“Video Extends The Frequency and Quality Of The Coaching We Provide” – Video Coaching at UC Denver
UC Denver’s ASPIRE To Teach program (Alternative School Professionals in Real-World Experiences) supports more than 200 teachers from unique career backgrounds across the state of Colorado each year.
Despite the distances that separate teachers in their placements, coaches in the program observe teachers in action more than twice a month. The program’s proven ability to move teachers along the continuum of teacher development has earned recognition from District Administration, EdScoop, and THE Journal.
At the 2017 National Association For Alternative Certification Conference, Suzanne Arnold, program director, and Jennifer Fox, program instructor, demonstrated how exactly they are able to support so many teachers across the state.
The secret, they say, is video.
“Edthena,” said Suzanne, “is becoming almost the center point of our curriculum.”
Suzanne and Jennifer detailed for the audience both why they started using video to drive teacher development three years ago, as well as what their process currently looks like. At its core, it revolves around video coaching cycles.
“Cycles start with teachers recording a class,” Jenny said. After teachers record their lesson, they upload the video and supporting resources, like their lesson plan and work samples. Coaches then watch the video and provide comments and feedback.
Teachers will either read and respond to the comments, or will have some sort of face-to-face or video interaction. After that, the teacher implements the feedback and records herself again.
“It allows me to see how things have adjusted,” Jenny said. “Or, if the candidate feels really confident, then we might switch to a different class and try and problem solve for that one.”
Ultimately, Suzanne and Jenny have found that video coaching can extend the frequency and the quality of the coaching that they’re able to give to their teachers in the field, which helps them further develop as teachers.
“Video allows us to differentiate our program and personalize our program for every one of the teachers in it,” Suzanne said.
Watch the presentation by clicking on the video above. You can also read our Partner Profile with UC Denver here.
