#ObserveMe Aims to Help Teachers Grow. Here’s How Video Can Help.

Since 2016 there has been a social media storm of support and collaboration with #ObserveMe movement. The motivation for it is to make teachers more comfortable with observations, make those observations more meaningful, and most importantly help teachers develop a growth mindset. 

In the teaching community today there is a dislike for classroom observations rooted in a fear of misjudgment. Teachers are always learning and evolving their techniques to teach their students in the best way possible, but the fear of classroom observations is getting in the way of teachers reaching their peak performance. The #ObserveMe movement is tackling this fear by encouraging teachers to invite others to observe them and leave feedback.

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The #ObserveMe movement has had great success; teachers all over the world are asking others to come into their classrooms and observe them. Although there is one problem about teacher observations that #ObserveMe has not been able to address which is the behavioral changes that happen during evaluations. Often there is a noticeable change in a person’s behavior when they know people are watching them. Several studies have found that this change in behavior happens across many professions. So how do you go about alleviating a problem caused by human nature?

One answer is to bring video technology into the equation. With video, teachers and professionals can record their practice without lurking cognitive biases. Then they can observe and analyze their own practice, and when they feel comfortable, invite others to watch the videos and provide feedback. The advantages of video don’t stop there. 

With tools like Vosaic users have access to video markup options that allow them to mark moments that they want to focus on, improve on, or show others. 

The platform allows for easy communication of ideas, feedback, and evaluations, at times that are most convenient for the teacher and the observer. With the power of video combined with Vosaic, each teacher can tailor the service to their own specific needs. The end product is a more holistic and informative evaluation.

There is a unique opportunity available to teachers by combining video and #ObserveMe. Utilizing video and the positive impact that #ObserveMe has had on the teaching community, self-reflections, evaluations, and observations can be made more meaningful, accessible, and fun, for both the teacher and the observer.