Mathematics Teacher Education 10 Swee Fong Ng Editor Cases of Mathematics Professional Development in East Asian Countries Using Video to Support Grounded Analysis Mathematics Teacher Education Volume 10 Series Editors Andrea Peter-Koop, University of Oldenburg, Germany Patricia Wilson, University of Georgia, United States Editorial Board Andy Begg, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand Chris Breen, University of Cape Town, South Africa Francis Lopez-Real, University of Hong Kong, China Jarmila Novotna, Charles University, Czechoslovakia Jeppe Skott, Danish University of Education, Copenhagen, Denmark Peter Sullivan, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Dina Tirosh, Tel Aviv University, Israel Scope The Mathematics Teacher Education book series presents relevant research and innovative international developments with respect to the preparation and professional development of mathematics teachers. A better understanding of teachers’ cognitions as well as knowledge about effective models for preservice and inservice teacher education is fundamental for mathematics education at the primary, secondary and tertiary level in the various contexts and cultures across the world. Therefore, considerable research is needed to understand what facilitates and impedes mathematics teachers’ professional learning. The series aims to provide a signifi cant resource for teachers, teacher educators and graduate students by introducing and critically refl ecting new ideas, concepts and fi ndings of research in teacher education. More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/6327 Swee Fong Ng Editor Cases of Mathematics Professional Development in East Asian Countries Using Video to Support Grounded Analysis Editor Swee Fong Ng National Institute of Education Singapore Mathematics Teacher Education ISBN 978-981-287-404-7 ISBN 978-981-287-405-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-405-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015938104 Springer Singapore Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2015 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. T he use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer Science+Business Media Singapore Pte Ltd. is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Contents 1 How Researchers and Teachers Could Use Videos: The Role of Grounded Images .............................................................. 1 Swee Fong Ng Part I 2 Into Part I: How Videos and Audio Technology Support the Professional Development of Teachers ........................................... 11 Swee Fong Ng 3 Developing Teacher Competencies Through Videos for Facilitation of Mathematical Modelling in Singapore Primary Schools ..................................................................................... 15 Kit Ee Dawn Ng , Wanty Widjaja , Chun Ming Eric Chan , and Cynthia Seto 4 Developing Critical Reflection Through Audio and Video Technology for Some Singapore Primary School Mathematics Teachers ............................................................... 39 Lu Pien Cheng 5 How a Singapore Teacher Used Videos to Help Improve Her Teaching of the Part-Whole Concept of Numbers and the Model Method ..................................................... 61 Swee Fong Ng 6 Using Video Clubs to Learn for Mathematical Problem-Solving Instruction in the Philippines: The Case of Teaching Extensions ......................................................... 83 Romina Ann S. Yap and Yew Hoong Leong 7 Video as a Medium for Introducing Lesson Study to Multi-ethnic Malaysian Mathematics Teachers .............................. 107 Chap Sam Lim and Liew Kee Kor v vi Contents 8 Summary of Part I and Introduction to Part II .................................. 133 Swee Fong Ng 9 What Is Important in a Lesson on Factorisation? The Reflection of an Experienced Teacher in Hong Kong ................. 137 Ida Ah Chee Mok Part II 10 The Impact of Online Video Suite on the Singapore Pre-service Teachers’ Buying-In to Innovative Teaching of Factorisation via AlgeCards ............................................................. 157 Weng Kin Ho , Yew Hoong Leong , and Foo Him Ho 11 Reflections of a Korean Middle School Mathematics Teacher on Improving the Teaching of Mathematics ......................... 179 Ho Kyoung Ko 12 The Use of Videos and Classroom Artefacts in Professional Development of Teachers and Teacher Educators in Indonesia ........ 199 Wanty Widjaja and Maarten Dolk 13 Summary of Findings of Chapters in Part II and Introduction to Part III .................................................................. 223 Swee Fong Ng Part III 14 The Use of Video Technology in Pre-service Teacher Education and In-service Teacher Professional Development ........... 229 Kim Koh 15 Going Forward: Encouraging Teachers to Embrace Video Technology for Self-Development .............................................. 249 Swee Fong Ng Contributors ................................................................................................... 251 Index ................................................................................................................ 255 Chapter 1 How Researchers and Teachers Could Use Videos: The Role of Grounded Images Swee Fong Ng Abstract Before the availability of video technology, the teachers formed images of classroom scenes based on the narratives provided by researchers. The availability of video technology has changed the ways researchers engage teachers in profes- sional development courses. Because both parties are able to observe the lesson from the same perspective, they form grounded images of the classroom scene in question. This chapter discusses the theory of grounded images and provides the reader a summary of the seven chapters in Section I. Brophy’s (2 004) work U sing Video in Teacher Education provided various examples how videos could be used to enhance teacher education in different subject domains. Mathematics has always been a challenging subject to learn and to teach. Mathematics educators and teachers are continually searching for ways to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. Furthermore, fi ndings from international comparative studies such as TIMSS and PISA have put the spotlight on mathemat- ics education. Policymakers, researchers, mathematics educators and teachers are curious why some countries are performing better than others. Although teaching is culture specifi c (S tigler & Hiebert, 2 009) , nevertheless, researchers, mathematics educators and teachers wish to learn from their peers. The affordances of video have meant that it is possible to learn by observing others at their practice. Videoed mate- rials can be stored, retrieved, transmitted with a minimal of fuss and used repeatedly without any damage to the original content. The use of videos in the professional development of teachers is now an established methodology. However, researchers, mathematics educators and teachers continue to fi nd ways to use videos to improve their practice. This book introduces the theory of grounded image to discuss how mathematics educators from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore capitalise on the affordances of videos to design professional development courses for teachers. S. F. Ng (*) National Institute of Education , Singapore e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2015 1 S.F. Ng (ed.), Cases of Mathematics Professional Development in East Asian Countries, Mathematics Teacher Education 10, DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-405-4_1 2 S.F. Ng Although videos have their drawbacks, nevertheless, their affordances make video a useful tool to support teacher education. Sherin (2 004 ) identifi ed three affordances. (1) Once captured the video images are lasting records of the events and these images can be accessed on demand. Digitised materials have resulted in even greater and speedier access to specifi c episodes. (2) Although the original video is a record of the chronological progression of a lesson, the original contents can be edited, grouped and reorganised into a format that is very different from its original. In fact different episodes from different lessons can be grouped together as a specifi c example of a particular construct. (3) Videos provide researchers, mathematics educators and teachers the opportunity to engage with a new set of pedagogical practices “that are very different from typical pedagogical practices” (Sherin, p. 14). Although videos can be a useful tool to enhance teacher education, it does not mean that teachers would naturally learn from watching videos of classroom prac- tices. There must be a clear objective why videos are used and great care must be exercised to select the appropriate content to be viewed (Brophy, 2 004 ). It is not enough to present the content to the practitioners. Individuals learn best with proper feedback (Klein, Nir-Gal, & Darom, 2 000 ). In their work, Klein and Darom found that integrating adult feedback in pre-school computer learning environments facili- tated informed use of computer technologies and has positive effects on children’s performance. Extrapolating from this study, it is reasonable to hypothesise that with proper feedback provided by facilitators of professional development courses, teachers participating in professional development courses are likely to benefi t from watching the videos of specifi c lessons. T he content could consist of a complete or selected episodes of a lesson conducted by a teacher other than the participants involved in the professional development or by a teacher involved in the professional development course itself. The sociocultural context of the lesson could be one which the participants are familiar with or one with a foreign context. In this case the language of the content may be foreign to the participants and dubbing or translation of the contents may be required to help participants engage with the proceedings of the lesson presented. T he participants could be an individual who has identifi ed a specifi c pedagogical practice which he or she wishes to improve upon. Participants could also be groups of individuals coming together to improve on a specifi c curricular area. This could be teachers forming video clubs to address specifi c curricular needs such as how to improve the teaching of problem-solving in their classrooms. Participants could also be a group of teachers who wishes to learn how teachers in other countries conduct their mathematics lessons with the specifi c aim of learning how to develop repertoires which may be foreign to them. Japanese lesson study is a good example of how practitioners from one culturally different group learn how others teach and the effi cacy of their methods. F acilitators could comprise researchers whose sole interest may be to use videoed content to help them study classrooms and teaching across cultures. Stigler and Hiebert’s (2 009) work is one such example. Mathematics educators may choose to use videos of lessons in the delivery of the mathematics methods courses. 1 How Researchers and Teachers Could Use Videos: The Role of Grounded Images 3 Lampert and Ball are pioneers in the fi eld. Their unique work in the Space for Learning and Teaching Exploration (SLATE) project provided a rich and detailed corpus of materials for American educators (Lampert & Ball, 1 998) . Star and Strickland’s (2 008) work with pre-service secondary mathematics teachers helped them categorise what pre-service teachers noticed in classrooms captured on vid- eos. Borko, Jacobs, Eiteljorg and Pittman’s (2 008 ) work with the Supporting the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning (STARR) project with middle- school mathematics teachers showed how the participating teachers’ conversations around videos of lessons from one another’s classrooms became increasingly refl ec- tive and productive. The Use of Grounded Images in Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Development: The Theoretical Framework The introduction of electronic recording devices has changed the way researchers work. The drawings in Charles Darwin’s book T he Origin of Species (1 998 ) were valuable records of plants and animals he encountered in their natural habitat. In the 1920s, cultural anthropologists such as Margaret Mead kept copious handwritten fi eld notes, and photos were used to capture the participants of her study. Her work Coming of Age in Samoa ( 2001 ) became a bestseller. The images in these classics were stills and much was left to the imagination of the reader. Compare and contrast these works with those of the naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The images and the accompanying commentary have meant that the audience could engage with the wonders of the natural world which are presented in their minutest detail. For exam- ple, the fl ight of the fl ying lizard could be examined as a complete sequence or paused for the audience to examine the alignment of the webbed feet. At the same time the commentary provides the audience with the researchers’ interpretations of the lizard’s fl ight. The researchers and the audience share the same image as they have a common perspective of the event. Furthermore once captured these images can be recalled on demand for continual analysis. In a similar vein the availability of electronic recording devices has added another dimension to professional development of mathematics teachers. In the days of handwritten notes, the researchers observe a teacher or group of teachers at work. In post-lesson interviews, the researcher and the teacher as participant discuss the contents of the lesson. Where they have diffi culties understanding particular actions of the teacher, the researchers describe proceedings of that section in question. The teacher tries to recall that particular classroom scene and tries to answer the researcher’s queries. Whilst the image of the classroom scene in the researcher’s mind is formed from the perspective of the researcher observing the lesson, that formed by the teacher is based on the teacher listening to the description offered by the researcher. This is because the teacher did not have the opportunity to observe herself or himself at work. Because they come from different perspectives,