5 Moving forward

Videos have the potential to help teachers to learn both from and through classroom practice. As well as using online videos, such as the TESS-India OER, you can also make your own short videos of classrooms using simple mobile recording equipment such as a tablet or a mobile phone.

Teachers find it very helpful to see a recording of part of their lesson; this can help them to talk about what happened in a lesson. You can ask them to talk about what they observe about their behaviour and the participation of all the students. Teachers can show each other video from their classroom and talk about parts of the lesson that went well, such as productive student learning, and areas where they could change their practice to improve student learning. This model of professional development encourages collaboration between teachers working in schools, and is very different from formal courses based on an expert providing information. 

In formal teacher training courses the use of video provides teacher educators with the opportunity to introduce student teachers to classrooms early in their training and make the theoretical ideas more concrete. They also allow students and experienced teachers to observe and discuss the same teaching experience, thereby promoting reflection.

Next week you consider how you might use other OER materials to support the teachers you work with.

Now go to Week 4: Developing your own practice with OER [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .