticularstrategyindecid-ingwhentosaveamoment?e.Howdidthedesignofthedeviceworkforyou,wasithardtotellifyouhadsuccessfullypushedthecapturebutton?

For each clip:(1)Whydidyoucapturethispart?Whatdidyouthinkwasgoingonthatwasinteresting?(2)Areyounoticinganythinginthisclipthatyoudidn’tseeinthemoment?



(3)Wereyouawareofother things in themomentthataren’tvisible in theclips?

After all clips have been viewed:(1)Overall,didyoucapturewhatyouhadanticipated?(2)Wereyouusinganyparticularpre-formedcriteriaaboutthekindofclipsthatyouintendedtocapture?Didothercriteriadevelopasyouwereteaching?(3)Arethesethekindsofclipsthatwouldbegoodforavideoclub?Wouldyoucapturedifferentclipsifyouknewitwereforavideoclub?(4)Whatdoyouthinkyoumightwanttododifferentlywiththiscameranexttime?

professional vision in action: an exploratory study · 2013-08-02 · miriam gamoran sherin,...

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