Key points:
- Effective teacher preparation demands the application of knowledge in real-world contexts
- Breaking the disconnect: 6 vital tips for career-ready graduates
- Bridging education and employment to boost workforce preparedness
- For more on teacher preparation, visit eCN’s Teaching & Learning hub
Teacher residency programs are transformative models for preparing educators for the K-12 teaching experience. These clinically-rich, immersive programs combine mentorship, year-long co-teaching in classrooms, and ongoing support to ensure pre-service residents are well-prepared to meet the diverse needs of their students.
At the University at Buffalo Teacher Residency (UBTR), part of our innovative approach involves the integration of video reflection, a powerful process that fosters self-observation and critical inquiry.
The role of video reflection in teacher development
Teachers often struggle to reflect on their own teaching in real-time, but video recordings provide a way for them to review their practices and lessons from a different perspective. Residents can replay and pause their lessons, noting actions and dynamics that might otherwise go unnoticed. This process helps them identify patterns in their teaching and areas for improvement.
Through video reflection, residents gain insight into how their teaching aligns with social and emotional learning (SEL) practices, which are essential for creating classrooms where students are emotionally supported, engaged, and belong. Reflecting on their emotional responses and interactions, residents gain insights into how their social and emotional competencies influence their teaching. This empowers them to better support students’ emotional growth, interpersonal skills, and well-being.
At UBTR, video reflection is a collaborative process. Residents and our program team co-developed the protocol utilizing the Edthena video coaching platform where residents engage in self-observation, selective scripting, guided reflection, peer feedback, and group discussions with mentor teachers, clinical coaches, and faculty. This interactive dialogue fosters a supportive community of practice where teachers share strategies, celebrate growth, and build self-efficacy. The use of the Edthena platform, specifically, enhances this process by allowing residents to tag key moments in their videos for focused, actionable feedback.
A unique approach to video reflection
Rather than merely watching their lessons, residents are prompted to reflect on specific areas of their teaching, such as student engagement, classroom environment, instructional strategies, and social-emotional responsiveness, within the platform. These areas align with our emphasis on culturally responsive teaching, ensuring residents critically examine how they create inclusive learning environments that meet the diverse needs of their students.
The video reflection protocol includes a variety of submission categories, such as:
- Classroom Tour: An overview of the classroom environment and student interactions.
- Successful Lesson/Teaching Segment: A lesson/segment that went well.
- Challenging Lesson/Teaching Segment: A lesson/segment that did not go as planned.
- One-on-One Student Interaction: A focused interaction with an individual student.
- Small Group Engagement: Interaction with a small group of students.
- Informal Student Conversations: Casual discussions and engagement with students.
- New Teaching Strategy: A newly-implemented teaching practice.
- Explicit SEL Lesson: A lesson that integrates SEL competency building.
When reflecting, residents might ask: Were students actively participating? Were their needs being met both academically and emotionally? They are also prompted to reflect on their emotional state: How did my emotional response impact the lesson?
Questions such as these help residents assess how their teaching decisions affect classroom dynamics, student outcomes, and their professional growth.
Reflection, goal setting, and collaborative feedback
UBTR’s protocol encourages structured self-assessment after each video lesson. Residents reflect on what went well, what stood out, and what needs improvement. They rate the lesson on a scale of 1-10, identifying areas for growth. They also consider “options,” which prompt them to identify strategies, including SEL practices, that could improve their teaching based on what they observed.
After reflecting, residents set specific, measurable goals, aligned with SEL competencies, and outline actionable steps and support needed to achieve them. This ongoing reflection and goal-setting process promotes continuous growth, allowing residents to refine their teaching practices.
A key component of this model is peer-to-peer coaching. After completing their individual reflections, residents participate in group discussions during which they share their goals and challenges. Using SEL frameworks, these discussions encourage emotional intelligence, empathy, and responsiveness in teaching. Residents deepen their pedagogical understanding while building a supportive professional network.
Enhancing teaching practices and social-emotional outcomes
A central goal of our video reflection protocol is to develop residents’ essential social-emotional competencies for effective teaching. Through reflection on their practices and the emotional dynamics of their classrooms, residents gain greater emotional awareness, empathy, and resilience. They can then respond to students’ emotional needs and help foster a positive and supportive learning environment.
Through guided self-reflection, residents explore how their emotional responses influence their teaching effectiveness. This awareness enables teachers to manage their emotions and adjust their practices, improving classroom climate and student engagement. Additionally, it helps them understand how to better incorporate SEL into their instruction. Residents are empowered to improve their teaching practices in a way that fosters a more inclusive, supportive, and culturally responsive learning environment for their students, driving both emotional and academic growth. By regularly assessing their teaching and receiving feedback, residents develop strategies to meet the needs of diverse students, an integral part of UBTR’s mission.
Effective teacher preparation requires more than theoretical knowledge–it demands the application of that knowledge in real-world contexts. By integrating video reflection into our program, UBTR bridges the gap between theory and practice. Residents can immediately apply classroom strategies learned through coursework.
This application of theory to practice has enhanced teaching effectiveness and professional growth for our residents.And,as we continue to implement and refine this model, we encourage others to adopt similar practices to transform teacher preparation and benefit both educators and students.
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