A Teacher Learns from His Students’ Analysis of a Classroom Videotape

From the Marshall Memo #442

In this important article in Teacher, California high-school teacher Larry Ferlazzo tells how he and his colleagues view videotapes of their classes with an instructional coach (this is not part of teachers’ evaluations). “The chance to closely examine my teaching ‘at a distance’ has been one of the most significant professional-development experiences I’ve had,” says Ferlazzo. “In concept, it’s far different from the massive Gates Foundation-funded effort to videotape teacher lessons and have them evaluated (using checklists) by people who have never visited the school nor developed any kind of relationship with the teacher…” 

Ferlazzo describes how he began to involve students in the process. One day in December, he prepared a group of ninth-graders to watch video clips from a lesson he’d taught them a few weeks earlier. “Today is an opportunity for you to challenge and push me to become a better teacher,” he said, “and a time for you to challenge and push yourselves to be better learners.” Students were asked to keep the school’s teaching goals in mind as they watched the video:

• Leaning in – When we are engaged, we are leaning forward, not slouching back.
• Who’s doing the work? – Students are working and learning, not sitting back listening to the teacher.
• Everybody has a job – All students are working all the time, listening and taking notes or annotating, asking questions, reading, etc.
• Tools of the scholar – Almost all the time, students have a writing tool in hand – pen, pencil, highlighter.
• Multiple touches on text – We read the same text multiple times in different ways to deepen our understanding.
• Changing trajectories – Teachers work hard so students can accomplish their dreams. 

Students then watched a five-minute clip in which Ferlazzo introduced an activity. They jotted down their reactions, shared them with a partner, and then reported out to the whole class. 

At first, students were uniformly positive about how Ferlazzo had handled the segment and how well students had followed the school’s norms. But one boy said something under his breath. Ferlazzo asked him if he would be willing to share it with the class, and after a moment of hesitation, he did: “Mr. Ferlazzo talked too long.” 

“A line had been crossed,” said Ferlazzo, “and students were clearly wondering what would happen next.” He surprised them by sharing his own analysis of the videotape from an earlier viewing: “I talked too much.” Students began to open up. They said he sometimes spent too much time giving instructions and that was boring because he was doing all the work and they were sitting passively for far too long without a job. Analyzing the breakdown of class time, there were 35 minutes on Ferlazzo’s introduction, 30 minutes of active student work in groups, and 35 minutes of teacher closure. The school’s ideal was 15:70:15.

Students then viewed another clip in which they were working in groups. This time the criticisms came more quickly: “We were leaning back when the person was reading,” said one student. “Sally was making noise with her pen instead of listening,” said another. “Most of us didn’t have a pencil in our hand,” said a third. After viewing yet another clip, students had a mix of comments: “We were all doing our work.” “Mr. Ferlazzo didn’t talk as much, but he did talk when we were trying to write.” “We were all writing and following directions.” 

“There was a sense of an ‘aha’ moment among my class,” says Ferlazzo. “Students hadn’t been lectured to about how they needed to act and be serious learners. In the period of a few minutes, they had actually seen video showing themselves when they were serious learners and when they were not.” 

At the end of the class, students were asked what could change to ensure that everyone was learning at the highest level. “Mr. Ferlazzo has to stop over-explaining and talking so much,” said one student. “I have to work harder and not get distracted,” said another. 

Ferlazzo hung a new poster in his classroom with the school’s instructional criteria and began to make a point of checking in with students every day on how he’s doing at being more succinct and how they’re doing at being active learners. Under the poster is a new slogan: Remember that the person doing the work is the one growing the dendrites. 

“Videotaping Teachers the Right Way (Not the Gates Way)” by Larry Ferlazzo in Teacher, Jan. 18, 2011, http://bit.ly/eYzY00