Can video technology improve the classroom observation process?

The Best Foot Forward Project is exploring whether video technology can make the classroom observation process easier to implement, less costly, and more valid and reliable. Further, by putting cameras in the hands of teachers and allowing them to select their best lessons for evaluation, the study aims to learn whether digital video can make the observation process more acceptable to teachers.

In 2013, the project was piloted in 100 classrooms in New York City, Georgia, and North Carolina. Currently, 400 teachers and their principals from districts in Delaware, California, Colorado, and Georgia have joined the impact evaluation as the project team examines whether digital video can improve teaching practice and student outcomes, and ultimately transform the way classroom observations are implemented in classrooms around the country.

The study is led by Principal Investigator Tom Kane, and Project Director Miriam Greenberg.