Video and CORP Reflection Guide
After you record your video, you may need to submit your video into a Community Reflection assignment. In this type of assignment, you are sharing your video with your CORP group and viewing the videos of your other CORP members. You will be required to give feedback on what you notice in the video clip.
Reflect and Share Video
Watch your video. It is important to view the recording as soon as possible, perhaps on the same day it is made, or the next day, so that your memory is fresh and you can readily recall what you were thinking or feeling during the taping. Be sure to set aside sufficient time to analyze the video.
Write a self-reflection and type it in the comment section along with your video on Coaching Companion, to share with your CORP (see rubric below). A high-quality comment will be at least 4 to 6 sentences long and will include:
- Setting the Stage/Planning: What strategy were you focused on in this clip and what was the child outcome(s)? Be specific about why you chose to focus on this strategy for your clip and specific about the child outcomes (e.g. from your state’s early learning guidelines or the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework). Please briefly describe how you had planned to implement the strategy in your setting. Be specific about the development of your plan to accomplish this goal.
- Objective and Specific Observation: A brief statement of what you observe and your impression while viewing the video clip. Be specific in describing exactly how you enacted this strategy. How do you observe the children responding to you? Be specific.
- Reflection/Analysis/Self-Assessment: Include a judgment of how well you implemented the strategy. Are there any specific factors that you think influenced the interaction? Was a particular part hardest for you? What else could you have done in this moment or in other moments during your day?
- Plan for Improvement: What might you do next time to implement this strategy (or a related strategy) in a more intentional way?
|
Rubric |
Accomplished |
Satisfactory |
Beginning |
|
Reflective Comment |
Your reflection demonstrates insight and is well reasoned. You state the specific child outcome(s) and how you planned to support it. You make specific and objective observations of what you did and how this is an example of the interaction strategy. Your reflection addresses children’s responses to the strategy. You apply knowledge from the lessons of how to facilitate interest in learning in an analysis of the quality of your interaction and provide specific, concrete plans for improvement. |
Your reflection shows some insight and demonstrates a basic understanding of how to facilitate interest in learning. Your response may not include specific child outcomes and how you planned to support them. You may support your reflection with some examples from your video and describe children’s responses as evidence of self-analysis, but it is incomplete (e.g. may not be specific and/or objective and/or may not include specific ideas for improvement). |
Your response lacks depth with minimal detail from your experience in the early childhood setting and you provide few references to the strategy of facilitating interest in learning. Reflection may not include information about children’s responses. |
Give feedback to at least two of your CORP members
The rationale for peer feedback: There will be times when giving or receiving feedback as a professional will be key to your success. Learn how to do it well now. You will also gain experience in making neutral observations. Here you are observing and documenting the behavior of your peers (a transferable skill!). In many early childhood settings, you need to observe and document children’s behavior, which is very similar.
Come back to Coaching Companion, view your CORP members’ videos, and read their personal reflection comments (check the course website for the due date to give feedback). Write coach-quality feedback to at least two of the CORP videos in the comment section, making sure that everyone has at least one comment.
High-quality comments include:
- Objective and Specific Observations: (See chart and examples below.) Support your comment with clearly articulated, detailed, and behavior-specific comments that are anchored to the practice (e.g., Comparing, Categorizing, Making Predictions, etc.)
- Focus on Multiple Things in Setting: Especially bidirectional, high-quality interactions: What your CORP member did, how children responded, and how the CORP member followed up.
- Feedback: Consider yourself a “coach” to your peer, qualifying comments with I-statements. Provide well-reasoned comments, including both positive and constructive comments with specific examples from the video. Provide a helpful hint, if possible, too.
As you give feedback, consider including these components as appropriate…
- Seeing Multiple Perspectives: Help peers see multiple things happening in the recordings. For example, if your peer is very focused on one child’s challenging behavior, help them to observe what other children are doing or how they responded. There is a lot going on in an early childhood setting at any given moment, and there is always something positive to point out in each recording!
- Notice Other Strategies: What, if any, other high-quality strategies do you notice in this clip (in addition to the strategy or strategies the CORP member already identified, such as comparing and categorizing/making predictions)
- Early Learning Guidelines: What early learning guideline(s) are addressed in the video interaction?
|
Rubric |
Accomplished |
Satisfactory |
Beginning |
|
Feedback to at least two CORP members |
Student’s peer feedback to at least two CORP members demonstrates insight and is well-reasoned with specific examples from the videos. Student draws on knowledge of the specific practices in the lesson and qualifies comments with I-statements. Feedback contains both positive comments and constructive guidance. |
Student’s peer feedback to at least two CORP members does show some insight and demonstrates a basic understanding of the specific practices from the lesson. Student qualifies their feedback with an I-statement. Feedback contains positive comments but lack constructive guidance. |
Student’s peer feedback to one or two CORP members lacks depth, with minimal detail from the video(s) and few references to features of the specific practices from the lesson. Student may mischaracterize features of the interactions and practice or demonstrate an inability to recognize strategies from the lesson. Feedback is not qualified with an I-statement or is not supported with detailed observations. |
Objective and Specific Observations
A good observer is objective and not subjective, specific, and not general.
|
DO: Be Objective |
DON’T: Be Subjective |
|
Based on fact Includes specific behaviors or actions Is what actually happened |
Based on opinion Emotional reaction to behaviors or actions Personal thoughts about what happened |
|
DO: Be Specific |
DON’T: Be General |
|
Describes discrete behaviors Includes educator or child actions Provides a description of facts Example: Ms. Jones turned toward Sam, got down on his level, and made eye contact to listen to what he said. Sam responded by continuing to explain what he was thinking, and he moved closer to Ms. Jones. |
Overview statements Tied to actions Descriptions of the overall classroom atmosphere Example: I liked the way she helped Sam. He was really happy. |
Example Comments
High-Quality Comments
“You have close physical proximity to the child and are engaging in a back-and-forth exchange, using respectful language and a calm voice. The child is smiling and continuing to engage in the activity with you. I think this is a high-quality example of fostering a connection with a young child.”
This is a great comment because it is based on the observed behavior, it is detailed and does not interpret the behavior, it is anchored to specific practices (for example, “You have close physical proximity.” “You are engaging in a back-and-forth exchange,” and so on), and ends with an I-statement that seems supported by the descriptive notes.
“You are sitting at the small group table with the children and using the same materials as they are (play dough and cookie cutters). You are smiling and using a calm voice with the children. When the two children, Jose and Juanita, talked to you, you responded with a few words. For example, when Jose said, “Look at what I made, teacher!” you said, “Nice.” And when Juanita said, “Teacher, I am using a lot of play dough,” you said, “Yes. Lots.” I think this is a good example of positive climate, but I think you might need to build on the students’ initiations and try to elicit more back-and-forth exchanges in order to have this be considered a high-quality example of language modeling. I am working on this, too– we can support each other!”
This is another great comment. It is based on the observed behavior, it is detailed, it does not interpret, it is anchored to a specific practice(s) (positive climate and language modeling), and provides feedback qualified with an I-statement. The constructive nature of the feedback will help your classmates improve their skills.
Not-So-High-Quality Comments
“Fun activity!”
This is a poor comment because it is not describing behavior, it is not detailed, it is not anchored to a practice, and while obviously an opinion, it does not start with an I-statement.
“You are a great teacher! I love the story you read to the children.”
While most people would like to hear this comment, it is not a good example. It is not behavior specific. The person would not know what was so great about their teaching. It is also an opinion, but we do not know this because it is not started with an I-statement (for example, “I think you are a great teacher!”). Finally, it lacks anchoring to a specific practice. The comment mentions a book, but there is not a comment about the literacy practice the teacher is engaging in other than reading.
“You are really making the boy feel happy and you are loving your interaction.”
This is not a good comment because it is based on your interpretation of the interactions. Rather than the actual behaviors. We do not know if the boy is happy; we can only describe how he looks in the video.
Sample Reflection Prompts
Consider prompting your CORP members to further analyze their own practice with these questions:
To encourage objective reflection:
- What happened when…?
- What have you tried with…?
- How did this child respond when you…?
To encourage process/planning reflection:
- What was your goal with that strategy?
- What were you thinking at that moment?
To encourage interpretive reflection:
- Why do you think…?
- What do you think would happen if…?
- Why do you think this child responds the way he or she did when you…?
To encourage comparative reflection:
- Now that…what would you do next time?
- How did that compare to…?
Plan for Improvement
After reviewing your video and reading the comments on your fellow CORP members, consider how you will improve your interaction in your ongoing practice with children and in your final video, regarding these specific practices and anything else. Ask yourself, “What else could I have done in this moment or in other moments during my day to implement these strategies?” Consider taking notes that you can refer back to when you film your initial video.