Narratives and Videos

We have developed a number of narrative interpretations of videos of class sessions that seem to be good examples of student learning. The intent is to help interested instructors envision an interactive classroom culture, one in which students learn by talking with one another about what they think as well as by listening to and conversing with their instructor. This approach to documenting and interpreting learning experiences draws on the power of narrative to convey cultural values and practices. These narratives are written in the tradition of ethnography of communication (Philipsen & Coutu, 2004; van Zee & Minstrell, 1997). Ethnographers of communication examine cultural practices by interpreting what is said, where, when, by whom, for what purpose, in what way, and in what context. See a short paper about how/why to write narratives: van Zee & Manogue, Documenting and Interpreting Ways to Engage Students in ‘Thinking Like a Physicist’, PERC, 2010.

The copyright on all narratives and transcripts listed on this page rests with the Director of the Paradigms Project. For copyright purposes, they should be treated similarly to published journal articles. For further details, see the copyright page.