Video-enhanced observation: a case study of lesson feedback in a PGCE school placement

What if lesson observations were no longer isolated ‘snapshot’ activities carried out behind closed doors? What if feedback was no longer ‘given’ to a trainee, but developed ‘with’ a trainee, acknowledging good practice and agreeing developmental priorities based on video evidence and shared reflection? These were some of the questions driving a recent video-enhanced lesson observation research project led by Newcastle University that focused on trainee teachers and teacher educators across five countries (https://veoeuropa.com)

Video-enhanced lesson observation as a source of multiple modes of data for school leadership: A videographic approach

A growing body of literature recognizes the affordances of video in education, especially in relation to lesson observation and reflection as part of teachers’ initial teacher education and continuing professional development. Minimal attention has been paid to the outcomes of video-enhanced observation as a source of multiple modes of data for reflexive school leadership. This article focuses on the data of three participants from a larger set of nine teachers involved in an over-arching study exploring teachers’ professional knowledge and practices following a recent curriculum change in England. Data from video-stimulated interviews revealed that recorded video can provide school leaders with a window onto the practices and processes of daily school life, illustrated here through a focus on evidence of policy in practice. It is argued that the leadership perspective provides school leaders and managers with the analytical frameworks and competencies for critical interpretation of the data

Video-enhanced lesson observation for assessment of classroom practice

Within the context of a shift away from summative graded lesson observations in England (O’Leary, 2016) and the move towards better teacher development through processes that include elements of peer observation, coaching and mentoring (Lofthouse, Leat, & Towler, 2010), video-enhanced lesson observation has attracted increasing attention as a focal point for the development of reflection and dialogue. A growing body of literature recognises the affordances of video in education, especially in relation to lesson observation as part of teachers’ initial teacher education and continuing professional development. Developments in mobile technologies and video-enhanced observation software applications now allow direct insight into teaching practice with a view to encouraging professional learning and reflection (Mann et al., 2019). This session will focus on specific case studies from a European research project exploring the use of video-enhanced lesson observation (Hidson, 2019). In addition, in order to further address the conference theme of digital futures, the presentation will conclude with insights into a current research project, recently awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Fellowship Team Award for 2020-21. This new research will implement and explore the use of Video-Enhanced Dialogic Assessment in teacher education, an exciting future development by the International and Independent Distance Learning team here in the Faculty of Education and Society

Challenges to Pedagogical Content Knowledge in lesson planning during curriculum transition: a multiple case study of teachers of ICT and Computing in England.

In September 2014 the new National Curriculum programmes of study for Computing became mandatory in England, replacing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a school subject and introducing Computer Science into schools. This posed a challenge for in-service ICT teachers without Computer Science subject knowledge: teachers needed to develop both subject and pedagogical knowledge to make the transition from teaching ICT to teaching Computing. This multiple case study explores teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum change and how they have responded in practical and pedagogical terms to planning lessons aligning with the new programmes of study. Nine teachers participated, each of whom had been teaching ICT pre-2014. The study used semi-structured interview questions while teachers engaged in lesson-planning activities, captured mostly using desktop-sharing via internet telephony. A modified version of Shulman’s pedagogical reasoning framework and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) facilitated analysis of teachers’ pedagogic practices in lesson planning. The study shows teachers’ concerns about the lack of clarity surrounding the curriculum change, and the lack of access to suitable professional development (CPD). Most highlighted the primacy of programming and Computer Science at the expense of Information Technology and Digital Literacy, the other two strands of the new curriculum. The study also shows the dynamic nature of lesson planning. Knowledge deficits slowed down the fluency of teachers’ lesson-planning processes, but the use of lesson materials created by others helped them to develop PCK. The term transitional pedagogical reasoning has been used to describe the process by which unfamiliar but necessary concepts are assimilated into the pedagogical reasoning process while the teacher develops sufficient subject knowledge and PCK. Recommendations have been made for Computing curriculum policies to recognise and promote Computing pedagogy. This understanding should underpin initial teacher education in Computing, CPD for in-service teachers, and strategic development of the subject in the longer term

Developing Computer Science pedagogy through shared lesson resources

At the heart of any teaching resource is an unheard narrative: the decision-making process that the teacher has gone through in order to develop the resource for the students that they teach. This is built from a range of knowledge sources accessed by teachers from the start of their career, which develops over time. In this session we will focus on in-service ICT teachers faced with the 2014 English National Curriculum shift that now required the teaching of Computer Science. We will see how their pedagogical knowledge was enhanced through shared lesson resources and professional communities of practice

Reflecting on Video-Enhanced Dialogic Assessment for international teacher training in the wake of Covid-19

Living with, or in the wake of, the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us involved in education have experienced dramatic changes to the way that education and schooling takes place. We have experienced school closures, the contraction of face-to-face teaching and an increase in distance, hybrid and blended approaches in school environments that we had never previously imagined at this scale. Recent calls for ‘Covid keepers’ (O’Connell, 2021) and to ‘build back better’ (Riggall, 2020) have resulted in educators seriously considering what we have learned in recent years about our educational ecologies. This piece reflects on the introduction of Video-Enhanced Dialogic Assessment, a quality-assurable framework for successful completion of teacher training and assessment

Using Video-Enhanced Dialogic Assessment with trainee teachers

Initial teacher education in the UK is arguably characterised by the signature pedagogies (Shulman, 2005) of lesson observation and evidence portfolios that demonstrate how far a trainee’s practice meets the criterion-referenced teachers’ standards (DfE, 2011). In an international initial teacher training programme, these practices are rendered more challenging by working remotely and asynchronously with trainees across time zones. To fully understand and assess professional practice carried out at a distance requires a change in assessment practices. In recent years, the technological affordances of video-enhanced lesson observation and video calling with desktop sharing functionality have augmented the work of teacher educators (Hidson, 2020). This has the advantage of connecting candidate and assessor in a shared online dialogic space, as outlined by Wegerif (2007). From this perspective, dialogue can encourage reflection, elicit tacit knowledge, help construct additional evidence and lead to a negotiated appreciation of strengths and areas for development. The Video-Enhanced Dialogic Assessment (VEDA) process used on these programmes makes use of these principles to complement formative and summative assessment of teaching practices and portfolios. It can most easily be imagined as an online viva voce interview, building on similar work in this vein by Carless (2002) and addressing logistical issues highlighted by Scott and Unsworth (2018), who used video vivas. This presentation will share two case studies from current practice, showing how valuable video-enhanced dialogic assessment is to the central work of preparing trainee teachers

The ethics of school-based research during international initial teacher training placements

Research on promising interventions is more accessible than ever before, thanks to the growth in organisations that generate, curate and promote evidence in education research. We know that there is a need to build research capacity so that teachers can make evidence-informed decisions (Siddiqui & Wardle, 2020). Developing relevant research skills during initial teacher training is a logical first step. The first research module on an international PGCE course requires trainees to select a school-based intervention and carry out a case study, collecting data in their schools. The expectation is that trainees discuss their findings in relation to published evidence. Given that international schools operate within a differing range of local, regional and national approaches to keeping children safe in education, the onus is on the university to build an appreciation of research ethics on top of the trainees’ understanding of safeguarding. This presentation will share typical research undertaken, ethical guidelines provided, and several examples of ethical dilemmas faced by trainee teachers undertaking school-based research during their placements. These include adhering to ethical approval, doing no harm, and the role of insider-researchers, focusing on developing the conscience and ethical code of the researcher (BERA, 2018). References British Educational Research Association [BERA] (2018) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research, fourth edition, London. https://www.bera.ac.uk/researchers-resources/publications/ethicalguidelines-for-educational-research-2018 Siddiqui, N. and Wardle, L. (2020) 'Can users judge what is `promising' evidence in education?', Research intelligence., 144. pp. 20-21

Developing pedagogy by proxy through shared lesson resources

At the heart of any teaching resource is an unheard narrative: the decision-making process that the teacher has gone through in order to develop the resource for the students that they teach. This is built from a range of knowledge sources accessed by teachers from the start of their career, which develops over time as the teacher develops. In this session we will look at how pedagogical knowledge can be enhanced through shared lesson resources and professional communities of practice

SunRAE - The Sunderland Reflective Action in Education Project

The SunRAE project is an internationally-focused student research podcast, e-conference and e-journal community of practice integrated into the International Postgraduate Certificate in Education suite of initial teacher training courses offered via distance learning at the University of Sunderland. The aim is to promote and extend the culture of research-in-practice that trainee teachers have encountered in their MA-level initial teacher education research modules so that they are fully equipped to go out into schools ready to embrace careers as research-informed practitioners. The project won a Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Award 2021/22 and funding has been used to set up an open-access journal platform, university-hosted WordPress website and develop a podcast series. Inter-faculty collaboration meant that students from the MA in Radio, Participation and Podcasting have used the podcast element as a project for their own studies and continue to work on it through the Sunderland Creatives agency. This session will share the project and show how it is being sustainably integrated within the suite International Initial Teacher Training programmes. We will also highlight the opportunities for alumni, staff development and inter-faculty collaboration that have resulted