Why introducing video recording could transform your teachers’ development and learning

In our last post, we continued our blog series from the Get Further Curriculum Team with an exploration of why teachers seem to ignore feedback from learning walks or observations. Today, we delve into an exploration of a solution: video recording. 

As an early career teacher, the single greatest factor in my development was when a senior leader introduced video recording to the school. Eager to learn and improve, I set up the two iPads on stands in my classroom and filmed myself teaching a class. It blew my mind to see so many things it is simply impossible to see as the teacher in the room.  

I saw what I looked like from the perspective of the students on the back row; I saw how I held my body and moved around; I saw how quickly I spoke and how little time I gave students to think before asking someone to answer a question. I saw a student I thought worked really hard in that lesson off-task and bothering their neighbour; I saw how confusing my instructions were for the main task in the lesson. 

I would have seen none of these things without the recording. You might say someone could have told me – an observer giving feedback, for example. Yes, this is possible, but it’s not as powerful. Here’s why:

1. Our memories are dim. When we discuss a lesson with an observer after some time has passed, we forget things and remember things differently from what actually happened. We reconstruct the lesson in our heads as we think it happened, not how it actually happened. With video, there’s no hiding from the truth.  
2. Perspective matters. When discussing with an observer, they may tell you your writing on the board is unclear and difficult to decipher, but you may think it’s big, clear, and easy to read. That’s because you’re always at the front. With video, you can see your lesson from the other side of the desks. 
3. We have blind spots. No matter how hard we try, we simply cannot see everything all the time in the classroom. If we place our video cameras wisely, we can see everything, always. We can pause, rewind, and rewatch as many times as we like and see all those hidden little secrets that occur under our noses.  
4. Time. In-person observations require in-person feedback, and finding a time when two teachers in school are both available is hard. With video, you can watch asynchronously and leave comments or notes to direct one another’s attention. You can even reflect on your own and see where you can improve. You can record your lesson and ask your observer to watch a specific 10-minute clip, saving them from watching a whole lesson to try to notice the 10-minute section where you can make the most gains.  

At Get Further, we have been trialling IRIS Connect with our tutors. They record footage of their tutoring sessions, known as ‘reflections.’ They share these with us, and we support them in improving, no matter where they are in the country. Our Lead Tutors piloted the software, and we noticed their development was so rapid compared to tutors who were not recording and watching any reflections.

Next academic year, every tutor we work with will have access to IRIS Connect as part of their development with us. They will follow a unique ‘pathway’ of steps we are currently building with IRIS Connect, which will support them to identify their areas of strength and for development, create action steps, plan when and how they will embed them, and reflect on the impact the change has caused to their tutoring.  

As a core team, we also record our own training sessions and watch them back to reflect on how we can develop ourselves. We do this to model the habit, so tutors see us showing professional vulnerability and ambition to improve. Only in this way will we support even more students in achieving GCSE English and maths, unlocking opportunities for them in the future.  

In your setting, what could the impact of using video footage to support teacher development be and what is holding you back?