Videotape Your Teaching: Guidelines for Reflection (Independent Study

3)
For IS3, you will videotape at least one lesson of yourself teaching. Ideally, you
would do this when you implement your Instructional Repertoire Project Plan.
However, if that does not work out for some reason, you may videotape any
other lesson you choose. Be sure to check with your mentor about policies
covering the use of video cameras in the classroom. The video should not be
used or seen by anyone but you. Once approved, place the camera in an
inconspicuous place. The purpose of this exercise is to give you experience using
video as a feedback tool for your teaching. It is difficult for a teacher to be
constantly aware of all of the interactions occurring in the classroom; the video
gives you the opportunity to re-examine the lesson with time to reflect.
Note: if you are able to videotape during your IR project implementation, the
video should be one of the sources of evidence for your IR Evaluation Plan.
DUE DATE: flexible depending on when you choose to videotape. It MUST be
completed no later than December 4, the Thursday before our last class. But you
want to reflect on the video within ONE WEEK of your original teaching of the
lesson to be sure it is fresh in your mind.
To earn credit for IS3, turn in a document in the D2L Dropbox in which
you address the following:
1. What are your initial reactions to the video of the lesson?
I'm always uncomfortable initially watching or listening to myself teach.
I can be self-conscious about how I sound, and I think that I tend to get started
slowly in most classes. In this class, I had to address a couple of students who
hadn't prepared and try to initiate some measure of control of a very large class
immediately after lunch. It wasn't a very smooth transition, and I have been
trying to improve on getting these late-day classes moving quickly with limited
success.
Once we were under way, though, I felt very good about how the class
behaved and how I performed as a facilitator. One of my strengths when leading
a room is my ability to keep a conversation going with questions for my
students. Sometimes I get the 'why do you always answer a question with a
question?' line, and I don't think that's a bad thing. In a class discussion-style
class, I don't want to be doing a lot of talking. When I do talk, I want to put the
onus back on my students to think through their own answers and verbalize
them.

2. What went well? Why?

Many of my students were invested in the conversation, which helped
us to address a wide number of topics and arguments concerning the use of
GMO crops. Most of them referenced where they had found their information,

and when sources seemed dubious other students were not shy to call their
validity into question. In scientific discussions, ensuring that our data is reliable
is paramount, and though a few of my students were a little aggressive in the
debate I did appreciate that they tried to vet evidence that was presented.
They also seemed invested in their arguments, and many wanted to
respond when another student would challenge their argument or evidence. I
was satisfied with the amount of information presented; I had several talking
points and questions prepared in case the discussion stalled, and I rarely had to
help it along. Most of the information that I thought should be addressed was
brought up by the students without my assistance, and they had an impressive
command of the information they gathered. Those students who readily jumped
in the conversation had clearly done their research and put in a good amount of
thought into their arguments.

3. What did not go well? Why?

A few times, the talking went a little out of control and I struggled to
regain everyone's attention and limit the talking to a single person at a time. We
used a soft ball as an indicator of who would be talking at any given point, and
while it usually worked some students were prone to outbursts in response to
whoever was talking.
In a large class like this one, it's not surprising that someone would be
disruptive at some point. What was disappointing about this case was that it
took about a minute for me to calm down the students who were talking over
another student trying to make a point. I eventually quieted everyone down and
returned attention to the student who was interrupted. I think the size of the
class also led to some students getting frustrated that they couldn't immediately
respond to whoever was talking at that moment, because three other students
were in line to speak before them. It may have made sense to them to just
speak up and make their point regardless of whatever rules I had been trying to
enforce. I still need to figure out a good, quick way of snatching my class's
attention in circumstances like that. My mentor uses a loud whistle, but it's so
loud that it hurts sometimes. I will need to work on finding my own trick.
4. Were all of the students engaged in learning? What evidence is there? What
did you do to impact their level of engagement?
This class has 40 students, and there are always some students who are
disengaged. I have been trying to implement simple strategies for capturing as
many students attention as possible, like moving about the room and directly
addressing students with topics that I suspect interest them in particular. I am
satisfied with how many students volunteered their ideas during the lesson not
every student contributed, but I did not make it a requirement because I
remember being nervous to speak up in class when I was a younger student. On
occasion I did encourage a couple of students to speak up when they seemed to
have something on their minds. It didn't always work, but I think I helped bring

in some students' ideas that might have otherwise been drowned out by their
peers.
I led this lesson four times, and as the day went on I began to find my
footing as a facilitator of discussion. I tried to give each student who wanted to
speak the chance to have the floor; one of my focuses when I am leading class is
to keep a wide eye on the class to catch when a student has a question or I need
to intervene somewhere. In this class, I often had a waiting list of students who
wanted to speak, and I think I did a good job of keeping track of the order of
hands that went up. When I stumbled on giving the proper students priority, I
got some grumbling, but as I asserted some authority and kept the conversation
moving among many different students I could see that they were happy to be
acknowledged and get a chance to contribute.
5. How could your instruction be improved for next time? Be explicit (e.g., Next
time I should try modeling, guided practice, scaffolding, peer collaboration, more
time on task, better answers to students questions about X, etc.)?
Future versions of this activity could be more structured than this first time
through. I let the discussion run kind of free and go kind of where ever the students
wanted, which worked well in many ways for this class but was not as successful
with other groups. I could include more specific prompts for the writing assignment
that accompanied the discussion to lead students to find information about topics
or arguments that I think would be relevant or interesting for them to learn about
and cover in conversation. These could then be items that I bring up and devote a
part of the discussion time to address as a class. I was lucky with this group to have
touched on a wide variety of topics, but with more guidance before our discussion
in the writing assignment I could produce a more consistent preparation of
information.
6. What might be done in future/similar lessons to increase the amount of
students' active
engagement, rehearsal, and/or mastery of the skill/strategy?
The results of this lesson leads me to want to bring in students' opinions or
set them at odds with each other to encourage discussions during classes more
often. Most of the lessons that these students have had in Biology have been
lectures with very little opportunity for them to provide input, and I think they
would respond well to being asked to contribute their own ideas in class.
A lesson following shortly after this activity centered around the human
reproductive systems, which also included material about in vitro fertiliation
(IVF). I realized while explaining some of the controversy about the practice of
IVF that I could turn the material over to the students and turn the class into a
discussion session similar to this focus activity. It was a good choice the class
seemed to perk up when I pressured them with ethical dilemmas and prodded
them for their opinions. I was kind of amused at the uncomfortable silence that
came with some of my questions; the students looked like they were chewing on
the problem until a few offered their thoughts. I think this will be a valuable

teaching strategy for these students into the future.

7. What data do you have from the lesson to indicate whether the students
learned/did not learn the info/skill/strategy? (formative/summative
assessments?)
The video recording of my sixth hour class is my primary record of how the
students performed in an interactive discussion, and the brief essays I required
the students to write are a good indication of how well they completed the
research component of this activity. I think that the video shows many students
engaging in the kind of scientific discussion I was hoping to see, and they used
good evidence to back up their claims. Most of the essays I received were also
well-written and included useful information for the two sides of the GMO
debate. In the future, I will likely expand the requirements and rubric for the
writing assignment to include more instruction on finding sources and citing in
an APA format that would be a useful skill to learn alongside the other parts of
this activity.
In addition to the questions above, please create and respond to 2-4
questions that are specific to your own teaching. (ie. Take some
ownership and reflect on something specific to you that will help you
improve. These could relate to struggles you are having or could simply
be curiosities about how you come across in front of the classroom.)
8. How could this lesson be adapted to future courses outside of its current
curriculum?
This activity was not developed to fit any specific International
Baccalaureate requirement, and should be easily inserted into non-IB Biology
courses. Material about GMO crops could be included in units covering ecology,
genetics, or ethics, in addition to plant biology (as it was in this case). If used in
a different unit, the arguments used in the debate could be guided to focus on
information relevant to that particular area of biology. For instance, if building
from a genetics unit, students could search for information about methods used
in modifying genomes to fit a particular purpose and the various potential
outcomes of implementing those methods. Discussions focused on ethics could
address economic concerns and the effects of GMO development on agricultural
research activities.

9. How do students perceive your authority as the leader of your classroom?

I have taught the students in the focus class for this activity for only a
couple of weeks, though I have been present for most of their previous classes
this year. I don't think I have yet established respect for me among them as a
disciplinarian, and I can't easily quickly cut off disruptions and side-talk. I do
think that I have established myself as an academic authority: I regularly receive

insightful and relevant questions about material we have been covering during
class, and my students seem to follow along when I am explaining new material
in ways that I think will engage them.
A few students in the class that was taped had significant disregard for the
rules that I had set forth for the classroom discussion, and I had difficulty cutting
them off and re-establishing control over who would have the floor and be heard
in the class. Most of the students respected when I indicated one of their peers
to be the speaker, but those disruptive few did not seem to fully respect my
authority. I hope that as the year goes on and I teach this class through next
semester I will begin to establish a better relationship with this class that allows
me to give them some freedom and be able to bring them back under control
without too much time or trouble. That's the goal, at least.