In video based research of quality of teaching it is internationally widly accepted, that for determining quality of teaching it is not only nessecary to survey the surface characteristics but also the deep structure level (Oser/Baerswyl 2001). But the TIMSS-Video-Study of 1999 for example showed that the highly inferent ratings for the deeper level were not reliable so that mainly surface characteristics could be used for the codification (Pauli/Reusser 2006). From a point of view of a qualitativ approach even if the ratings were reliable there still would be the problem, that the raters are observers that can’t be observed and there controlled reflectivly.

Instead of measuring qualities by indicators or by raters the qualitativ approach of this contribution tries to observe complexities instead of qualities and to restrict the observation only on 'social facts'. Therefore a qualitative approach has to outline a metatheoretical social theory of class, teaching and learning and a way to differentiate different complexities. Based on the system theory of Niklas Luhmann (1984) and the numerous theoretical expansions towards a theory of class (e.g. Dinkelaker 2007) the author puts up the concept of learning conflicts for a discussion. Learning conflicts occur when at least to answers or replies exist without being explicitly or implicitly evaluated by the teacher as right or wrong. Combined with the question on how the interaction – hence the social side – couples with the pupils psyches – hence the psychological side –, which is the basis of determining different complexities, this concept can be seen as a sociologically reformulation of the psychological concept of cognitive activation that limits the observation only on 'social facts'.

This metatheoretical framework is used for a qualitative reanalysis of the TIMSS-Video-Data which include - up to now - 16 videos of teaching mathematics of eight different countries. There are two main outcomes. First, several empirical examples show how learning conflicts can be observed and especially how they can be differentiated teacher-driven and pupil-driven or pseudo conflicts or in different complexities of conflicts and of the solutions of these learning conflicts. Secondly learning conflicts can only be found in countries that had high scores in TIMSS and PISA like Japan or Hongkong. These findings can be discussed in three ways:

• How do these patterns relate to other findings (e.g. Nystrand 2006) that suggest a higher quality of teaching  and therefore more learning?
• Can the qualitative approach with its main concept of learning conflicts and the different complexities not only lead a way to a non-measuring qualitative-based research on the quality of teaching but also stimulated the quantative approach on measuring the deep structure level?
• Can this approach be a stimulation for the didactics by reflecting their concepts?

Besides the metatheoretical framework (see above) the qualitative approach is based on a reconstructive basis (Bohnsack 2008), which survey the limitation of contingency in the prozess of communication in order to reconstructs the logic of the next communicative follow-up (Nassehi/Saake 2002). Therefore the data is survey in form of a sequential analysis.

see above

Bohnsack, R. (2008): Rekonstruktive Sozialforschung. Einführung in qualitative Methoden. Opladen u.a. Dinkelaker, J. (2007): Kommunikation von Lernen. In: Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 10/2, p. 199–213. Luhmann, N. (1984): Soziale Systeme: Grundriß einer allgemeinen Theorie. Frankfurt a.M. Nassehi, A./Saake, I. (2002): Kontingenz: Methodisch verhindert oder beobachtet? Ein Beitrag zur Methodologie der qualitativen Sozialforschung. In: Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 31/1, p. 66–86. Nystrand, M. (2006): Research on the role of classroom discourse as it affects reading comprehension. In: Research in the Teaching of English, 40/4, p. 392–412. Oser, F./Baerswyl, F.J. (2001): Choreographies of teaching: bridging instruction and learning. In: Richardson, V. (Ed.): Handbook of research on teaching. Fourth Edition. Washington: American Educational Research Association, p. 1031-1065. Pauli, C./Reusser, K. (2006): Von international vergleichenden Video Surveys zur videobasierten Unterrichtsforschung und -entwicklung. In: Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 52/6, p. 774–798.