Tony Thornley shares some tips on using video to evaluate lessons and improve pedagogy.

Taught on camera

Over the years I have run many training sessions about teaching and learning. Before we made the ASCL DVDs, I found these difficult. Lots of lesson observations, as a Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI) and subsequently as a consultant, taught me the need to evaluate learning – in the lesson and over time. But how do you teach others how to do this?

All the early, commercially available video material focused on the teacher and hardly anyone asked questions of the learner, so it was almost impossible to form a view of what had been learnt. I tried using the school’s own videoed lessons, which were good – it’s always better to see your own colleagues and students on film – but sound quality tended to be poor and they too rarely answered the learning question.

ASCL Professional Development (PD) backed my thoughts that videos that tried to unpick learning from an inspector’s point of view may prove popular and the Lesson Observation DVD sets were developed.

They were tricky to make; teaching is hard enough without the additional burden of two camera operators, a sound engineer, a director and two former HMIs in your lesson. To my surprise, once the initial nerves were overcome, most of the lessons we filmed proceeded well and did not lose the plot. After editing, we got lessons that fulfilled my original aim and enormous thanks are due to the teachers and the schools who put their reputations on the line by allowing us to do this.

Why use video?

Outstanding pedagogy has to be a top priority for any school. Ideally, all staff have to understand how to evaluate lessons, the need to focus on progress and learning and, in particular, be able to help the observed teacher to improve.

Video contributes to this process. I use it to:

• teach colleagues how to observe and write up observations
• moderate lesson quality judgements
• develop feedback strategies
• provide ideas about good and outstanding practice

In addition, videoing yourself or a colleague or using a teaching observation suite with a one-way mirror can also be powerful tools for self-improvement.

The value of a third-party video is that it is ‘neutral’ and personalities don’t get in the way. Indeed, teachers tend to be hyper-critical and downgrade an unknown teacher’s lesson, especially if it is in their own subject area.

How is video best used?

When I am asked to help colleagues to judge, evaluate and improve lessons, I usually work as follows (but, as those who know me will attest, I am idiosyncratic and adapt according to the context, so please don’t take this as a definitive recipe):

1. Discuss what constitutes an outstanding lesson, using Ofsted criteria, any school evidence and extracts of outstanding practice from the ASCL videos.

2. Talk, very briefly, about how to record a lesson.

3. Show an edited (20 minutes or so) version of an outstanding lesson. I try to pick one where the school’s context is similar to the school I’m in. Ask colleagues to record evidence about teaching, the pupils’ response and the learning. Get them to discuss what makes it outstanding, what the ‘even betters’ may be, and summarise this as a group response. Compare their written summary with the video observers’ evaluation.

4. Show a second video lesson: different subject, potentially different judgement. As before, ask colleagues to record their evaluation of the lesson. At the end, ask them – probably in pairs initially – to agree:

• the main strengths and areas for development
• where they have sufficient evidence, judgements of learning, behaviour and teaching using adapted Ofsted criteria (there are no formal criteria for individual lessons as inspectors make an overall judgement about the quality of learning, taking account of what they have seen in lessons)
• what and how they would feedback to the teacher

In plenary discussion, I’d hope to unpick issues about learning and ‘typicality’, especially if learning in the lesson seems to differ from learning over time. It is often very difficult to judge the former and it is far more important (see recent Ofsted guidance) to focus on the latter. I would issue an evidence form written by experienced observers – from the video, not the live lesson – and I sometimes also play part or all of the videoed lesson feedback.

5. Finally, I leave colleagues to decide individually what they need todo to become a better observer. Paired observation is often an important, if time-consuming, element. I also say that there is some good written guidance about observing on the later DVDs and available from ASCL. This provides useful background reading. Tony Thornley is an Education Consultant and a former headteacher and HMI.

Tony Thornley is an Education Consultant and a former headteacher and HMI.

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