9727098 Rodriguez This proposed investigation will examine how video can be used as a medium to enhance both analytic research and teachers' professional development. In particular, this project will examine the potential of video-based instructional materials to influence students' willingness to adopt unfamiliar ideas related to constructivism and multiculturalism. The context for this study is a preservice teacher education program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. To aid his students' preparation as educators, the investigator plans to use constructivist pedagogy in the multiculturalism course he offers as part of this academic program. In addition, the investigator will assess the potential capability of video case studies to serve as an analytic medium for understanding students' conceptual evolution on these topics. These two objectives will be accomplished through (1) studying how leading scholars in education use video as a means of professional development and of research, and (2) preparing a publication synthesizing and disseminating these results. ***
