Video-based analysis of mathematics classroom practice: Examples from Finland and Iceland

The method of video analysis can be effective in pedagogical research. With insightful coding schemes, video analysis can generate valuable evidence in the study of the implemented curriculum. The purpose of this study is to explore the power and flexibility of video analysis as an observational tool in classroom research. Furthermore, this dissertation suggests ways in which an individual with limited resources can conduct meaningful video-based classroom research.;Through a review of literature spanning over a century, a historical perspective of video analysis in pedagogical research is outlined. Special attention is paid to video-based studies within the sociocultural, cognitive, and constructivist frameworks.;With recent international studies providing much of the orientation, a method of lesson structure analysis is introduced. The method offers a means of investigating the different forms of classroom interaction teachers use to achieve their pedagogical goals. The method involves two coding passes. The first pass is inspired by the TIMSS 1999 Video Study and is used to distinguish the main pedagogical functions of lesson segments. The second coding pass, which uses ideas from the Learner's Perspective Study in addition to TIMSS, focuses on the forms of classroom participation. The coding categories are sample-sensitive.;Videos from Finnish and Icelandic mathematics classrooms are analyzed to demonstrate the coding method for lesson structure. These countries were chosen in part because of their performance in the PISA studies. Finnish students have excelled in all three PISA studies, while Iceland is the only country where girls have significantly outperformed boys in mathematics. The recordings---two lessons from ten randomly chosen mathematics teachers of 14 and 15-year-olds in each country---were collected in the spring of 2007.;Based on this sample, there are differences in how Finnish and Icelandic mathematics lessons are structured. The Finnish lessons in the sample follow the popular Review-Lesson-Practice-script. Approximately half of the recorded Icelandic lessons exhibit versions of the Independent learning-pedagogical strategy. Public instructional discourse can be missing entirely from these lessons, and, instead, the teacher tutors the students one-on-one. This is in contrast with the Finnish lessons where teacher-lead activities, which often involve student participation, are emphasized.