Facilitating Reflection and Action: The Possible Contribution of Video to Mathematics Teacher Education

Authors

  • David Clarke University of Melbourne
  • Hilary Hollingsworth Australian Council for Educational Research
  • Radhika Gorur Victoria University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25749/sis.3708

Keywords:

Mathematics Teacher education, Reflection, Action, Video

Abstract

In the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002), change in teacher beliefs, knowledge and practice is mediated by either enaction or reflection. The stimulus for change can be provided by an external source such as a professional development program or it can result from the teacher’s inevitable classroom experimentation and reflection on the consequences of that experimentation. This paper explores the role that video can play in catalysing change and facilitating teacher reflection. In particular, we examine: (i) international research employing video and the capacity of such research to inform practice and stimulate teacher reflection in both pre-service and in-service settings; (ii) the use of video in professional development programs and the choice between exemplary and problematic practice as catalysts for teacher reflection in both pre-service and in-service programs; and (iii) teacher agency and the catalytic role of video in supporting teachers’ reflection on their own practice, through the use of video as the communicative medium to sustain a professional community of reflective practitioners.

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Author Biographies

David Clarke, University of Melbourne

David Clarke is a professor and director of the International Centre for Classroom Research (ICCR) in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. His current research interests are international comparative research, classroom research, mathematics education, science education, assessment, teacher professional learning, research synthesis and multi-theoretic research design. Video plays a significant part in many of his research projects, in particular the Learner’s Perspective Study which has generated a book series reporting the analysis of video material from the mathematics classrooms of more than a dozen countries. The findings of other major international research projects are reported in over 150 journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings.

Hilary Hollingsworth, Australian Council for Educational Research

Hilary Hollingsworth is a senior research fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research. Her main areas of interest are teacher professional learning and the assessment of student learning. Her current work foci include: teacher evaluation and assessment, classroom observation frameworks, the use of video for teacher professional learning, the assessment of student learning and primary mathematics education. Her doctoral studies led her to co-develop an elaborated model of teacher professional growth (2002), and she was the Australian representative on the TIMSS Video Study projects, co-authoring the International and Australian reports (2003) and numerous related publications.

Radhika Gorur, Victoria University

Radhika Gorur is a post-doctoral research fellow at The Victoria Institute, Victoria University, Melbourne. Her primary research focus is the sociology of numbers and measurement, with a focus on large-scale comparative assessments. She is also interested more broadly in the making of scientific and social knowledge, and in educational policy, education reform and teacher professional practice. She has published several articles on educational policy and large-scale assessments in such journals as Education Philosophy and Theory and Discourse.

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Published

2013-12-18