
Video Analysis as a Mechanism for Improving Mathematics Teaching
Delaware Math Coalition leaders are committed to the use of high quality instructional materials (HQIM) and providing sustained support to assist teachers and coaches in more skillfully enacting lessons from their HQIM. The organization’s professional learning model is grounded in research (Kersting et. al, 2010, 2012, 2015) that has been correlated with more ambitious teaching and higher student achievement in mathematics. The approach utilizes four-part lesson study video analysis cycle that is purposefully designed to engage teachers and coaches in mathematically intense planning to teach and reflection conversations. As part of the cycle, teachers and coaches:
- unpack target lessons from their high quality instructional materials and identify the intended learning goal(s) of the lesson;
- focus on getting beyond the nuts and bolts of their lessons by identifying critical moments in the lesson’s mathematical trajectory;
- make predictions about how students’ conceptions about the key ideas will evolve across the lesson; and
- analyze video with a goal of understanding student thinking and considering ways to further enhance students’ opportunities to make progress with the intended lesson learning goal.
Our Theory of Action
Delaware Mathematics Coalition (DMC) members invest heavily in the belief that all teachers can learn to improve the quality of mathematics instruction in their classrooms, and, positively impact students’ dispositions and understanding of mathematics. Our theory of action is grounded in the need to build sustainable structures and systems that are intentionally designed to deepen the content, curricular, pedagogical, and leadership knowledge and skills of nested communities of learners in Delaware’s PK-20 system.
To achieve their vision, DMC leaders engage a strong team of highly respected mathematics experts with a history of successful leadership experience in teaching, curriculum, professional development, coaching, and assessment. As Connectors, the members of the DMC Professional Teaching & Learning Team build meaningful relationships with educators in the field and evolve their capacity in ways that help them translate their learning into visible actions and impact in their day-to-day job-embedded work.
I appreciate how deeply the facilitation team plans and how deeply participants are invited to think about mathematics, teaching, and learning. I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in professional learning opportunities like these.

I truly appreciate the time to get beyond the nuts and bolts conversations about HQIM lessons with my colleagues. This is great practice for planning and coaching with teachers.

I really appreciated being asked to think about " what intentional ideas and/or potential misconceptions are the authors trying to uncover in terms of student thinking within each problem in the lesson". This really helped me hone in on getting into the authors’ heads and keeping the important ideas in mind as we predicted students’ strategies.

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Meet Our Professional Teaching & Learning Team Members
The Delaware Mathematics Coalition professional teaching and learning team is comprised of highly-respected professional learning experts, thought partners, and coaches with a history of success as mathematics leaders in the state. The team includes the project director, Dr. Jamila Riser, and thirteen professional development facilitators, coaches, and connectors. The role of connectors is to initiate school-based outreach with the goal of reinforcing school-based continuation of the work connected to our statewide workshops by providing follow-up coaching cycles and building school-based leadership capacity. Our research partners in the work consist of University of Delaware School of Education professors Dr. James Hiebert, Dr. Lynsey Gibbons, and Dr. Erica Litke.














Expanding Statewide Math Leadership Capacity
The Delaware Mathematics Coalition is committed to building local and state level mathematics leadership capacity. Teacher leaders, coaches, and math supervisors from local district and charter schools have been integral to the success of our professional learning programs (Leadership Coaching Lab, New Normal PBL Academy (Math Camp), Desmos Champions, etc.). In our efforts to cultivate the skills, knowledge, and growth of our community of math leaders, we involve these and other educators in our statewide professional learning projects.







