Video-Mediated Reflection in Literacy Education Practicum
Submitted by:
Anne McGill-Franzen
Abstract:
Video analysis is increasingly used as a strategy for self-reflection and performance evaluation with both pre-service and in-service teachers. As a longitudinal (two semesters), multiple-case (7 university-level students) design experiment this study assumed a pragmatic stance and was grounded in a model of teacher development based on retrospective reflection on practice (Schon, 1983; Valli, 1997; Dewey, 1933) and Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). Reflective thought is a “bending back” or reconsidering of one’s behaviors, beliefs, and assumptions to ensure that these are supported by logic and evidence (Valli, 1997); reflective teaching, by implication, is “teaching with careful thought and judgment” (p.68) and harkens back to Dewey’s (1933) notions of reflective thinking being both intentional and grounded in evidence (p.69). “Intentionality” as well as instruction grounded in a developmental progression and language that is explicit and systematic mark high quality interactions with students (Henry & Pianta, 2011; Justice, et al., 2008). In this study, we ask: How do participants represent their learning from clinical literacy practica that included video-mediated reflection?
Participant pool consisted of in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in a blended face-to-face and online graduate-level reading education practicum course that was redesigned to incorporate video recording of teaching. Data sources include participants’ written reflections on brief self-selected videos clips, reflective essays on the experience of video analysis, and individual interviews during which further questions and ideas related to video-mediated reflection were explored. Eight teachers gave informed consent. Following an initial domain analysis to represent early relationships emerging in the data (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996), the transcripts, along with other course artifacts, were coded and analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) constant-comparative method. Although participants started from different places in terms of teaching experience, they reported that the clinical literacy practica directly impacted their practice. Drawing on insight into the literacy development of children gained through case study work and video-mediated reflection and collaboration, participants took up parts of their experiences, e.g., case studies, peer observations, and instructional focus on language, scaffolds, and integration of literacy to shape their current practice. A middle school teacher noted that she benefitted from this sort of professional development as “a teacher, a thinker, and an emotional being.” Finally, consistent with the research of others (Arya & Christ, 2013; Christ, Arya, & Chiu, 2017), utilizing multiple methods of reflection influenced teacher’s development in a profound way.
Anne McGill-Franzen is professor of literacy studies and director of the Reading Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In addition to twice receiving the Albert J. Harris Award for research contributing to our understanding of reading/learning disabilities, Dr. McGill-Franzen has also received the Nila Banton Smith Research Dissemination Award and the Dina Feitelson Award from the International Reading Association for her work with emergent readers. She is the author of a number of published research reports and of several books, the most recent being the Handbook of Reading Disabilities Research. She has also been involved in the Diagnostic Teaching program co-sponosred by UNICEF and IRA in developing greater expertise in elementary school teachers in several African nations. Her email is amcgillf@utk.edu.
Dr. Natalia Ward is a clinical assistant professor of literacy studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests include equitable education and assessment for multilingual learners, literacy and biliteracy, and the impact of policy on daily classroom interactions. Her email is nward2@utk.edu.