RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Observation Protocols as Research Tools for Video-Based Analyses of Undergraduate Calculus Recitations
Page: 1418
Classroom Observation Protocol in Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) and Toolkit for Assessing Mathematics Instructors – Observation Protocol (TAMI-OP) are observation protocols created as part of a broader effort to examine practices within active learning STEM courses. They seek to describe and categorize instructor and student actions across time. While these tools are typically utilized as a means of professional development and in evaluation processes, less is known about how they can function as analytic tools within the research process. From our analysis, we show that COPUS and TAMI-OP can both be valuable research tools, but each has strengths that highlight distinct aspects of classroom interactions. Our work illustrates how these observation protocols can be appropriately adapted as research tools and how each provides different perspectives on active learning in undergraduate mathematics classrooms.