Instead of consorting to the notion of being fearful of what audio or video recording may reveal, I strongly concur with Mr. Fanselow, who in his own words highlighted that ‘recording’ should be a standard behaviour for all teachers who strive to be reflective.
In the pursuit of understanding one’s own teaching and be made aware of the extent of one's progress in relation to their intention (attaining a certain accomplishment), transcribing allows teachers to approach the lesson with a wider 'visual field'. With the help of transcriptions, moments which teachers find to be insignificant during the lesson might be perceived otherwise on second screening.
Also, the effectiveness of transcription could be further enhanced when done collaboratively. For instance, a teacher could include his or her students and colleagues when transcribing the lesson. Despite the fact that different individuals would result in contrasting opinions of a certain behaviour or practice in the classroom, this is exactly what teachers should be aspiring for. The notion of constantly reflecting on one's own practices would engage teachers in meaningful discussions with peers.
To note, the practice of sharing ideas during the transcribing process would help provide insights to teachers as they might have overlooked certain details which may seem insignificant initially, but proven to be essential. Comparatively, the joint effort between teacher and partner or teacher and students would be significantly more productive than transcribing and evaluation one's lesson individually.
In 'Smile', it is written that writing opposite judgments and interpretations also alerts us to the fact that others might well have a totally different perspective from us. Through this course, Mr. Fanselow has constantly reiterated "Believe nothing I say" but to consider what is lacking in the lesson or activity that could be further improved.
Dear Tak, A very clear and succinct--short description of the main themes of our course.
ReplyDeleteOne point that I did not mention enough is the fact that when I talk about rules as in the title of my book Breaking Rules, I think of behaviors and actions and gestures and language we and our students use that is out of consciousness--automatic and unplanned.
Teachers around the world say "OK, now" before giving a direction. This is not in the plan of anyone but we all say these words--out of conscious language use. Most teachers are surprised that they say these words at all much less very, very frequently. Ditto re "very good, great job, good" which teachers often say even when what students say or do is not correct. gain when teachers record and transcribe they are surprised at the frequency of these words.
Students in Japan often twirl their pens or pencils and when shown a video are surprised. Ditto when they see how they are adjusting their hair. Many tap their feet quite quickly while sitting in class and again when they see their feet moving they are surprised.
Cheers.
John