Improving Productive Classroom Talk Through Visual Learning Analytics Technology: A Case Study of an Award-Winning Mathematics Teacher

Abstract

Visual learning analytics (VLA) technology is an emerging method to improve teaching and learning. However, few studies have examined the use of this technology in teacher professional development (PD). We thus conducted a case study to investigate the learning experience of an award-winning teacher in our year-long PD program for secondary school mathematics teachers in Shanghai. In our workshops on productive classroom talk, we used VLA technology to visualize the teacher’s classroom instruction data from lesson videos, to support her teaching reflection. Data from lesson videos, teacher reflections, and an interview were collected and analyzed. The findings suggest that the teacher gradually increased her use of productive talk moves (e.g., press for reasoning) to elicit student responses, and used VLA to obtain evidence to support her lesson observations, teaching reflections, and refinements of her classroom instruction. Implications for the future practice of video-based VLA-supported PD activities are discussed.