Teacher reflection: why filming your practice is essential (Guest Post on IRIS Connect's Blog)25/3/2019
I recently wrote a guest blog post for IRIS Connect's blog on the importance of teacher reflection and the power of filming your lessons. Much of what I wrote was inspired by my own experiences and another blog I wrote entitled Why You Should Film Yourself Teaching which you can read here.
You can read this blog in its original form here on IRIS Connect's website but otherwise read on...
Have you ever filmed yourself teaching? It can be pretty nerve wracking before you do it for the first time. It can also be one of the most powerful experiences you can have in the quest to improve your teaching.
Put your ego aside and see the benefits Let’s be honest, many people out there will be apprehensive about the idea of filming their lessons… “I don’t like hearing my own voice”… “I’m sure I’ll look awkward on camera”… “The children will act differently and it will disrupt my lesson”…or… “I just haven’t got the time”. These are just some of the excuses I have heard for not filming one’s lessons; I’ve used some of them myself. But the simple fact is that watching your own lessons back is a means of stepping back from the hustle and bustle of daily classroom life. It is a way of taking a more objective look at what you are actually doing in your teaching and how your pupils are acting and reacting (even when you’re back is turned!). Once I got over seeing and hearing myself on camera – and that honestly only took about 5 minutes once I put my ego aside – I started to notice things in my classroom that I hadn’t managed to pick up in the thick of it all, or even reflecting on my lessons afterwards. I noticed verbal crutches that I was using, stock phrases that didn’t really mean much but had the potential to confuse or over complicate my instructions. I noticed that I favoured one side of the classroom over another. I noticed that my explanations were not as clear as they seemed in my own head. I noticed a lot that I had missed previously and now that I knew these things, I could do something about them! Pupils soon forgot about the cameras and the logistical extras of setting up the cameras proved more than worth the time and effort. Look to the research The UK teachers’ standards state that teachers should ‘reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches to teaching.’ Several academic researchers back this up, with Killeavy (2006: 168) arguing that ‘improvement of self and others is a fundamental expectation’ of effective teaching and learning in schools, whilst Lofthouse & Birmingham (2010:3) state that ‘a fundamental objective of student teachers’ professional learning is development of their ability to analyse and evaluate their own pedagogic practice’. Similarly, Runhaar & Sanders (2017) point out that it is important for teachers to actively pursue their continuing development and learning throughout their careers, whilst it is the responsibility of school leaders to help facilitate this. The question is, how do we do this? Now, if you’re reading this, the likelihood is that you are someone who values their own professional development and does reflect regularly on their lessons. In fact, I’d wager you’d all agree that it is impossible to be an effective teacher without doing this. I remember when I was first introduced to the teacher standards during my PGCE year and I kept coming back to one word: systematically. What did this look like in practice? What distinguishes ‘systematic’ reflections? For many trainees, this involves annotating lessons plans whilst for others (and not just trainee teachers) this may happen partly through a regular coaching schedule. Whilst these both may be useful means of reflection (and I am especially in favour of coaching), both are reliant on you as a teacher thinking about your lesson from your own perspective. Videoing oneself allows for the potential to view one’s own lesson ‘in the third person’, as an observer (still not impartial but much more separate). Beat the five year plateau According to Clotfelter, Ladd and Vigdor (2006), teachers improve and hone their craft up to the first five years of their career, at which point many plateau. What is less clear is the cause of this plateau. How can teachers avoid this? Harrison et al. (2005) suggest that teachers might consider adopting a reflective scaffold for their reflections, much in the same way that an experienced colleague or tutor may use a template to guide their feedback for trainee teachers. Teaching can be an all-consuming activity. Throughout lessons, teachers will be spinning many plates: explaining concepts, modelling skills, scaffolding tasks, promoting positive behaviour, supporting individuals, questioning to check for understanding and so much more. They will often be leading classes with 30+ students who all have a broad range of prior attainment. Personally, I find it useful to focus on individual aspects of my teaching when I am watching my lessons back, perhaps my questioning, quality of my explanations, positive behaviour management, or routines. In the middle of the whirlwind of a teacher’s day, finding the opportunity to take a step back and reflect is not easy. I have found filming my lessons a valuable opportunity that provides me with the space I need to more objectively look back at my lessons, away from the hustle and bustle of the lesson itself. It is an opportunity to identify strengths and areas of improvement. I could improve individual lessons, my approach to specific pupils and consider my wider pedagogy. I believe that the habits and attitudes that one develops in the early stages of one’s career need to be sustainable if they are to be continued as the realities of life kick in, especially in light of workload pressures. (I try to film at least one lesson every term. I haven’t always stuck to this but have always tried to catch up by filming in later terms when I’ve caught myself falling into this trap. Not ideal but better than nothing. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I’m always working on improving.) Ask yourself 'why not?' As I wrote earlier, one objection I often hear to the idea of filming my own lessons is that it can be daunting. Many people don’t like to hear recordings of their own voice, let alone see themselves on screen, and yes, at first it can be a little uncomfortable. Trying anything for the first time can often be. However, once I got over this fear I began to realise how useful this tool could be. I was lucky. I was required to film a lesson, watch it back alone and then watch it again with my PGCE tutor during my first year in the classroom. I didn’t have a choice: I was lucky. Not every teacher is that lucky. Not every teacher will have to film a lesson during their training years but what is holding us all back from taking ownership of this? Rather than ask why film yourself teaching, instead ask why not? Get over your apprehension and give it a go…and if you filmed a lesson earlier in your career and haven’t tried it in a while, why not give it a go again? See how far your teaching has come, see what you can learn about yourself, and maybe, if you’re feeling brave and kind, see what you could share with colleagues. While videoing one’s own performance is common place in other graduate professions, including medicine, it is still relatively uncommon in teaching. The reasons for this are not clear: perhaps it is a result of historic fears centering on observation culture or perhaps it is because of the financial pressures on schools (Buck, Tomlinson and Toop, 2015) which do not allow sufficient time for professional development or the purchase of the necessary camera equipment. However, it has never been easier to see inside another teacher’s classroom and observe fantastic practice, for example using Teach Like a Champion clips. As a profession, I would suggest that we need to embrace this move towards videoing our lessons: at first for ourselves but also for the good of our schools and colleagues. Autonomy, mastery and purpose In his book Drive, Dan Pink (2009) argues that motivation is determined by three factors: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Filming one’s own lessons has the potential to tick all of these boxes. In a world where teacher retention never seems to leave the education headlines, this seems to me to be too important to ignore. Teachers can be empowered to make change and have power over their own improvement; they have the opportunity to work towards being the best teacher possible; and their improvements should lead to better outcomes for pupils. Autonomy, mastery and purpose. Check. You can follow me on Twitter at: @educatingholmes and read my full blog on Why You Should Film Yourself Teaching here. I would also recommend taking a look at IRIS Connect’s own guide to enabling effective teacher reflection.
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Whether you’ve been teaching for twenty years or just repeating that same year twenty times makes a big difference to your development as a teacher. If you’ve continued to learn and develop each year for 5 years then you will be a better teacher than someone who has replicated that same year of teaching twenty times. As Dylan Wiliam said, ‘every teacher needs to improve, not because they’re not good enough but because they can be even better’. This is a maxim I strive to live by throughout my teaching and in leading others.
Since I stepped into the classroom, I have found filming my lessons a valuable opportunity to identify strengths and areas of improvement, if a little daunting at first. I could improve individual lessons, my approach to specific pupils and consider my wider pedagogy. I believe that the habits and attitudes that one develops in the early stages of one’s career need to be sustainable if they are to be continued as the realities of life kick in, especially in light of workload pressures (I try to film at least one lesson every term). This blog post is an attempt to highlight some relevant literature and summarise why I think videoing one’s own lessons can be an effective means of professional development.
Improving teaching through filming and reflecting on your lessons is hardly a new idea (Rodgers, 1987; Bennett, 2010). However, there is relatively little specific literature other than that commissioned by companies who sell video hardware and software themselves (such as IRIS Connect). Traditional models of teacher development which take place in blocks (such as INSET sessions once or twice a year) have limited evidence supporting their effectiveness (Hodkinson 2006). Using film, on the other hand, allows for the possibility of CPD being spread out with greater ease.
It is important for teachers to actively pursue their continuing development and learning throughout their careers whilst it is the responsibility of school leaders to help facilitate this. One ‘easy’ and effective means of doing this is through reflections on daily practice (Runhaar & Sanders 2017). According to Clotfelter, Ladd and Vigdor (2006) teachers improve and hone their craft up to the first five years of their career, at which point many plateau. What is less clear is the cause of this plateau. When considering how useful videoing your own lessons can be, the issue of feedback is key. To what extent can individuals evaluate their own instructional leadership and to what extent is there a need for external feedback? For me, the answer to these questions comes in two forms.
Killeavy argues that ‘improvement of self and others is a fundamental expectation’ of effective teaching and learning in schools (2006: 168); however, as we have seen, reflections on one’s own teaching can be limited by prior knowledge. If we don’t know what good teaching looks like, then how can we identify areas for improvement? To what extent can they effectively critique and improve their own performance? Are they sufficiently objective? To what extent does it depend on an individual’s self-awareness? It is well established that collaboration with colleagues is important to teacher development (Butler et al. 2004). It is also well established that teachers must be reflective practitioners if they are to be effective (Sammons et al. 2014). “A fundamental objective of student teachers’ professional learning is development of their ability to analyse and evaluate their own pedagogic practice” (Lofthouse & Birmingham 2010: 3). This would suggest that it might be better for teachers to work better, at least in the early stages, as they reflect on videos of their own teaching. Alternatively, Harrison et al. (2005) suggest that teachers might consider adopting a reflective practice scaffold for their reflections, much in the same way that an experienced colleague or tutor may use a template to guide their feedback for trainee teachers. This could help to guide their reflections and ensure a more useful reflective critique. In Practice Perfect, Lemov, Woolway & Yezi (2012) outline a series of rules that individuals should follow in order to isolate skills and systematically improve them through deliberate practice. Whilst many of these rules focus on deliberate practice with others and collaboratively improving performance, the principles remain sound for an individual reflecting on their own practice. Lemov et al. describe how video can be used by teachers to identify things that are going well in their performance and ‘invest in their own development’ (2012: 179). It is acknowledged that this is partly a strategy in place because senior leaders and managers cannot always be in lessons; they also point out that over time it normalises a culture of identifying and correcting errors, rather than hiding them away because there is no one else in the classroom. They describe a culture in which teachers set their own goals, with some guidance from managers, to focus on specific targets and hold themselves accountable. This is only possible because they have normalised such a culture of using video to improve performance. I would recommend every teacher read Practice Perfect in full, but there are a few rules outlined by the authors which I think are notable to highlight. They are:
While videoing one’s own performance is common place in other graduate professions, including medicine it is still relatively uncommon in teaching. The reasons for this are not clear: perhaps it is a result of historic fears centering on observation culture or perhaps it is because of the financial pressures on schools (Buck, Tomlinson and Toop, 2015) which do not allow sufficient time for professional development or the purchase of the necessary camera equipment. Since videoing one’s own lessons is still relatively rare, I would also suggest that many teachers are skeptical or would feel nervous about filming their own lessons (although this is more anecdotal than anything!).
In medicine, the use of video is increasingly used to train trainee doctors on procedures and help them review their performance (Spence et al., 2016). They use defined structures to help scaffold their reflections and research by Hawkins et al., (2012) suggests that this has improved performance and doctors’ self-awareness. One such structure was the introduction of benchmark performance indicators which helped students to more accurately assess their own performance and brought them in line with the assessments of their tutors. Whilst providing objective performance indicators, free from ideology, might prove problematic in education, this would be an avenue worthy of further exploration if video analysis and self-reflection were to be used systematically to improve instructional leadership. We require our medical professionals to review their performance to set targets to improve, yet the teaching profession largely lags behind. One of the central functions of leadership is to improve teaching and learning; however, leaders must make choices: it is not financially possible in most schools to pursue every avenue of potential improvement, therefore strategic decisions must be made as to which possibilities are pursued. Teachers’ time is financially valuable, whilst the capital investment in camera equipment is also a factor. If equipment is to be used, it must be available when staff need it, which then also raises the question of how much equipment to buy and what other purchases might not be possible if there is substantial expenditure in this area. Perhaps the greatest cost of filming lessons is time. Many schools will already have some equipment available with which to film lessons – iPads, cameras, even the webcam on a laptop – although there is also bespoke camera hardware and software available which will track a teacher as they move around the classroom and other solutions which provide more flexibility (personally, I’ve used IRIS Connect in the past but other companies such as Swivl appear to offer similar solutions). Whether schools buy in ready-made solutions or use existing technology already in school it is possible to develop a culture of reflection through video which can be a cost-effective addition to the teacher development armoury. In his book Drive, Dan Pink (2009) argues that motivation is determined by three factors: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Filming one’s own lessons has the potential to tick all of these boxes. Teachers can be empowered to make change and have power over their own improvement; they have the opportunity to work towards being the best teacher possible; and their improvements should lead to better outcomes for pupils. Autonomy, mastery and purpose. Check. On a whole school level, filming lessons presents opportunities for sharing good practice, regular coaching conversations, and systematic development of staff throughout the year. Video is not limited to the traditional INSET training or one off course that many traditional development opportunities provide but instead can provide a drip feed approach to working with staff on a group and/or individual level throughout the year. Furthermore, for the individual teacher, there is the opportunity to take ownership of one’s own targets and develop one’s self-awareness in the classroom. Perhaps the biggest challenge, for both the individual and for school level implementation is finding the time to watch footage back. How much footage would be manageable? How much would be useful? Is there a tipping point after which one might over analyse one’s performance? The answer to such questions is likely to differ between individual schools depending on their context and circumstances. So what are the challenges and why should we try filming our lessons anyway?
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*I originally created these posts for the micro-blogging education site Staffrm, which shut down mid-2017. I wanted to re-share these early forays into the blogging world but have not edited any of these posts from their original form. *
I’m a 2014 Teach First Ambassador and this year I will be stepping down from my role as Action Network chair in the East Midlands after two years. “What’s Action Network?” I hear you ask. Well, there is an Action Network within each of the regions in which TF works consisting of participants (still on the 2 year programme) and ambassadors (those who have completed it). The work of Action Network’s fall into 4 key areas:
Now, ‘community’ comes up a lot within Teach First and indeed it comes up a lot within education more widely. In this case, we consider ‘community’ in a wide sense, encompassing participants, ambassadors, mentors, tutors, staff, pupils, parents and schools (I’ve probably missed some out there!). During my two year tenure, we have focussed on two things: improving our means of gathering feedback and running events to improve wellbeing. In both of these cases we have centered our efforts on TF Participants but are increasingly working with Ambassadors too. We would love to work in even broader areas but as full time teachers who do this work on a voluntary basis, we are still growing our capacity to do this effectively so have focussed on the areas we can have the biggest impact in so far. In addition to this, representatives from ANs meet four times a year at the National Action Network to discuss and feedback on ideas within TF, plan projects and make suggestions for improvements. So what does the East Midlands Action Network (EMAN) do? Over the past two years we have been instrumental in setting up a zoning system to help with expenses for travelling to CPD, have held two teach meets, two weekends away to promote teacher well being, facilitated a buddying system for new teachers and fundraised to help address the NEET problem - one of the most prevalent in the East Mids. Coming out of EMAN, two of our reps have also set up The Broader View, which although I don’t have the space to discuss much here, I thoroughly recommend you check out. We’ve got lots more in the pipeline, including another weekend away and a policy event - exciting times. As Chair of EMAN, I have enjoyed taking a wider view of education policy. EMAN has enabled me to stay in touch and take part in discussions around how to improve TF and what can be done to tackle educational disadvantage, including the Challenge the Impossible campaign. Especially in the first couple of years of teaching, it can be easy to have tunnel vision. The classroom is all consuming and it can, frankly, become easy to be disillusioned with the state of education when the vigour and enthusiasm of Summer Institute seem distant on those dark December evenings. For me AN provides an outlet and allowed me to reconnect with why I joined TF, a reminder of what can be achieved. *I originally created these posts for the micro-blogging education site Staffrm, which shut down mid-2017. I wanted to re-share these early forays into the blogging world but have not edited any of these posts from their original form. *
If an animal could represent your teaching style, what would it be? As my NQT year, my second in the classroom and my final year as a Teach First participant, draws to a close, I am proud to say that last weekend I organised my first TeachMeet which was attended by just over 100 teachers. I have been lucky enough to attend a range of professional development opportunities over the last couple of years including ResearchEd’s national conference, the Festival of Education and a few TeachMeets along the way (plus many other great opportunities). I am a voracious reader of blogs (helped out by Feedly and Pocket along the way) and have benefited from a number of books, especially during my NQT year. I have taken what I can and learnt more than I can put into words from the educational community - something I intend to continue doing for many years to come. I have been inspired by events I have attended and the things that I have read, which is why I began to put the wheels in motion which led to our TeachMeet. We can learn a great deal from our colleagues and, whilst opportunities to watch one another in the classroom seem increasingly difficult to organise amongst the pressures of the day to day job, the chance to discuss our pedagogy and andragogy, sharing the best parts of our practise, seem invaluable to me. The inaugural East Midlands Teach First Action Network Team Meet (#EMTM) was a great success led and delivered by teachers in the first few years of their careers. An event dominated by NQTs and those coming to the end of their PGCE year. An event where those who are still learning share that they know with others who are still learning. An event we can all learn from. Ok, so we didn’t trend on Twitter, there was no raffle or prizes to be won. But it was great to hear the conversations started as a result of the presentations and the appetite for future events. So here’s to many more to come. Many thanks to all the speakers and attendees who made it a special night:
*I originally created these posts for the micro-blogging education site Staffrm, which shut down mid-2017. I wanted to re-share these early forays into the blogging world but have not edited any of these posts from their original form. *
As part of the Teach First programme we are encouraged to take part in a Summer Project. It was here that I first heard about LRTT – Limited Resources Teacher Training (http://lrtt.org/) – an organisation dedicated to sustainable teacher training in disadvantaged countries across the world. I’ve always enjoyed travel and working abroad and liked LRTT’s message. Thankfully I was lucky enough to be accepted as one of their fellows so this summer I’ll be spending three and a half weeks with a group of likeminded teachers in Guyana. I’ve only been in the profession a year (actually a little less – but I’ll have completed my first year in the baptism of fire that is a training teacher by the time I jet off to Guyana) so am still pretty fresh – a status that has benefits (read the usual proclamations about youth and enthusiasm) and drawbacks (read relative inexperience). Throughout my first year teaching though I’ve learnt more than I could have imagined. Looking back at the start of the year I wonder what on earth I was doing, and am sure I’ll do the same again in another 12 months. With any luck I can share some of the nuggets I’ve learnt this year to make other teacher’s practise that little bit better whilst learning a few gems myself. Teacher training is normally the purview of older, more experienced staff in the education community so the opportunity to be involved at this early stage in my career is exciting! We’re privileged to have strong Initial Teacher Training programmes here in the UK, and yes I know they’re not perfect (an issue which is well addressed by Debra Kidd in her book Notes from the Front Line – a book I am yet to read but have read some fascinating extracts from), but it’s a better offer than a lot of other countries across the world. My own PGCE is (or more specifically, will come from) the University of Nottingham, some of my teaching education was delivered through Teach First, much of it through CPD at my own school and I continue to learn through twitter, blogs and the Staffrm. Next year I intend to embark on a Masters course to further my own practice. However, the overwhelming majority of teachers in countries such as Guyana are not nearly so lucky, hence the need for improved teacher training programmes. We’ll be giving up the large majority of our much vaunted and hallowed six weeks ‘off’ to try and do our bit to improve education globally. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as though it’s a completely selfless act – we get to visit a fascinating new country on an exotic continent, go on some incredible trips and, hopefully, have a great time doing it. We know we’re not going in with some kind of magic wand but if we can do something to help improve the educational opportunities that are provided then surely we’re doing something worthwhile. Joining me as part of the group will be another teacher from my school, Anna Daubney, who is in her RQT year. If you would like to contribute to the cost of the programme for us to travel to Guyana then Anna and I have set up a fundraising page at: [LINK REMOVED, NO LONGER ACTIVE]. Now, how does that old saying go? ‘Teach a man to fish…’ |
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