Implementing Video Coaching Is Easy If You Plan
Sharon Gilbert of Radford University has managed candidates and coaches on Edthena for nearly two years.
In that time, they’ve learned a lot about how to best get users started on the platform in a way that sets them up for success.
They admit that they hit some bumps in the road initially. But they also discovered best-practices for implementing Edthena that proved influential to the organization’s ultimate success.
Why are you invested in Edthena as a development and reflection tool?
Edthena allows for both students and supervisors to take a closer look at their teaching. Edthena also allows instructors and coaches to track student-growth over time, which is very beneficial.
I also appreciate how more than one person can provide input on what is seen in a student’s video. It is so beneficial to see smaller segments of lessons in analyzing student-performance.
What’s your number one tip to a new organization implementing video coaching?
We found that it’s a good idea to solicit ways instructors are using Edthena with their students and share that with other coaches and faculty on the team.
What we did to more seamlessly facilitate this is we established a faculty advisory group. This was helpful in our journey of adopting Edthena and providing guidance along the way regarding its use.
What are instructors and coaches doing differently to prepare teachers for video coaching?
One set of instructors intentionally taught their students how to give constructive feedback.
Not only did this lead to constructive conversations on videos inside their groups, but the students now use those principles when they are teaching and helping their own students.
What stands out about using Edthena both in methods courses as well as for virtual classroom observation?
There are several advantages, starting with providing the students with many perspectives on their teaching.
Instructors who teach methods courses who might only see a model lesson from their students can now see their students actually implementing the methods in the classroom.
Students also learn from one another by seeing different settings, lessons, children, and teachers. Students who are struggling can be monitored more frequently via video and it’s easy to document progress.
