After watching the video twice I can see that Bill Gates brings up some good points about teachers needing coaching and descriptive feedback. We give descriptive formative feedback to our students but rarely receive it ourselves beyond our practicums. Currently it is on us to seek out feedback to help us grow. The idea of teachers improving through supportive formative feedback would be great. I really benefited in my first couple years by having a wonderful and supportive instructional coach in my school, she would co-plan and co-teach with me, watch me teach and talk about the lesson with me highlighting strengths and giving suggestions for growth, I also had the opportunity to watch her teach my class which was an incredible learning experience.
My concern with videoing our lessons is first around privacy. If we are sharing these beyond our classrooms how do we ensure that student privacy is protected? Using recordings of just the teacher wouldn’t accurately reflect what happens in my classroom, much of what we do is interactive with students out of their seats to work in groups, sometimes even using our windows as dry erase surfaces. The idea of videoing my students to share with other teachers outside of our school community makes me very uncomfortable and I question if it would be FOIPA compliant. While I would be open to do a lesson study activity with a stable group of trusted colleagues, I would not be confident putting my lessons on some sort of teacher version of youtube for my lessons to be viewed. While I am comfortable putting my work and ideas on this blog it is a controlled group of people working towards the same goal. What works in one class may not work in another as they are all made up of unique personalities and each community is different.
I think the idea of feedback and mentorship is important for teachers at all stages of their careers but in person and based on a relationship is important. While watching an amazing lesson can be inspiring my most useful learning moments as a teacher have been in conversation with my colleagues. Instead of investing in a system of videoing teachers and having them be viewed by the teacher and others providing frequent, regular time for collaboration and implementing Lesson Study for school goals would serve teachers and students much better. Using the money that would have been spent on the technology and sharing platforms additional teachers could be hired in specialist positions allowing for more teacher prep time and releasing classroom teachers to work together and allowing for authentic Lesson Study to happen.
