The history of methods of observation illustrates a gradual development from lay observation to systematic scientific observation. Over the past centuries, observing scientists have learned to take advantage of various research tools. Just as natural scientists came to appreciate the aid of the microscope to observe very small objects and telescopes to observe very distant objects, we have come to see video technology as a tool for social scientists to observe phenomena that are too complex to be studied by the naked eye. The investigative potential of such video studies lies in the fact that complex phenomena and events captured on video are available for analysis that can focus ex-post facto on various aspects of the material under investigation. Video study is a complex methodological approach, which enables the employing of various strategies, methods or techniques for generating, collecting and analysing video data, i.e. audiovisual data grounded in rich situational contexts.

The book is structured in three sections which comprise chapters that focus on a specific power of video technology in classroom research. The chapters in section I focus on the power of video to describe the dynamics of teaching and learning in the classroom. They present various video studies conducted in the past fifteen years that aimed to describe the practices of teaching. The chapters in section II focus on the use of video in investigating the effects of teaching on student learning. They present approaches that build on video studies in order to link data about classroom processes with data about learning outcomes. The chapters in section III discuss possibilities offered by the use of video in professional development of teachers.

Contributors: Peter (Reggie) Bowman, Geraldine Blomberg, Hilda Borko, David Clarke, Inger Marie Dalehefte, Erin Marie Furtak, Constanze Herweg, Dana Hübelová, Jennifer Jacobs, Tomáš Janík, Marcela Janíková, Kirsti Klette, Eckhard Klieme, Petr Knecht, Mareike Kobarg, Karen Koellner, Milan Kubiatko, Peter Labudde, Cameron Mitchell, Petr Najvar, Veronika Najvarová, Christine Pauli, Manfred Prenzel, Kurt Reusser, Rolf Rimmele, Kathleen Roth, Katharina Schwindt, SimonaŠebestová Tina Seidel, Richard J. Shavelson, Kathleen Stürmer, Elke Sumfleth, Maik Walpuski