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| Lights, Camera, Action: Recording Teachers to Improve Instruction |
| posted by: Cindy Omlin | November 10, 2010, 06:36 PM |
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When my students would ask me why I became I teacher, I responded with the same explanation every time. "Isn't it obvious? I want to be an actress. Here in Los Angeles being a teacher is the best kind of acting because I hold a captive audience for an hour five times a day. I make you laugh in disbelief and cry in agony all by a simple statement like 'Pop quiz.'" (I know, I know I'm hilarious—don't worry folks, I'll be here all week.) But it's turning out that my little white lie isn't too far from the truth. With changes in how would-be teachers are being prepared for the classroom, it is looking like future teachers in at least 19 states will get face time in front of the camera before they are deemed ready for the ultimate goal—their own classroom and teacher certification. These assessment strategies require future teachers to be recorded while teaching in order to prove that they can "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk" when it comes to educating students. Pre-service teachers will also have other requirements which must be fulfilled, such as demonstrating aptitude in preparing a lesson, differentiating lessons according to students' academic readiness, and presenting lessons effectively. My mind is wondering about how teachers and future teachers feel about being recorded. None of the concerns that teachers have shared with me about professional development is the fact that so much of what they learn during workshops they take back to the classroom and wonder if they are implementing it correctly. It seems that recording teachers could be helpful in resolving this concern. Beyond the initial nervousness of having a camera record every move, I think that it's a great idea to be able to go back and watch myself in the action. Don't football coaches, teams, and analysts pick apart games play by play in order to see what is working and to improve what is weak? How would you feel about having a recording of yourself regularly to use as a guide for improvement? What about using it as a marker for judging a student teacher's readiness to enter the classroom? Originally posted by Jill at AAE blog.
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