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Bodymarking: An Interpretive Framework for Analyzing Embodied Action in Classrooms

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Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new interpretive framework, which we call Bodymarking, to aid in describing and interpreting activity (e.g., individuals’ gestures, gaze, and interaction with materials in the environment) in the classroom. We apply the framework to video recordings of mathematics lessons to explain how it can be used and offer some provisional remarks about the kinds of insights that the framework has yielded in some of our preliminary analyses. Our intention is twofold: (1) to point to the framework’s potential applications in the study of classroom activity and (2) to offer the tool and our coding norms in sufficient detail such that others might be able to make use of it as an analytical tool for their own video data.

Résumé

Dans cet article, nous présentons un nouveau cadre d’interprétation, que nous appelons « bodymarking (le repérage corporel) » dans le but de faciliter la description et l’interprétation de l’activité (par exemple, la gestuelle et le regard des individus ainsi que l’interaction qu’ils ont avec les éléments matériels dans l’environnement) dans la salle de classe. Nous appliquons ce cadre à des enregistrements vidéo de cours de mathématiques issus du document vidéo TEIEMS (Troisième Enquête Internationale sur l’Enseignement des Mathématiques et des Sciences, s. d.) afin d’expliquer comment on peut utiliser le cadre et pour formuler quelques remarques provisoires concernant le genre d’informations que le cadre a permis de faire ressortir dans certaines de nos analyses préliminaires. Notre intention est double : 1) souligner les applications potentielles du cadre dans l’étude de l’activité en classe et 2) présenter l’outil et nos normes de codage de manière suffisamment étoffée afin que d’autres puissent l’utiliser comme outil analytique pour leurs propres données vidéo.

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Data Availability

All data on which our analysis is based are available at http://www.timssvideo.com

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Jo Towers & Everton Jacinto

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, 11210 87 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G5, Canada

    Josh Markle

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  1. Jo Towers
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Correspondence to Josh Markle.

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Towers, J., Markle, J. & Jacinto, E. Bodymarking: An Interpretive Framework for Analyzing Embodied Action in Classrooms. Can. J. Sci. Math. Techn. Educ. 23, 66–79 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-023-00272-3

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