This article is reposted from K-12 Dive.

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Video empowers self-reflection, personalization in professional development

On average, teachers make thousands of decisions each school day. From the drive to school in the morning to prepping lessons the following night, teachers are constantly on the move. However, it’s important teachers take the time to pause and reflect on their strategies.

What’s working in their classroom? What methods are proving to be not as effective?

Self-reflection not only helps teachers to improve their strategies, it also sets students up for success and creates sustainable change. As an instructional coach at a middle school in Hershey, Pennsylvania, we lean on self-reflection through video to help our teachers grow and become even better at what they do.

Here’s why.

Seeing is believing

Self-reflection can be a challenging task, and a scary one at that. When a teacher watches themselves teach through video, they notice things they often don’t recall from that moment.

Personalized feedback and guidance

The greatest feedback comes from others. Yet it’s nearly impossible to have other teachers sit in the back of a classroom for an entire lesson and provide feedback on instruction. Video allows teachers to share their strategies and gather feedback directly from their peers.

Developing time and trust in professional development

For a teacher, there is never enough time in the day, and the COVID-19 pandemic added stressors and to-do’s on plates that were already overflowing. With our teachers being pulled in so many different directions, dedicated time for self-reflection has fallen short.

However, when using video, teachers can record themselves and move about their day without having to give it another thought.

Donna Spangler is the Hershey Middle School instructional coach at Derry Township School District. She also works as a K-12 instructional coach and virtual coach for Sibme. Previously she was a world language teacher for 29 years and served as past co-president of the board for the Learning Forward PA.