Tips for Using the VLC

These tips are compiled from VLC staff and from teachers who participated in the project by providing us with lesson video and other resources. If you have tips to add, please email them to us at emvlc@uchicago.edu. We will add them to the list!

Tips for Getting Started:

• The place to go first is the Resources page. This is where you find lesson videos, instructional tools, student work examples, and more.
• If you find a resource you like, you can click the "Save to MyPage" button. Whenever you click on MyPage, the resource will be bookmarked there (until you remove it).
• There are several Groups you can join where other users are talking about Everyday Mathematics. You can also start a public group (if you have a specific issue you want to discuss with others in depth) or a private group (if you want to have a group just for teachers at your school or in your grade-level team).

Tips for Digging into the Site:

• On each resource, you can leave your feedback. This feedback helps us decide what kinds of resources need to be added to the site and what kinds of changes need to be made to existing resources. It also helps others users find resources that have been useful for others.
• You can also participate in a discussion about each resource. We encourage users to respond to the guiding questions about each resource in this discussion forum.
• You can upload files to share with a group by clicking Files on the group's homepage. You can also bookmark resources on the VLC for a group to watch together; just use the Save to Group button on each resource you want to bookmark.

Tips for Getting the Most from Lesson Videos:

• Watch each video twice. The first time someone watches a video, he or she naturally focuses on the more superficial elements of a classroom. It takes two views to dig into the video.
• Read the framing information to the right of the video. The framing information gives vital contextual information about each clip; without it, you will likely be lost.
• Engage in the guiding questions for each video. After you've watched each video, think about the guiding questions offered to the right of the video. Think of your own questions as well.
• Focus on the student thinking, rather than the teaching. As you watch the video, focus on what the students might be learning in the clip, rather than on whether the teaching is "good" or "bad." There is no perfect lesson, and the best way to learn from the clips is to think about how students learn mathematics and what we can do to support that learning.
• Focus on what the clip offers, rather than what it doesn't. Even a very brief clip can provoke thoughts about multiple issues—classroom management, rich discussions, assessment, etc. Real clips don't often show us all we'd like, but they can show a lot in a little amount of time.
• Remember that different isn't necessarily wrong. Successful instruction can take many forms, some of which may be different from your preferred methods. Some of the clips show teachers teaching the same lesson in different ways—and that's okay. Think about why a teacher in a clip might have made the decisions he or she did.
• Watch clips with a purpose. When you watch a clip, decide on some things you might want to think about for your own practice (i.e., what kinds of questions could I be asking kids?) and let that purpose guide your viewing.

Have some more tips for using the VLC? Please email them to us at emvlc@uchicago.edu.