Report: Teacher-Controlled Video Observations Improve Teacher Assessment Process
Teachers who participated in a year-long study comparing video-recorded and
in-person classroom observations found the video observation process fairer and
more useful overall than in-person observations, according to a new report from
the Center for Education Policy Research
(CEPR) at Harvard University.
The report, "The
Best Foot Forward Project: Substituting Teacher-Collected Video for In-Person
Classroom Observations," summarizes the findings of the first year of
implementation of the Best Food Forward Project. The researchers studied 347
teachers and 108 administrators at schools in Delaware, Georgia, Colorado and
California. Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment or control
group. Those in the treatment group received a video camera and access to a
secure site to store and view recorded lessons, and those in the control
group continued to use in-person classroom observations.
Initially, teachers in the video group were reluctant to record themselves
in the classroom but acquiesced when they were given the option of controlling
the camera and choosing which lessons would be submitted for review. At the
conclusion of the first year, the researchers found that allowing teachers to
control the video observation process did not affect administrators' ability to
identify stronger or weaker teachers because "teachers who were stronger (or
weaker) in their submitted lessons also tended to be stronger (or weaker) in
the lessons they chose not to submit."
Giving teachers control over the video observation process resulted in
numerous benefits for both the teachers and the administrators, according to
the report. For the teachers, it increased their perception of fairness and
made them more self-critical of their classroom instruction. For the
administrators, it enabled them to shift their observation work to quieter
times of the day or week and resulted in reduced teacher defensiveness during
post-observation conferences.
Other key findings from the report:
- Teachers in the video group collected an average of 13 videos of their
own lessons, even though they were only required to collect five
videos;
- Teachers in the video group rated themselves lower than those in the
in-person observation group, particularly in the areas of time management
and ability to assess student mastery during class;
- Teachers in the video group reported they felt their supervisors were more supportive
and the observation process fairer;
- Administrators in the video group spent more time on observations and
less time on paperwork than those conducting in-person observations;
and
- Although teachers had control over which videos they submitted for
observations, administrators in the video group were still able to identify
which teachers were struggling.
The researchers have released a freely available toolkit to help teachers
and administrators who are interested in piloting video observations. The kit
includes "advice and a suite of resources for leveraging video technology for
teacher development, choosing the right technology for the classroom, and
protecting the privacy of students and teachers," according to information from
CEPR.
The Best Foot
Forward Project report and the Best Foot Forward
Video Observation Toolkit can be found on the CEPR site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].