Video Feedback Protocol
Teacher Leadership Resource Tool – Video Feedback Protocol
By Carrie Usui Johnson, UCLA NBPTS Project Director
Context
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is an organization dedicated to celebrating accomplished teaching through a nation-wide voluntary assessment process based on standards created by and for teachers. As a National Board Candidate Support Provider, supporting candidates in viewing and receiving feedback on their National Board videos is a major component in their journey towards certification. Most candidates must complete two entries where they video tape their instructional practice and write commentary identifying evidence in their practice that reflects the National Board standards.
Why – Purpose and intent
This video feedback and reflection protocol allows National Board candidates to share in a way that honors the presenting candidates and structures feedback around evidence-based observations and inquiry based questions, thus promoting a safer environment to receive feedback and reflect on one’s practice.
How – Thinking process that led to development of protocol
When I became a Candidate Support Provider for National Board teachers, my own experience videotaping and receiving feedback reminded me of the possible fear and vulnerabilities candidates might have when sharing their videos with other teachers. Knowing that strategies and structures support challenging conversations, I looked to structure the process of watching candidate videos and providing feedback. After trying different approaches to the process, I realized some critical questions the process needed to address:
- How might the presenting candidate guide those watching and providing feedback in the types of evidence and feedback they want?
- How might I encourage the presenting candidate to self-reflect and evaluate their own practice before receiving feedback from others?
- What are some ways those providing feedback might give feedback so it is based in evidence and not personal judgment – both negative and positive?
- What are some ways I, as a Candidate Support Provider, might expand the presenting candidate’s thinking without just giving suggestions?
I focused the development of this protocol on several steps to address these questions. For example, in order to encourage the presenting candidate in guiding the types of feedback requested from the group, I structured the protocol around the learning goals from the lesson, the goals of the National Board entry, and evidence based on the National Board standards. Before the presenting candidate shows their video, they share their learning goals, what the entry is asking them to do, and what, based on the National Board standards, might they want the group to look for specifically.
By focusing the protocol around these questions, I was able to develop a video reflection/feedback protocol that promotes a safe, reflective environment build on collaborative practices.
What – Directions for the protocol
- Before the video is shown, the presenting teacher shares the following with the group
o What is/are the learning goal(s) you planned for this lesson?
o What might it look and sound like if your students are achieving the learning goal(s)?
• If you are supporting National Board Candidates (NBC), the presenting teacher
also shares the following:
• What is the National Board entry asking you to do?
• What are some things you want feedback on based on your National Board standards? - While watching the video, participants silently take notes
o All discussion happens after the video is finished - Once the video is finished, ask the presenting teacher:
o What are some things you are noticing? - Facilitator asks other participants:
o So based on the standards, learning goal(s) and what students should say and do in order to achieve
the learning goals, what are some things you noticed in the video that matched?
• For NBC candidates also include the National Board standards and the entry directions
as criteria for what matched in the video.
o All questions and suggestions should be set aside until this round of feedback is over - Once all things that matched have been shared, the facilitator asks:
o “What are some things you are still wondering about?”
• Use “what” or “how” questions instead of “why”
Reflection
In using this protocol with my National Board candidates I made several observations illustrating how the protocol matched my initial intention and purpose. After using the protocol a few times and modeling behaviors of giving evidenced-based feedback and meditative questioning, my candidates were able to focus their evidence on observations they made in viewing the video and not solely inferences and judgment-based feedback.
By allowing the presenting teacher to share first their impressions of the video, the audience was able to gauge the type and level of feedback to give back. For example, if the presenting teacher states in their impressions of the video that they felt they didn’t facilitate enough discussion between students, in the questions stage I might ask something like, “Based on your observation that your students didn’t engage in enough student-to-student discourse, what might be some strategies you know that might increase the amount of that type of discourse in your lesson?” Instead of relying on the feedback to point out areas that need continuing growth this allows the feedback to grow on the presenting teacher’s understanding of what happened.
Lastly, by using consistent language to express the different steps of the protocol, candidates adopted this language which supports a safe learning environment for sharing one’s practice. In particular, I found this in candidates using the words “things that matched” and “things I’m wondering about.”
While this protocol was developed to support National Board teachers, the underlying intention was to create a protocol where teachers could share their practice in ways that were safe and honored all teacher practice. Therefore, it can be modified to fit the requirements of a lesson study or video study practice outside of the National Board process.
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