Research - Case Studies
Ethiopia Teacher Professional Development:
Children's Home Society and Family Services
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • 24-28 August 2009

Video Documentation for Reflection and Training Materials

Video

Video taping and still photography captured the complete five day professional development held at Children's Home Academy during the week of 24-28 August 2009. It is a model for:

• peer feedback (collegial coaching) with reflection
• interviewing participants and students
• creating materials to reference on how to do the various strategies and methods learned during the professional development
• to reflect on these sessions for future direction
• as a means of sharing our professional development journey

Training Materials
Training materials for participants with the professional development to learn from will be developed from the video taping. The materials will be used to access 'how' different methods and techniques were implemented and used. Like sports, the video can be used to reflect on the the finer points of improving the craft and pedagogy of teaching for all teachers. Video taping during collegial coaching will provide a means of seeing what is being discussed from a lesson at the debriefing (see section on Collegial Coaching). In the future, training materials could easily be created during the professional development. The participants would then receive video (on dvd or similar) to review what they have learned when returning to their schools.

Documentation
Documentation, which is still in production, will include interviewing the participants, creating print and multi-media documents A goal is to make legible the life of our educational process through careful observation, reflection and documentation of our experience together. The practice of daily reflection enables teachers to plan responsive curriculum that supports both group and individual development.

In addition to the documentation in production from the video and still images filmed, suggested future documentation includes panels, books, videotapes, storyboards of processes, and field notes to capture the essence of our professional development and pedagogical choices (teaching methods). Documentation is a tool for better understanding our pedagogy, our practice, and our understanding to support the best education experience for all children. Most importantly, documentation is a fundamental part of our dialogue with other teachers, children, and parents. Additionally, documentation is a ‘model’ and ‘broadcasting’ for other Ethiopian schools and educators on successful practices. Key people for the documentation include a journalist(s), videographer(s), illustrator(s), still photographer(s), and translators (when needed).