A smartphone video trial during Macquarie University’s Teacher Education Students’ placements has led to students receiving feedback that is more targeted as well as increased opportunities for self-reflection.

The trial involved students, their supervisors, 11 Sydney schools and, in particular, video recordings and an online platform called Teaching Teams.

Students record themselves in classroom scenarios then upload videos to the online platform which is password protected, enabling control over who views and comments on the video.

To receive feedback given by their Tertiary Supervisor, students view and click on a comment which cues the video at the relevant point. The Teacher Education Student can immediately view both the comment and the relevant duration of recorded material.

Quality feedback

Associate Professor Michael Cavanagh, from Macquarie’s Department of Educational Studies, reviewed the trial finding that technology boosts participants’ experiences and experience of feedback. Schools also see the trial as a success.

Professional growth and reflection during the practicum benefits both pre-service teachers and supervisors. Teachers and schools see benefits for developing classroom practice and the ability to analyse teaching and identify improvement strategies.

The video and online platform led to more interaction by Tertiary Supervisors with both the Teacher Education Student and the Supervising Teacher at the school.  For the student there was more structured and more regular support and comments from the Tertiary Supervisor as videos were uploaded weekly across the four-week placement.

Future potential

For the trial, Macquarie collaborated with Teachers TV Australia which offers the virtual collaboration tool. Teaching Teams is hosted by the Teaching Channel in the USA.

Head of Macquarie’s Department of Educational Studies Professor Mary Ryan says the Department is keen to work with stakeholders and develop the trial further.

“We are looking to embed this into our programs; this is an opportunity for Teacher Education Students to begin to develop evidence of their impact on the students they teach during placement,” Professor Ryan outlines.

The platform can also offer practising teachers a collaborative approach for analysing classroom practice and improving engagement between teachers and schools – both between colleagues, and between colleagues and lead teachers.

Results from the trial also show that digital feedback assists remote collaboration.  Researchers suggest the platform and video annotations could be used by teachers for sharing classroom practice with colleagues and fostering professional learning and development; this is especially the case for regional or rural schools, where a teacher may be the only teacher in their subject area.