I often coach teachers as part of collaboratively developed Quality Improvement Process Plans designed to help them improve outcomes for the students with disabilities in their classrooms.  Together, we learn about evidence-based instructional practices that have been proven to be effective with struggling students, and then the teachers and I agree on strategies they would like to try to implement.  I observe in their classrooms as they try out these new strategies, give them feedback about what I see them doing, and then we engage in dialogues about what went well and what could be improved.  I have always felt that this was a productive experience that helped teachers improve their craft, and the teachers I work with have reported that they feel the same.

Then I read Jim Knight’s book, Focus on Teaching: Using Video for High-Impact Instruction and it started me thinking.  It did not make me question the effectiveness of this coaching model but it validated some concerns I had about it.  Knight talks about factors that affect the clarity and accuracy of both teachers’ reflections and coaches’ observations of a lesson, suggesting that they often do not have a clear image of what the teaching really looked like during a lesson. I had often thought about three of these factors. One, classrooms are busy places and teaching consists of multiple and fleeting decisions and actions. It is challenging to accurately observe and recall all that happens.  Two, both teachers and coaches have set habits and expectations that can affect the way they think about an observed event.  Three, all people experience “confirmation bias”; that is, in the face of lots of incoming data, people focus on those pieces of data that confirm what they believe to be true and often ignore those that conflict with pre-existing beliefs.

Knight makes the point that a video of a lesson allows teachers and coaches to share a much clearer and accurate image of the teaching and reduce the effect of these factors.  Perhaps most important, the video allows teachers and coaches to see a full circle view of the classroom and focus not only on how the teacher taught but also on how and when the students learned.  It allows them to capture fleeting actions and preserve them for deeper and more accurate observation. Because all data can be reviewed multiple times in a video, it also reduces the effect of confirmation bias.

As Jim Knight states, “. . . video is a powerful tool for growth and professional learning.”  So I decided to introduce this idea to the teachers with whom I work.  Can you can imagine how that went?  All the teachers agreed that video had potential to provide tremendous professional growth…in theory, but none of them was ready to try it in their classroom.  One teacher still breaks out in hives every time we talk about it!

Knight addressed this issue in his book.  He gives specific guidelines for creating the safety and trust needed for video to be an effective support for teachers.  These include ensuring psychologically safe environments where conversations are respectful and no one is humiliated; establishing boundaries that make it very clear that the video belongs to the person recorded, who decides if and how it can shared; and walking the talk by showing that you are willing to be videotaped and to share reflections on your own teaching with them.

The process of viewing and reflecting on a video must be carefully crafted as well to ensure it incorporates not just teacher accountability for improving practice but also teacher autonomy.  After viewing the lesson video, teachers should be given a choice on what they would like to improve or change.  When teachers are included in the planning and implementation process they are more invested in improving their craft.

So I spent a year at one school building trust, developing a culture of professional respect, and collaboratively working with teachers to create a viewing process based on some tools in Jim Knight’s book. We started by just videotaping the students during the lesson; teachers learned a tremendous amount from observing students’ reactions to their lessons and were more comfortable with the process when they were not “on screen”. I also handed each teacher their video when we were done with it so they knew it wouldn’t be used for any other purpose.  This year, teachers are ready to be videotaped themselves and to watch and reflect on them with their peers.

Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard researcher, labeled video as “disruptive technology” that can transform the educational observation and professional learning process.   As coaches develop trusting relationships and communicate the expectation for all staff to be committed to improving their practices so that students achieve the best outcomes possible, video will be a power tool to help accomplish this.

Watch for a Bright Spot in this newsletter later this year — I know the impact of this on student outcomes will be huge!

Resources

Knight, J. (2014). Focus on teaching: Using video for high-impact instruction. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

Knight, J (May, 2014). What you learn…When you see yourself teach. Educational Leadership.