Using Videos During Teacher Observations Part 2 - Teacher Ownership
Last week we discussed how a transition to online learning is having an impact on teacher observations. We can’t approach teacher evaluations in the same way and must plan to support teacher growth and development regardless of the learning environment.
You can read last week's post by clicking here: Using Videos During Teacher Observations
Many researchers have proven the power of creating an environment where employees thrive, one which:
Challenges employees but provides appropriate support. The Pygmalion effect suggests that people will reach the expectations that are placed on them. If you expect a lot from your employees, but not so much that you consistently discourage them, your team will rise to your expectations. Consequently, if you expect very little from your employees, guess what you will receive in return?
Values employees and their contributions. Teaching is a tough job, as we all know. Your teachers are impacting dozens, if not hundreds, of students each day. Teachers are world-changers - let's treat them as such!
Allows for risk-taking. For teachers to develop, they must try new things. Allow your teachers to take risks and see what happens (of course the risk needs to be legal, ethical, thought out, and fits within the vision, mission, and beliefs of the organization...) Setting up an environment where risk taking is "allowed" will provide encouragement and motivation to teachers to continue to grow, even when there are stumbling blocks along the way.
Supports teacher self-reflection.
Encourages both collaboration and autonomy. Teachers have a lot to learn, and a lot to share. Encourage your teachers to continually learn from each other, yet create an environment for teachers to practice and implement their learning in their own classrooms. In the words of Daniel Pink,
"Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement."
To get the most out of any professional development, initiative, or strategy, the ownership must lie in the hands of those on the front line. The best book study or workshop will not positively affect your teachers, and therefore students, unless and until your teachers actually practice the actions. Studying is not enough. Learning is not enough. You must actually "do".
Providing feedback to teachers during classroom observations, walkthroughs, and formal teacher evaluations is a great way to bring awareness to teachers. After all, sometimes you don't know what you don't know. Having an outsider provide perspective, suggestions, and questions can go a long way to improve teachers' instruction and implementation of their studying and learning.
However, sometimes I think we miss the boat and provide a little too much observer feedback. Many times I had observation conferences with teachers, and the the teacher would have an entire monologue prepared with things he/she would change. This is great self-reflection, but I wonder what the teacher was using to reflect. It was solely based on memory of what she heard, saw, and said as well as what she let through her own filters. Additionally, how many days had passed between the lesson and this reflection? Again I wonder if this is the absolute best way for teachers to self-reflect? I wonder how this teacher's thought process would have been different if he/she had reviewed the lesson on video first? I wonder what this teacher would have noticed and how much more meaningful it would be to watch the lesson, or a portion of it, on video?
This is especially true right now in our digital learning environment. They have shifted to a completely new medium for instruction and are navigating:
new technologies to determine their effectiveness during eLearning
new instructional techniques to engage their students
inequities related to student access
new needs for their families, including their children’s own eLearning
Simply put, teachers are spending considerable time, effort, and emotional capacity supporting their students and families. They are true professionals. In times like these, teachers don’t need, or want, somebody telling them what they’re doing wrong. That feels, well, wrong.
Instead, teachers need administrators who are supporting, encouraging, and providing opportunities for them to reflect on their own practice.
Teachers can record themselves teaching and submit video recordings of their lessons to their observers for feedback, but observers shouldn’t be tempted to treat this like a typical observation. Instead, there is power in taking a step back and looking for trends in teachers’ instruction. Maybe teachers have unintentionally shifted away from introducing their lesson with an explicit learning objective? Maybe teachers are spending too much time talking about the content and not enough time creating opportunities for students to practice and interact with the learning.
If you notice trends, instead of telling teachers your findings, ask a few questions to get your teachers thinking. A couple of examples include:
Do you think your students knew what they were learning today and why it was important?
How are your students doing in applying/transferring their learning?
How do you know if your students are making progress in their learning?
Asking questions allows your teachers a chance to step back and think through their own practice. They can think through how they are delivering content, engaging their students, and setting up their students for success. And if the instruction or video conference is recorded, your teachers can refer back to concrete evidence of what exactly happened.
If (and when) you do have a post-observation conference, perhaps the teacher is so in tune with his/her own teaching the reflections would have been identical without recording the lesson. I'm guessing not though. I'm guessing this teacher would come prepared to show, not just talk about, what she noticed and what she would do differently.
As a former observer, this is the kind of self-reflection I would want my teachers to participate in, regardless if they are teaching in remotely or in-person. As a former teacher, I would want my observer to understand the effort and energy I’m putting in and support both my own well-being and my instruction. Powerful and targeted questions would allow me to self reflect and improve my practice while treating me like the professional I am.
Next week we will dive further into the research and discuss the Best Foot Forward project from Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research. Here's a little teaser to think about between now and then:
“The reflection that I did myself, when I videoed, offered me more opportunity for growth than anything an outsider could do for me. Watching my kids, what went on in my room, how I handled it, and things I said—that was more important than any sit-down that I could have with anybody [else]. ”
Best Foot Forward teacher, North Carolina (2013)1
1https://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/1._leveraging_video_for_learning.pdf