The purpose of this study was to investigate what pre-service teachers focus on when reflecting on their mathematics instruction with the use of video clubs. Video clubs are groups where teachers meet and watch videos of their lessons and provide feedback to one another. The participants were pre-service teachers enrolled in an early childhood education program. The study was conducted during the fall semester within a mathematics methods course. Twenty-five students chose to participate in the study. The participants were grouped based on the grade level they were placed in for their field placements. There was a total of five groups who participated in the research. Only one of the groups was used in this study. The video club group used in this research included six pre-service teachers who volunteered to participate in this semester-long study. All the participants were placed in kindergarten classes for their field placements. Using qualitative research methods, the researcher investigated what pre-service teachers focused on when reflecting on their instruction as well as that of their peers, the quality of those reflections, as well as the perceived benefits of video club sessions. The data collected consisted of one micro teaching written reflection, two videotaped lessons, two written reflections, two revised reflections after video club session, and two transcribed video club sessions. The findings indicate that pre-service teachers focus on three main categories of teaching and learning classroom management, instruction, and understanding of students. Within each of these categories, themes emerged that illustrated how these participants viewed each category. When pre-service teachers reflected on classroom management their reflections included child blame, logistics and transitions, student engagement, and positive affirmations. First, pre-service teachers often make excuses or blame students for issues during a lesson. They also focus on logistics, mobility, and transition during their instruction and note these items in group discussions. Finally, they look at student engagement as a form of classroom management. When the focus of their conversation shifts to instruction the discussion is often surface-level, they focus on questioning as a tool to help themselves as teachers, not to help clarify student understanding. There is considerable conversation around assessment, but not to drive instruction, only as confirmation they have effectively taught a lesson. When looking at instruction they try to make connections with mathematics but these connections are surface-level and provide little insight into math practices. The final areas that pre-service teachers focus on is the focus understating their students which included discussion on student prior knowledge and misconceptions of students and pre-service teachers. The quality of written reflections were descriptive and evaluative in nature. The video club conversation was analyzed for the substance of the conversation. However, the findings suggest that the conversation remains surface-level and often off task. The video clubs’ discussion evolved over the two sessions from logistical concerns to a greater focus on instruction. All the participants reported positive feedback on the video club process and watching their own instruction. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / July 8, 2016. / Early Childhood Education, Mathematics, Pre-service teachers, Reflection / Includes bibliographical references. / Lindsay Dennis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Motoko Akiba, University Representative; Ithel Jones, Committee Member; John Myers, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_366077 |
| Contributors | Kervin, Traci L. (authoraut), Dennis, Lindsay Rae (professor directing dissertation), Akiba, Motoko (university representative), Jones, Ithel (committee member), Myers, John P. (John Patrick) (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), School of Teacher Education (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (210 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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