Efficacy of video-based teacher professional development for increasing classroom discourse and student learning

ABSTRACT Background Although professional development (PD) programs often use video, extraneous information during video viewing can distract teachers. We developed a discourse visualization tool, the Classroom Discourse Analyzer (CDA), to support teachers’ reflections on classroom discourse in video-based PD workshops. Methods We used a randomized controlled trial with an embedded case study to examine the efficacy of a year-long video-based PD program using the CDA. Findings The 24 intervention teachers significantly increased their use of productive talk moves in mathematics classrooms relative to the 22 comparison teachers (Cohen’s d = 0.67 to 2.35, p <.05). Moreover, a linear mixed model analysis showed that 882 students of the intervention teachers had significantly higher mathematics achievement scores than the 625 comparison students (Cohen’s d = 0.24, p <.05). The case study showed that CDA’s multiple representations of classroom discourse and interactive, process-oriented visualizations facilitated the teachers’ navigation of classroom video data. Additionally, video and visualizations prompted the teachers to reflect on the data with their peers for evidence-based reasoning and discussion. Contribution This study demonstrates the efficacy of a video-based PD program for increasing classroom discourse and student learning. It also informs the design of visualizations to enrich video-based PD.