Pause, rewind, reflect
Video clubs throw open the classroom doors
By Learning Forward
October 2011
Vol. 32 No. 5
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Potential benefits of A video club
- Provides common text to ground discussions of what takes place in classrooms.
- Offers space for sustained reflection on classroom interactions.
- Counters norm of privacy among teachers and promotes professional community.
Guidelines for video clubs
- Attend to the evidence: Focus on what did take place, not on what might have been.
- Attend to the details: Focus on specific aspects of classroom events (e.g. student thinking).
- Attend to what’s typical: Focus on examples of everyday practice, not on exemplars.
References
Goodwin, C. (1994). Professional vision. American Anthropologist, 96, 606-633.
Linsenmeier, K. & Sherin, M.G. (2009). Selecting video clips of student mathematical thinking. Teaching Children Mathematics, 15(7), 418-422.
Sherin, M.G. (2000). Viewing teaching on videotape. Educational Leadership, 57(8), 36-38.
Sherin, M.G. & Han, S. (2004). Teacher learning in the context of a video club. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20,163-183.
Sherin, M.G & van Es, E.A. (2009). Effects of video club participation on teachers’ professional vision. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(1), 20-37.
van Es, E.A. (2009). Participants’ roles in the context of a video club. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 18(1), 100-137.
Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.
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