Beautiful and Meaningful: Annissa Noticed Instantaneous Changes after Video Reflection

“It was a beautiful process, to be able to evolve over the year in a way that was meaningful and noticeable. I was able to see my progress.”

These are the words of Annissa Asbill, an elementary school teacher in Richmond, California. She teaches elementary computer programming, grades K-5.

Last year, she used Edthena for video coaching and reflection. She also used Edthena to support her process to build and submit an edTPA® portfolio.

Reviewing teaching videos on Edthena was her first experience interacting with video as a means of professional development.

We connected this summer to discuss how video reflection enabled her to grow and evolve as an educator.

Annissa described the work she undertook with coaches and peers on Edthena as “a cycle of reflecting and changing and doing.”

“Watching myself on video really helped me,” she said. “I was able to see something that I was doing that I really liked, and I was able to duplicate that again, or, say oh, I didn’t really like how I approached that situation or that teaching practice that I adopted, and I was able to go in and change those things.”

She also noticed changes as a result of the video coaching process.

“It was instantaneous,” she said, referring to how quickly she was able to implement feedback. “And I was able to see everything happening in real time. The way that I interacted with my students, or certain teaching practices that I did. I think that was really, really helpful, because the next day, I could go in to class, and I could make those different changes.”

Annissa will be returning to the classroom this fall. She intends to use video as a tool for reflection and coaching once again.

“I didn’t realize how integral Edthena would be in my teaching practice. It helped me grow and reflect and pinpoint things about my practice that I wanted to change, or wanted to advance on. I definitely want to use it in the future to continue that growth and to continue to see my transformation as a teacher.”

Annissa’s interview is the latest in our Teacher Voices series. To watch the previous installment of Teacher Voices, click here.