Mathematics Assessment Project

(Mathematics Assessment Resource Service, MARS)

 

Level

Grades 7th-9th

 

Cost

Free 

 

Access videos by clicking on a specific Professional Development Module on the left, 

Each Modul will then have a series of tabs on the top, including some that are for videos (i.e. “Activity D Video”)   http://map.mathshell.org/materials//pd.php

 

The homepage for the larger site is here: http://map.mathshell.org/materials//index.php

 

Type of Video

A mix of whole class discussion videos, small group work, and teacher reflection. 

 

Length of Videos

About half are in the 2-5 minute range, and the other half are 9-11 minutes.

 

Number of Videos

There are 16 videos connected to five different professional development modules.  

• Module 1: Formative Assessment: 8 videos connected to 5 activities 

• Module 2: Concept Development Lessons: 1 video

• Module 3: Problem Solving Lessons: 4 videos connected to 2 activities

• Module 4: Improving Learning Through Questioning: 2 videos connected to two activities

• Module 5: Students working collaboratively: 1 video

 

Content Domains

Estimation, roportional reasoning, problem solving, growth and rates of change, variables, area, surface area and volume, sampling, representations of functions

 

Description of the Videos  

• Videos are of grades 7, 8 and 9 in the United Kingdom.  There are a variety of British and other 

• accents that Americans may find difficult

• Seven of the 16 videos have the option of having English or Spanish subtitles (Modules 3, 4 and 5)

• The clips are often edited to show examples of specific teacher moves or specific patterns of interaction, however, they are not staged or unrealistic.  

• Clips are in the context of larger Professional development modules that are aimed at issues connected to teaching for understanding through the use of rich mathematical tasks

• Clips lack time stamps, nor do they have transcripts.

 

Descriptions by Module

Module 1

• Formative Assessment: 8 videos connected to 5 activities.  This module is designed to give teachers exposure to examples of teaching for understanding using rich tasks, and as such has many videos of short classroom clips interspersed with teachers talking about the benefits and challenges of using formative assessment and attending to student understanding.  

 

1. Activity C Videos: Short videos of specific formative assessment techniques, showing 

2. Activity D Videos: Teachers discussing Feedback

3. Activity E Video: Observing Formative Assessment

4. Activity F Video: Formative assessment Lesson by Lesson

5. Activity G Video: Student Views students and teachers engaging in these techniques and teachers talking about their use.

 

• Min-whiteboards (2:30)

• Posters (2:20)

• Short examples of how teachers give and use feedback in a lesson, and teachers discussing giving and using comments on problem write-ups during the process (4:22)

• Excerpts from lessons in which students respond to feedback on their work Including student discussion of feedback and work in groups (8:45)

• Andrew’s Lesson: Estimation by sampling, justification, proportional reasoning. Routines around feedback (11:00)

• Dominic’s Lesson: Growth Patterns, Representations of growth, Justification, Modeling (10:00)

• Amy’s Lesson: Optimizing security camera placement, Visual Reasoning, Representation, Justification (9:00)

• Students talk about receiving feedback, how it effects their learning and their motivation (4:11)

 

Module 2

Concept Development Lessons: One video

 

• Different representations of algebraic expressions (geometric, table, expression, 

 

Module 3

Problem Solving Lessons

• Four videos connected to two activities.  Subtitles in English and Spanish

 

1. Activity D Video: Problem Solving Lessons, explicit norms for problem solving and description) Teacher interacting with one small group (4:22) 

2. Activity E Video: Teacher follow-up.  Teachers discussing student work and teaching of working in groups, appropriate use of tools

 

• Organizing a Table Tennis Tournament; 9:1

• Designing a box for 18 sweets; Nets, surface and volume, optimization 9:30 lessons, same lesson for grade 7, 8 and 9. Subtitles in English and Spanish.

• Teacher Follow-up for Table Tennis (5:20)

• Teacher Follow-up for Sweets Box (5:20)

 

Module 4

Improving Learning Through Questioning

• Two videos Subtitles in English and Spanish.

 

1. Activity C Video Sharing Gas Costs, work with small groups, (12:45)

2. Activity E Video Teachers working together to estimate how many dentists in the UK 

 

Module 5

Students Working Collaboratively

• One video.  Students working in small groups to estimate how many teachers in the UK 

 

Usefulness of the Videos

These videos are good examples of effective teaching using high demand tasks. Although they are edited, they are realistic and not scripted. The teachers show effective attention to the creation of norms and expectations. These videos are also effective in giving voice to teacher concerns and addressing them.  The videos use rich and interesting tasks. The ancillary materials help make the video even more effective.  

 

Ancillary Materials

• The videos themselves are parts of Professional development modules. Each of the modules has a Facilitator’s guide with a suggested progression of activities in the service of a particular theme (Introduction to formative assessment, using questioning, etc.).

• The modules address specific teaching goals and techniques and address common teacher concerns. 

• They also involve doing the mathematics of a rich task and analyzing student work.  

 

This is part of a larger website dedicated to developing and disseminating high demand tasks (which they 

call formative assessment tasks) for use in mathematics classrooms.

 

The home page (http://map.mathshell.org/materials//index.php) has links to lessons, tasks and tests.  

 

 

Author/sponsor

Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS); Shell Center for Mathematical Education, University of California at Berkeley, The University of Nottingham