Visibly Better
Visibly Better: Unlock the power of video to enhance teaching
Our goal is to help educators use video as a tool to continuously improve instruction and observational feedback in K–12 classrooms.
Visibly Better is more than a website. It’s a movement with the potential to change education through video.
The Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University designed Visibly Better to share the transformative power of video in the classroom. The initiative was inspired by the way educators positively embraced the use of video while participating in CEPR research projects like Best Foot Forward Project, National Center for Teacher Effectiveness, and MQI Coaching. Our studies show that video-based observation and feedback cycles can improve the quality of instructional feedback, grow stakeholders' satisfaction with the process, and lead to measurable changes in instructional practice. Given these findings, we are excited to share our findings and expertise, and more importantly, the experience of teachers and coaches in the field using video to support instructional growth.
In November 2017, we brought educators from across the country together for the first Visibly Better working meeting on the Harvard University campus. Teachers, instructional coaches, principals, superintendents, and educational technology vendors gathered to created a vision for the future around the use of video for professional learning. We identified challenges, brainstormed solutions, and collaborated across contexts—establishing a foundation for the Visibly Better movement. An advisory board of practitioners continues to inform and influence the work of Visibly Better.
We know that using video in the classroom to is a powerful tool to continuously improve instruction and seek to make it a standard of practice in U.S. education. Help us in raising awareness, inciting conversations, and removing barriers associated with its use.
Educators deserve better feedback and that better feedback is possible through video. Join us.
Opportunities to Use Video for Continuous Improvement
When the teacher is really able to reflect on their own work, that’s even more valuable than external evaluation.
Building Trust
Video is an empowering teaching tool. To make the most of it, leaders must cultivate trust for both teachers and students so that everyone feels safe and comfortable. Explore resources for building trust below.
Building Trust Infographic
This guide outlines practical steps for building teacher trust and confidence when introducing video as a tool for professional growth and collaboration.
Insight Education Video Coaching Infographic
This infographic illustrates educators’ growing support for classroom video as a powerful tool to enhance feedback, fairness, and professional growth.
Learning within the Video Study Group
This guide outlines how teachers can use video, feedback protocols, and collaborative inquiry cycles to strengthen practice and foster student agency.
Get Better Faster Scope & Sequence
This resource provides a step-by-step roadmap of action steps to help teachers rapidly strengthen classroom management, instructional rigor, and student engagement.
Video Study Group Meeting Agenda
This agenda outlines a structured process for peer video study groups, guiding teachers to reflect, share feedback, and plan next steps for instructional growth.
Giving Effective Feedback Conversation Script
This guide offers a structured approach to feedback that helps teachers build on strengths, address challenges, and refine instruction through purposeful practice.
Reflection & Response Guidelines
Discover how purposeful self-reflection on your teaching—using guiding questions and “look-fors”—can help you grow as a reflective practitioner and strengthen your classroom instruction.
Best Foot Forward: Video Club Start-Up Guide
Getting Started
Video is a transformative way to deliver better feedback to teachers, leading to more productive, constructive professional development. Get started today.
Video can enable teachers to deepen their self-reflection, exchange support among peers, and establish a transparent foundation for observation. The physical frame of reference provides a common starting point upon which feedback conversations and protocols can build, making coaching conversations more collaborative and less adversarial.
Plus, research has found that teachers are more satisfied with classroom observations—and think that their evaluation seems more fair—when video is used.
Explore resources below for getting started.
Visibly Better Important Considerations
This resource summarizes best practices for building trust, ensuring privacy, and creating sustainable systems for effective video-based feedback and professional learning.
Using video to coach new teachers
Incorporating video helps speed up the learning curve for novice teachers.
Lights, Camera, Action: 3 Video Coaching Ideas You Can Implement Next Week
You’re excited to implement video observation in your school or district. But how will it fit within your school or district’s professional development plan?
Shoot, I Did It Again: 3 More Ways to Implement Video in Professional Learning
More and more schools and organizations are wanting to integrate video as a professional learning tool for teachers. But once you’ve got the recording device, what do you do?
Principles for Using Classroom Video in Performance Assessment of Teacher Candidates
These principles provide a framework for using classroom video ethically and effectively in teacher candidate performance assessments, balancing growth, accountability, and student privacy.
A game changer: Using video to achieve high performance in the classroom
This paper outlines how classroom video can transform teacher feedback, collaboration, and professional growth, offering leaders a practical playbook for implementation.
Participant Video Review Process
This resource guides teachers through using classroom video to reflect on growth in formative assessment and its impact on students’ learning and classroom culture.
Teacher Video Pilot Success Survey
Assess Your Video Observation Readiness Checklist
Frameworks for Feedback
Clear and actionable feedback is essential for continuous improvement and professional learning. Tools like video help, because video is collaborative—it provides evidence and documentation that observers and teachers can see together.
Our Best Foot Forward research revealed many benefits of video evaluation when substituted for live observation as part of both formal evaluation and informal feedback processes. Both administrators and teachers reported that video observations resulted in fairer, less adversarial conversations. Principals spent more time interacting with teachers around instruction and less time on paperwork. Plus, after this type of feedback, teachers were more likely to identify a specific change in their practice.
To get the most benefit from video, it’s important to establish feedback frameworks. Explore resources below for structuring frameworks for feedback.
Teacher Rounds: A Video-Based Process for Professional Learning
This resource outlines how Teacher Rounds use video, observation, and collaborative inquiry to foster continuous professional learning and instructional improvement.
Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES): Process and Guidelines
This resource maps out the TPLES process, showing how reflection, observation, and conferences guide teacher growth and effectiveness across the school year.
Instructional Feedback Guidebook: Strategies for Coaches and Administrators
This guidebook equips coaches and administrators with strategies to deliver effective, motivating feedback and foster a growth-centered feedback culture.
Post-Observation Conferencing Protocol
This protocol guides teachers and observers through evidence-based post-observation conferences that identify strengths, growth areas, and clear next steps for instructional improvement.
Observation Cycle Record Checklist
This checklist supports reflection and feedback on observation cycle records, ensuring strengths, growth areas, and next steps are clearly documented and actionable.
Student Agency in Learning (SAIL): Professional Learning Design Principles
This framework highlights collaborative inquiry, continuous improvement, and learning from students as essential design principles for strengthening teacher and student agency.
Standards of Effective Instruction (SOEI) Coaching Rubric
This rubric-based framework outlines clear standards across planning, instruction, environment, and professional practice to guide and assess effective teaching.
Observation Cycle Record and Post-Conference Quality Rubric
This rubric helps coaches and teachers evaluate and improve post-conference conversations and observation records to ensure they lead to evidence-based reflection and actionable next steps.
Video Analysis Template
This template supports structured reflection on classroom video by linking teaching practices to student agency and formative assessment continua.
Peer Feedback and Self-Assessment
This guide provides tools and continua to support students in developing effective peer feedback and self-assessment practices that foster agency and deeper learning.
A Guide for Providing Feedback
This guide helps mentors provide purposeful, reflective, and actionable feedback that supports teacher candidates’ growth and effectiveness.
Video Study Group Meeting Agenda
This agenda outlines a structured process for peer video study groups, guiding teachers to reflect, share feedback, and plan next steps for instructional growth.
Privacy and Consent
Video is a powerful classroom tool for practitioners. And when you are clear about how it will be used, you can more easily build consent. At its best, the privacy and consent process is a chance to foster trust and collaboration.
A successful process benefits everyone: Teachers have a new professional learning tool, which then benefits students and parents.
Providing stakeholders with clear, detailed information about implementing video learning can instill a sense of ownership, support, and inclusion.
You’re all working toward the same goal: an even better classroom experience.
Remember: Everyone’s consent process is different. Explore resources below for establishing privacy and consent.
Example Video Captures of Professional Practices (Shelby County Schools Policy)
This policy defines how classroom and professional practice videos are created, used, and protected in Shelby County Schools to support educator growth while safeguarding privacy and confidentiality.
Cooperating Teachers: What You Need to Know about Privacy and Classroom Video Recordings for Teacher Preparation
This resource guides cooperating teachers in supporting video use for teacher preparation while safeguarding student and educator privacy.
Policymakers: What You Need to Know about Privacy and Classroom Video Recordings for Teacher Preparation
This guide helps policymakers balance the use of classroom video for teacher licensure with strong safeguards for student and educator privacy.
PK-12 Administrators: What You Need to Know about Privacy and Classroom Video Recordings for Teacher Preparation
This resource equips PK–12 administrators with guidance to support teacher preparation video use while ensuring strong protections for student and educator privacy.
National Education Leaders: What You Need to Know about Privacy and Classroom Video Recordings for Teacher Preparation
This resource guides education leaders on balancing the benefits of classroom video for teacher preparation with strong protections for student and educator privacy.
Education Prep Programs: What You Need to Know about Privacy and Classroom Video Recordings for Teacher Preparation
This resource outlines privacy principles and best practices for using classroom video in teacher preparation while ensuring student and educator protections.
Student Media Release Form: Opt-Out
Student Media Release Form (Opt-In)
Student Privacy: What Parents Need to Know about Video
Common Questions Around Privacy and Video Use: Parents
Sample Teacher Consent Form
Video Privacy Questions: A Timeline
Technology and Infrastructure
Video is a powerful instructional tool, but you need the right technology to maximize its potential. Don’t be overwhelmed: You can implement video in the classroom with just a smartphone or tablet.
Before diving into your tech options, it’s important to lay the right groundwork
Visit our resources for Building Trust within your community and establishing a Privacy and Consent process before starting.
This way, you’ll ensure that your goals and strategic priorities for video observation align with whatever technology you choose.
Remember: The quality of instruction matters more than the quality of video, so don’t let tech considerations hold you back. Explore resources for setting up technology and infrastructure below.
How to Talk to Technology Vendors: A Guide for Education Leaders
Sample Support Structure
Infrastructure Checklist for Launch
Viewing Platform Vendor List
Audio Design: Microphones for the Classroom
Choose the Right Camera
Educator Testimonials
Cinnamon Garner
Middle School Teacher, English Language Arts
Thompson School District
Loveland, CO
As a professional teacher, Cinnamon has independently used video to critically reflect on her own instruction and improve the quality of feedback she is able apply to her classroom practice. Cinnamon has identified video coaching a way of collaborating across classrooms and gather feedback from colleagues who are able to provide valuable content-specific feedback.
Did you see a difference in your instruction after reviewing the classroom video?
Cinnamon: It's really hard as a classroom teacher to make all those decisions that you're making in the moment and still attend to everything that's going on in your room. And so there are things even as an experienced teacher that you miss. So it was nice to have the videotape to kind of see those moments. It's also nice to be able to say, “Oh hey I'm really interested, I just learned X at a PD or something I'm really interested in looking at that.” Then you can go back and watch your video and say, “Huh, am I doing that? To what level am I doing that?”, and kind of evaluate your own work which I think is more valuable than getting external feedback when the teacher is really able to reflect on their own work and say this is where I'm at and this is where I'd like to be and then I think that's even more valuable than the external evaluation piece.
Ashleigh Collins
Director of Content &
Assistant Professor
Relay Graduate School of Education
Ashleigh was a 2005 Las Vegas corps member and taught first grade in her placement school. After the corps, Ashleigh relocated to Washington, D.C. and researched factors affecting child achievement (including parenting and out-of-school time programs and early education supports) at the independent research organization, Child Trends. She has several publications on topics ranging from out-of-school time best practices, fatherhood programs, and early child temperament. Ashleigh has taught college students (4 years & counting), early elementary students (5 years), and served in various capacities at Teach for America Institute (9 years). She also earned her Ph.D. in early childhood education from New York University, and currently serves as Relay’s Director of Content. When Ashleigh is not busy with work, she can be found soaking in time with loved ones, watching a food/fashion/dancing competition or mystery on TV, or doing some YouTube yoga.
Video Transcript
How can video be used for reflection in teacher training?
Ashleigh: So Relay uses video a lot. And in short, and it's always great to hear new innovative ideas of how others are using and implementing it. But we tend to use it with teacher preparation which looks like they're reading theories of educational approaches. They get embedded videos that show what they look like in practice in addition to just reading about them. Then they come into class and we'll show videos where the professors are kind of annotating. This is what's happening, this is how it's being implemented. We might ask them questions related to that as well. And then they also have assessments where they have to demonstrate their proficiency and using that strategy in their classroom. So they are videoing themselves doing that with their actual students. There are occasions where we do peer review so they can do videos that aren't for evaluative purposes, but they're just sharing it with their peer to get feedback. and then the professors also used video. We tend to use video to evaluate our own practice so our colleagues and I will look at each other's video and say oh this was a strong approach or moment. Here's how it can be better. So the same things that we're asking our graduate students to do. We do the same.
I think one is that we can empathize with the graduate students. When I first got there, I didn't come from a teaching background where we got lots of feedback. So when folks say that we use video to get feedback I'm like wow that would have been great. Also, we didn't have very many administrators that are coming in saying why don't you try this to get better. So the fact that I have anyone, let alone my colleagues who actually know and can empathize because they're doing a similar experience, watching video and giving feedback is really helpful.
So as assistant professor and even as a director of content when we're thinking about preparing teachers we're also recording ourselves because we want to make sure that what the instruction we give them is just as strong as the instruction we're asking them to give their K12 students.
Jennifer Glynn
Fourth-Grade Teacher, <>Match Community Day Public Charter School
Co-Founder, DIY Coaching
James Likis
High School Teacher, Boston Public Schools
Co-Founder, DIY Coaching
Jennifer and James are co-leaders of the DIY Coaching program in Boston, an organization which creates a working community of teachers who are committed to improving their own practice through video and reflection. DIY Coaching empowers teachers by providing the resources, technology, and knowledge needed to deepen an awareness around high quality instruction.
Video Transcript
How can educators use video to improve instruction?
Jennifer: I think when we think about video, it certainly can be used as an evaluation tool. But in our perspective, it's more seen as a teacher growth and development tool. And because it is, it does have that distinction as being something where teachers are identifying their own strengths their own areas of improvement. There's this incredibly high level of buy-in where teachers feel committed and compelled to participate in it.
James: When you have that happening, people are going to do better in an evaluative sense, but really we're using video as a tool, and the teachers are using video as a tool, to move their instruction forward so that they can make a greater impact on students.
I think the beauty of video captures reality. So as you're trying to move your practice, reality is changing because your actual practice is changing. So it's a tool that no matter what point you're at in your professional development, there's always an area of growth to come up. But it's actually positioning it in a way as a tool, providing you the opportunity to actually see that.
Teachers in classrooms are making literally hundreds and thousands of decisions every single class period. So when you're sitting there thinking about "how do I move my instruction forward," A) Nobody remembers things exactly as they happen, B) You're really not going to remember everything that happened if you were making a thousand decisions in 60 minutes. So it's providing you that opportunity to actually step back, not have to worry about decisions, not have to worry about classroom management, not have to worry about the question you're going to ask a student, and just really dig into what your practice is.
Paul Hegre
Quality Compensation Official
Minneapolis Public Schools
Minneapolis, MN
Paul Hegre started his career in education as a middle school math teacher in Seward, MN. After receiving his M.Ed. in teacher leadership from the University of Minnesota in 2005, Paul went on to carry various roles within the Minneapolis Public School system, responsible for developing, training and supporting teacher quality and growth. In his current role as Q Comp, Paul has been able to use his own experience as a teacher to design tools which use video as an innovative means of improving teacher practice and driving student achievement.
What kind of professional development supports teacher growth?
Paul: I taught for 14 years in the public school and never was observed the whole time. The principal said, "Oh you're a good teacher." It's like how do you know? Do I not get complaints? Or what is the, what is the standard upon which you say that?
Having good solid, individualized, aligned, targeted PD for teachers is critical, and often in our system we have something called a professional development plan or IGP, which is common language, where I am charged as a professional to develop my own plan. And to some extent, I don't know what I should learn. Sometimes we don't know what we don't know. Having an evaluation model and a good set of teaching standards and evidence-based feedback protocols so that when we have the conversation, it's based on evidence collected from my room that I need and want to know that I might not know as a teacher because I'm teaching.
That if we can target professional development to that even if it's optional, like here are some areas that on our effectiveness rubric, consent standards are not proficient or exemplary, here are some offerings of PD or a coach that we can we can work with.
Kathryn Procope
Head of School
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science
Washington, DC
Kathryn Procope has been a school administrator for 13 years. In 2016, she was named named a State Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and is currently the Head of School at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.
How can video change the observation and self-reflection process for teachers?
Kathryn: One of my experienced teachers he's been teaching for over 20 years. And he came and he sat down and we were reviewing his video and he got this really pained look on his face and I said, "What's the matter?" And he said, "I didn't realize I talked that much." And I smiled to myself because I said, "I did." But I was really happy that he saw it. He said, "I don't even give the kids a chance to answer." I said, "Well let's just take this a little at a time. What are we going to work on?" And we've been working on his wait time and his not being the center of the classroom. And we recently looked at the video and I didn't say anything and he said, "I'm getting better." And he was. And so I think that was a lot. I have been giving him this feedback for a year, and there was no change and it didn't change until he saw it himself. And so that was a validation for me as to how important this is.
Matthew Murphy
Superintendent
Ramsey Public Schools
Ramsey, NJ
Dr. Murphy has been Superintendent of the Ramsey Public Schools since 2012. Before that he served as the Chief School Administrator in the River Vale Public Schools. Prior to becoming a Superintendent, he served as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Director of Elementary Education, and Principal in the Westwood Regional School District. He began his career in Wyckoff, New Jersey as a teacher, a building-based technology coordinator, and a Vice Principal. Dr. Murphy is also an adjunct professor at Ramapo College where he teaches in the Educational Leadership program which emphasizes the role a leader has in curriculum and supervision.
Dr. Murphy earned his Doctorate and Professional Diploma from Fordham University. He earned a Master's of Science/Technology in Education from Long Island University and a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Rhode Island.
Video Transcript
What should district leaders consider before implementing video observations in schools?
Matthew: Understand the "why" first. So, it's really not about the video, it's not about the platform. It's about what you eventually want to produce in your students. So they need to lock that down first, and the video is just a tool to help get our school system to produce a Ramsey's student well. I think sometimes people use video as a savior like they use technology: "Oh if we only had X device we would improve achievement." Well that's really not the case. So when I am working with superintendents I often ask them what is your final outcome. And then let's use video to help you get there. As compared to let's just use video because it's a cool thing to do.
Yeah, the why for us as a Ramsey student will we have 10 dispositions and skills and understandings that we want our students to be able to do when they graduate. We're one-to-one district but we didn't go to one to one until we identified what we want to a graduate of Ramsey to be able to do. And then video and our are one-to-one devices are just tools to help us get there along with other aspects of coaching and professional development.
I have two teenagers. They're in middle school and high school. And I see what they're being asked to do. And I know that disconnect between what we schools think they need to have to be successful and what the real world really needs our young people to be able to do. Which is to be able to collaborate, be creative, to communicate. And those are the types of things that I bring to the table, and I think a video can actually help us prove the practice to get us to those outcomes. So right now I take it personally that there is a big disconnect between what our schools are doing and what our children are or young adults are going to be asked to do for the rest of their lives.
Diane Lauer
Assistant Superintendent of Priority Programs and Academic Support
St. Vrain Valley School District
Longmont, CO
Diane provides professional development oversight through new teacher induction programs, curriculum implementation support, and the integration high-yield instructional strategies for diverse learners. In her district role, she oversees federal programs (Title I, II, III, and IV), including special education and early childhood education, and works to ensure success for at-risk student populations.
Video Transcript
What are the barriers to changing the culture around video use in school?
Diane: I will say that initially I probably paid much more attention to some of the technical challenges. You know I was concerned with how do we get a platform to make this easily accessible, password protected. How are we going to upload the videos? How are we going to teach people to use their microphones and technology and what I wasn't really extraordinarily mindful of were some of the adaptive challenges and that first kind of presented itself with my own staff. My staff didn’t use videotape for themselves when they were teaching. So as professional developers, when they were going out there coaching with teachers, we first started looking at technology as this way to make things more efficient, and a way to bring people together across distance, and you know confusing schedules.
And what I realized at that point was that we hadn't really understood the power of video for itself and it's transformational nature. We were just looking at it as kind of something in addition to, we didn't see how it we didn't really see how it added. And it wasn't until things started to happen for my coaches because of the video that wouldn't have happened without the video that they started to really understand its value and not see it as additional time or something we don't need.
Sometimes it takes a long time for us to see the markings of our growth. We have to have that passage of time. And video is a great way of documenting your own growth. And that's not really the reason for it, you don't do that for that purpose, but it's a great way to be able to go back and to see yourself. There's not a lot of opportunities to really have that level of concreteness when we reflect on ourselves. We may go back and we may look at our lessons from a year ago when we taught that same unit. We might look at student work and say, “Wow, my students are writing a lot better at this time of year. They weren't last year,” but to think about your instructional moves, what did I do to make that happen. That's the question that teachers are asking.
Jeff Broome
Principal
Tumwater High School
Tumwater, WA
Jeff has been a high school administrator for 11 years and is in his sixth year as the principal of Tumwater High School, a suburban school in Turnwater, WA with about 1200 students. Jeff is a graduate of the Improving Schools: The Art of Leadership program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is currently a doctoral student in the University of Washington’s Leadership for Learning program. Jeff has used video as a tool for reflection and observation for the last three years.
Video Transcript
What should principals consider before implementing video observations in schools?
Jeff: I was shocked as I left the classroom to become a principal of just the amazing things that go on in classrooms and the varied nature of the way that teachers approach it. And I loved being in classrooms. And I always wondered how can I create a space and a process for teachers to have a similar experience. Because I learn something every single time I'm in a classroom.
If I'm as a principal not able to give you the feedback you need to grow. What tools could we explore for your growth? And I think that's the other part the principal really needs to do is make sure that they're modeling that. So I was attached to an Iris Connect system during our staff meetings to model that I too am getting reflective about the work I'm doing in front of others.
I think you know with any staff I think there's some early adopters who are really excited about it. And were called the pioneers in our building. So those pioneers were all for it but then I think it really just took the trust and patience on my part. Patience is not necessarily a strength that I feel like I have. But just really stepping back and saying how do we want to make this sustainable and meaningful? And also being real with folks saying you know if you're not happy with the current level of professional development you're getting, and the amount of feedback you're getting... Could this be a tool to help improve your experience and grow you as an educator? And so those kinds of conversations over several year period has created its own momentum. And now you know we have a larger percentage of folks using it.
I would say, do your legwork and figure out the technology solutions early. Additionally, start with the willing folks. Start with the folks who are interested in getting started and have low expectations. I don't mean that in a bad way. But I mean like make a really low floor for folks and definitely use the tool as a tool for self reflection before you jump into any of the legalities with observation or evaluation or even peer observation. So really using it as a self reflective tool for folks just to get their feet wet in the process. And then have fun with it. And just like with any change movement you have to sell, sell, sell. And so like really celebrate your wins and put a lot and reward and speak highly of your teacher-leaders who are helping implement this.
Elizabeth “Buffy” Bondy
Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
University of Florida
Ester de Jong
Director; Professor, ESOL/Bilingual Education
School of Teaching and Learning
University of Florida
Dr. Elizabeth (Buffy) Bondy has been on the faculty in the School of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education since 1989 and served for six years as the School’s director. She focuses on elementary education and preservice and inservice teacher professional development in low-income communities of color. Dr. Bondy explores the use of critical social justice perspectives to transform beliefs, practices, and structures that historically have advantaged some groups of students and disadvantaged others. Winner of UF’s 2017 Dissertation Advisor and Mentoring Award, Dr. Bondy works extensively with Ph.D. and Ed.D. students who wish to lead social justice praxis in U.S. and international settings.
Ester J. de Jong is a Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning. She teaches courses in bilingual and bicultural education and in curriculum, methods, and assessment for English speakers of other languages. Her research interests include two-way bilingual education and other integrated models for language minority schooling, educational language policy, and teacher preparation for bilingual students.
Video Transcript
How might incorporating video observation change teacher preparation and/or professional development?
Buffy: Teachers are intellectuals. They're not technicians though they are often treated as if they are. And we want to encourage them throughout their teacher preparation program and into their career to see themselves as people who are capable of generating knowledge and not only having to be on the receiving end of someone telling them what they need to do, what they should fix. So it seems to me that video is just a natural outgrowth of that. We try to encourage our students from the first semester they're with us to to wonder and wonder aloud about teaching and about learning about the impact that a particular practice may have on learners. So adding video into the mix is simply concretizes that a little bit more. And it feels like a very natural and normal step for folks who were trying to socialize to think of themselves as professionals who generate knowledge and continually raise questions about their own practice and its impact.
Ester: I think it's good to start with what’s effective professional development for teachers. I think one of the reasons why you may get the check the box is because it's put down as a mandate to teachers. And it's not always relevant to them personally and/or their classroom and where they're at. So I think that one of those reasons why you get the check the box using video in a way that can be self-directed professional development I think is a huge shift where you actually treat the teachers as lifelong learners and professionals and the professional learning connects with them. So I think that's more of a shift to me that we kind of need to see if maybe we moved away from that as we do more like, “everybody needs to know X,” but it's not always relevant for everybody. So I think figuring out how to match that better and treat teachers like the professionals that they are I think is really important.
Buffy: And much more much better aligned with what we know about adult learning and what we know about research on professional development. So, it's relevant, it's authentic it's practice embedded, it happens over time. So these are all reasons that this use of video in the kinds of ways we've been talking about here can be really powerful.
Jill Wood
Instructor and TA Coordinator
Kansas State University
David Allen
Director of Field Experiences and Associate Professor in Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Kansas State University
Jill Wood is an Instructor in the College of Education at Kansas State University. She teaches methods courses at both the elementary and secondary level and oversees the supervision of undergraduate and graduate student interns placed locally as well as nationally. Mrs. Wood is currently investigating and developing best practices for technology-mediated supervision which support the College’s undergraduate practicum courses as well as the Master of Arts in Teaching program.
Dr. David S. Allen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Kansas State University. As a mathematics educator, he also serves as the Director of the STEM Center. His research with video originated in professional development models for in-service teachers of elementary mathematics and has evolved into working with digitally-mediated supervision models for pre-service teachers. His current research focuses on cloud-based management and storage of large video-based feedback systems and the interplay of the supervision triad as a factor of teacher development.
Video Transcript
How do you use video to support teacher preparation?
David: One of the things that we've seen over the last few years as we've done this is that our students are at reflecting deeper levels on the video rather than their remembered reality. They actually can reflect and mesh that with what they're actually seeing happening in the classroom. So I think there are the reflections are deeper and more accurate. We have less inconsistencies between a cooperating teacher reported evaluation, a lesson or a reflection on the lesson, and a student's reflection of the lesson.
Jill: Because video doesn't lie. It is out there and that helps our students to see things that they missed.
David: But at the same time, our students come into this as novice teachers and their first semester... The second semester of their sophomore year they're doing video centered around microteaches where they have ownership over that video. They can keep that video. And each semester they're recording video so that by the time their student teaching they've got four semesters of video now and you could go back to their first video and you see where they were at that point. And they see the growth model or the growth that they've experienced over four semesters and they say "Wow." And then they can share that in their teacher work sample their portfolios: little snippets of video and say, "Hey you compare where I was and in my ability to ask students questions then and look at me now look in this growth that I've experienced." So yeah. So they're pretty novice when they first come in. But by the time they're done, they've had the experience.
Jill: You always need to be improving. And you know I've been teaching for over 20 years. And you do get into a groove you know what works with students. But you should always be open to something that's new and going to be potentially better and more effective. I mean there are some basics that are always going to work. And the content isn't necessarily going to change. But but there's your students are always changing the engagement today is so much different in this digital world than it was 20 years ago. There's so many more things that that distract our students. And so we're always which should always be looking for something better and new that's going to just address all the issues that our students come to school with.
David: You know as Tyack and Cuban say when they when they looked at education reform throughout the 20th century, you keep the best of the old and you create the new and then you move forward. And we as educators and we as an educational profession need to take pride in that. We continue to evolve our practice. Video is just another element of that evolution process.
Lesli Scott
Associate Director
Education and Well Being Program
University of Michigan
Lesli Scott is the associate director of the Education and Well-Being Program at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. She has directed research and methodology projects at academically based centers since 1983. Examples of projects where she managed complex data collection and technical systems development include: the Study of Instructional Improvement, the Understanding Teaching Quality study, and the Measures of Effective Teaching Video Archiving project. As part of this work, she has provided consultation to teams using classroom videos in: Uganda (Primary Literacy Program Evaluation); South Africa (Teach for South Africa), and Norway (Quality in Teaching (QUINT)).
How can teachers use video to learn from each other?
I want our children to have great teachers, and teachers interacting with another teacher can really see and focus on those things that worked and those things that worked have to work with students that have a lot of differences, it's very complex. So if many teachers can share with each other there's going to be an opportunity for those teachers to really hear about things that worked. And that means they have an opportunity to test those things with their own students.
One of our experiences in our program education and well-being. Was taking the Met videos from the extension portion of the study and applying takes, as we called them. So that meant that someone could look for something in particular and find a video or inside the video look to find segments where teaching practices or kinds of instructional content occur. That whole process made use of tools that are out there. Put them onto videos. And when people look at those videos the labels make a lot of sense but it's not really a framework right now. And because video now can be dispersed. There is this possibility that. Something like those met tags can. Help us use common words see something and say aha that's what it is.
I think teachers are loving to find ways that tools become accessible. And I'm thinking a lot of Internet based tools so that a teacher can interact with another teacher and find ways to share. And that sharing might be about kind of reflecting on teaching practice the sharing might be about ways to develop lessons that can be used in my classroom. I'll share my classroom materials and you'll share your classroom materials. And so they're just kind of building networks of teachers working with one another. That's been very exciting to watch happen over time.
Cinnamon Garner
Middle School Teacher, English Language Arts
Thompson School District
Loveland, CO
As a professional teacher, Cinnamon has independently used video to critically reflect on her own instruction and improve the quality of feedback she is able apply to her classroom practice. Cinnamon has identified video coaching a way of collaborating across classrooms and gather feedback from colleagues who are able to provide valuable content-specific feedback.
Video Transcript
How has the use of video impacted your evaluation process?
Cinnamon: I'm an experienced teacher so in my district I only really had to be formally evaluated - and that's what we were looking at formal evaluation - formally evaluated like twice a year. Now I think it's even down to one time, but I wasn't getting any like really good feedback out of that process and so by being able to videotape my own classroom I could kind of reflect for myself. So I could videotape any lesson I wanted, send it to my evaluator so I could capture an entire lesson and set off like them walking through for 20 minutes, they could see something beginning to end. I could watch back and reflect myself, and also tag moments that I wanted to point out to my evaluator, and then also got just really great feedback from her on the other end, too.
It was really helping me grow as far as like, knowing where to look at my classroom and what students to kind of hone in on that I wasn't picking up on before, and also where I was out with my practice. I was also able to send my videos to a content someone in my content. This was really exciting for me because my evaluator although she knows good instruction was a former P.E. teacher and I teach English language arts at the secondary level and so I wanted more specific feedback on my content and teaching my content and so I was able to choose, select videos, send them to another teacher who is experienced content person and get that good feedback from that person, too.
I was getting way more feedback and more valuable feedback and then also just being able to look at my classroom in a different way through the videos.
Kathryn Procope
Head of School
Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science
Washington, DC
Kathryn Procope has been a school administrator for 13 years. In 2016, she was named named a State Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and is currently the Head of School at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.
Video Transcript
How can school leaders use video to support teaching?
Kathryn: When I started as a school leader one of the things I found annoying and phony, for lack of a better description, was a teacher observation process. You meet with a teacher you do a pre-observation meeting. You go into the classroom the teacher puts on a show. You observe the show, you discuss the show, and then you evaluate the show. And I participated in it as a teacher. And then I participated in it as a principal and I realized how effective it was, and the fact that all I was doing was checking some boxes and making a teacher nervous. And at the end of the day it wasn't having a positive effect on the teacher or on on student achievement. I needed a different avenue.
The peer collaboration has been terrific because the tool that we're using allows the teachers to actually see their peers' videos as well. When my coaches and I look at videos and we see a particular teacher doing something that's really phenomenal. We're able to take that snippet and put it in a library and make it available to other teachers to see. So it has enriched our professional development because it's something that we don't have to like "OK everybody come sit in a room and look at" it was "at your leisure please take a look. Teacher X is doing some great Socratic seminars and has a great way to do a fishbowl. So you may want to look at at it." And teachers are really excited because they're able to see that and I don't have to take time out of the day to create a space for them to do peer observations they can do it right there
Effective instruction is important to children's learning and achievement. We seem to forget what the educators need. We create professional development that we think is necessary or that the latest buzz on the street we create professional development around that and not really looking at what do we need to do to help this teacher grow. Which is the same question we say when we look at a student who's struggling: "What do I need to do to help the student grow?" We need to take the same mindset that we have for our children's achievement and use that for teachers. And think about teacher achievement. And so teacher achievement as they're getting better at their instructional practice So, because when we think about what teachers need, what they need to be really great at what they do, what they need to be able to help students be their best selves. That's what professional development has to be and that's how important it is.
Michael Moody
Founder and CEO
Insight Advance
Dr. Michael Moody is the Founder of Insight ADVANCE (insightadvance.com), an edtech company whose mission is to connect self-reflection, coaching and peer collaboration, observation, and evaluation in one place to permanently impact how all educators involved in teacher growth are supported. He is also co-founder and former CEO of Insight Education Group (insighteducationgroup.com), a national education consulting company that has supported schools, districts and states with the implementation of large-scale teacher effectiveness and instructional improvement initiatives since 2000.
Dr. Moody’s experiences as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, school leader, district administrator and consultant have provided him with the foundation necessary to understand first-hand the needs of students and educators. With successes spanning from the implementation of nationwide professional development programs to serving as chief academic advisor in DC Public Schools, Moody has supported numerous school, district and state leaders in the development and implementation of initiatives to increase educator growth. A guiding principle in all of Moody’s work is to create effective instructional programs capable of providing each and every student with equal access to a quality education. This standard continues to inspire the progress and transformation he seeks to bring about through educational technology. He tweets at @DrMichaelMoody.
Video Transcript
What are the key considerations for using video to improve feedback?
Michael: I have two tips. Number one think really specifically about the use case. What is in the first month, what is the one, two things we really expects to happen? Do we want a teacher to do one video on a self-reflection, and do we want them to do one peer-to-peer observation and give a round a feedback? Think really specifically about the nuts and bolts because they matter.
And teachers don't intuitively--or kind of given how--I don’t want to say how hard, but how much work is involved in just teaching. We tend to focus as teachers on just getting the work done and so I think you've got to help teachers understand what the starting point is. I think we've got to give space for that to happen and for it to not feel great right away right. So it's going to be a little messy. I think acknowledging the messiness and kind of embracing it and working through it is important.
And I think the other thing too is don't forget to think about what type of support the support providers are going to need in order to do the work well, because even if we work through the logistics and teachers are on board and it feels good to them, as soon as they start to get feedback that doesn't feel right or it's from someone who doesn't give them the type of feedback they're expecting to get or it's not that helpful. The rest of the process doesn't matter so it doesn't matter how slick the video is or you know how easy the platform is to use if the feedback is not impactful for that teacher then there's no point in engaging in the process. I think we've got to be very deliberate about the content of the work and who's providing the support and how they're providing support in an effort to make sure that the process feels productive.
Diane Lauer
Assistant Superintendent of Priority Programs and Academic Support
St. Vrain Valley School District
Longmont, CO
Diane provides professional development oversight through new teacher induction programs, curriculum implementation support, and the integration high-yield instructional strategies for diverse learners. In her district role, she oversees federal programs (Title I, II, III, and IV), including special education and early childhood education, and works to ensure success for at-risk student populations.
Video Transcript
How can video help educators insight into their practice?
Diane: I have a professional development coach who is working with a brand new sixth-grade teacher and he was doing fantastic except for that class that came in right after lunch. And those little sixth graders would just come in and they would be squirrelly and buzzing around. And the coach had been working with this teacher for two months on classroom management; coming in every week doing the visual you know traditional observation and coaching feedback. and it just wasn't changing. And then one day he decided to, himself, take a videotape of the classroom.
He put it up into the platform, looked at the time signature, and the teacher thought the kids were getting in and taking about five minutes to settle down. It was really around 19-20 minutes. And so that clear picture of reality, and you could see in the video when he was facing this way and trying to get the kids seated over here, these kids over in this direction were doing whatever. And so of course he didn't realize what was going on. He wasn't looking in that direction. And so this teacher set a goal. He said I'm going to get those kids in within two minutes. Well that took two weeks because he was intentionally looking at himself, looking at the kids, seeing how things were going, in two weeks he got those kids seated in less than a minute. And then, he did something I've never seen a teacher do before; he said I can I can even do this better. He said, "I don't want them just coming in and getting started in less than a minute. I want them thinking about math and doing math from the moment they walk in the door." So he took his warm up, his "do now" and he put it outside in the hallway. And so the kids are actually looking at that math problem. From the moment they were lined up they were engaged and they came right in with their task and they just got to work right away. It was amazing. And that that shifted the thinking. My coaches started talking about the way they saw their own coaching practice shifting because video was a way of presenting objective evidence. It wasn't a way of you know it didn't get in the way of relationships. Maybe you don't trust my credibility or or any of those things. It was it was a third point; it was an objective source that they could come in from a collaborative stance sometimes and really work together to improve practice.
Advisory Board
Visibly Better was founded with the help of an advisory board to create a vision for the future around the use of video for professional learning. Members of the advisory board are as follows: Ashleigh Collins (Director of Content, Relay Graduate School of Education), Ester de Jong (President, TESOL International Association), David Deatherage (Senior Associate Director of Leadership, Uncommon Schools), Tony Emerson (Doctoral Candidate, Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education), Marcia Foster (Director of New Products and Services, National Board for Teaching Standards), Lisa Friscia (Vice Principal of Talent Development, Democracy Prep Public Schools), Nancy Gerzon (Project Director, WestEd), Claire Gogolen (Program Manager, MQI Coaching), Diane Lauer (Assistant Superintendent of Priority Programs and Academic Support, St. Vrain Valley Schools), Leah Levine (Performance Management Partner, Boston Public Schools), James Likis (Data Inquiry Facilitaton, Boston Public Schools), Nate Phipps (Managing Director, The Center for Education Design, University of Michigan), Kathryn Procope (Head of School, Howard University Middle School), Tracy Rebe (Assistant Superintendent, Explore Schools), Melissa Scheve (Project Director of the Hollyhock Fellowship Program, The Center to Support Excellence in Teaching at Stanford University), Robert Weil (Director of Field Programs, American Federation of Teachers), Jill Wood (Instructor, Kansas State University), Ashley Dixon (Manager, Communications and Outreach, Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University), Corinne Herlihy (Director of Research Operations, Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University)