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Much enthusiasm exists for using video in teacher education and professional development. As this volume attests to, video-based resources are being used in a variety of teacher-learning contexts. Many educators are discussing their use of video; however, a problem receiving less attention is what it takes to design usable video-based curriculum for teacher learning. This chapter addresses a specific problem faced in using video as a tool for teacher professional development. The problem that is often overlooked is that video in of itself is not a curriculum. We cannot consider video a curriculum perhaps anymore than we can consider a whiteboard and markers a curriculum. Video is rather a medium which can be developed into a resource and used in specific ways to enhance learning. Video can become a part of a curriculum for learning if it is designed to be used in intentional ways towards intentional learning goals. The question then is – what does it take to actually assemble a usable video-based curriculum for teacher learning? Answering this question demands consideration of what and how teachers are intended to learn with this curriculum, and what opportunities the medium of video affords.

For more than a decade there have been calls to change professional development and teacher education. A central task and challenge for teacher educators is to design learning experiences that offer the greatest potential for improving teacher practice. Recently, videos of classrooms have emerged as tools for teacher learning. This chapter will consider the issues we faced attempting to create a coherent, sequenced professional development curriculum using video to help teachers improve mathematics teaching and learning. We will share some of the principles that guided the work, what we’ve been learning and indicate where we feel more research is needed.

Despite widespread enthusiasm for video technology in teacher education and a great deal of development and use of videos for this purpose, relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the feasibility and effectiveness of various types and uses of video for various teacher education purposes. Much of the research that is available on educational applications of video technology is focused on the use of video in K-12 teaching or in business and industrial training, rather than in teacher education. Furthermore, much of the research on video in teacher education has been limited to studies of relatively global perceptions of its value. These studies indicate that preservice instructors and students, as well as inservice professional development leaders and participating teachers, typically report positive responses to the video components of the program. Authors typically describe what was included in the video component and how it was used by participants. However, they rarely assess the relative effectiveness of different types or uses of video, let alone consider the trade-offs embedded in these alternatives if used to pursue contrasting educational purposes and goals.