1. Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning (VITAL) A System for Improving Courses in Early and Elementary Mathematics Education

2. A collaborative activity At Teachers College, Herbert Ginsburg, Michael Preston, and Susan Jang Many staff at the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL), a group that develops new learning technologies for the university

3. Overview of talk Background: rationale and goals Learning context and method Course elements VITAL online environment Conclusions and plans for the future

4. Rationale for course Proliferation of preschool programs has created an increased need for qualified teachers of early mathematics Universities and colleges offer little instruction in early childhood mathematics education Need for a new course designed to prepare college and graduate students to teach mathematics effectively to young children

5. Goals for the course Introduce students to a comprehensive and integrated developmental approach to early childhood mathematics education, including:  the psychology of mathematical thinking and learning  methods for observing, interviewing and evaluating children  sample mathematics curricula  basic ideas of mathematics  principles of early childhood pedagogy

6. Goals for the course (cont’d) Students should be learn to be independent thinkers and practitioners, not just “retain” information from a course They should learn to:  interpret behavior  think critically about evidence  construct personal (but disciplined) theory  develop new activities from their personal theory  learn to observe and interview

7. Context and method Instructor’s central method involves video:  Careful selection of clips  Student analysis  Instructor questioning and direction of class Which is intended to produce …

8. Active student learning Specifically:  Active interpretation, making hypotheses  Relating readings to video examples  Opportunities for reviewing, examining evidence  Discussion with peers  Revision of hypotheses

9. Course components Readings and videos on weekly topics [see syllabus] Online assignments and guided lessons incorporating video Lectures and discussions of the videos Reflections (“what I learned”) after class Final project → Demonstration of VITAL

10. Conclusions How does VITAL affect student learning?  Students seem better prepared each week  I think the students do have more grounded understanding How does VITAL affect teaching?  The model for student/instructor interaction (Assignment → Lecture → Reflection )  I get to know the students better by examining their comments and essays  I am forced to prepare more, for example to accommodate lectures to the comments and assignments [see lecture]  I can improvise more because students prepare better

11. Toward the future  With Rochelle Kaplan at William Paterson University, we are now engaged in a large scale project to refine the course, improve VITAL, and test out both in new contexts. We hope you will stay tuned …

12. Thank you! Our information: Herbert Ginsburghpg4@columbia.edu Michael Prestonmdp2010@columbia.edu Center for New Media Teaching and Learning: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu