Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning (VITAL): A Learning Environment for Courses in Early Childhood Mathematics Education

This proposal is a request for support to develop a research program that uses digital techniques, referred to as "Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning" (VITAL) to improve teaching performance. The proposed project will develop a pre-service resource called "VITAL." A consortium including Teachers College, the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, and William Patterson University is requesting support for a five-year project to enable the consortium to create a structured learning environment for preparing teachers of early childhood (K-3) mathematics. The proposed environment is to include college and graduate level curricula, a digital library of primary source materials and an online community workspace. More specifically, the intent is to enhance and expand video-based instruction already being employed in the classrooms of two of the project staff to help prospective and practicing teachers to analyze the development of young children's mathematical thinking and learning to reach a broader audience that includes mathematics education and early childhood education professors involved in teacher preparation and professional development. The project goals are to train prospective teachers to: (a) understand from a cognitive developmental psychology perspective how children learn and think about mathematics; (b) assess children's mathematical knowledge and plan instructional activities accordingly; (c) develop an evidence-based understanding of effective and developmentally appropriate teaching methods and curricula; and (d) develop a basic understanding of key mathematical concepts.