From high school basketball to pro football, every coach analyzes game film as a standard practice.
Game film allows coaches to see what went well and what didn’t — sometimes over and over again — so that they can apply the necessary changes during practice, and ultimately during the next game.
But, how does that apply to teaching?
Well, teaching is a performance sport, too. And just like in any sport, there is always room for improvement in the classroom.
Enter video coaching for teachers. It’s just like game film, but for teachers.
In this guide, we discuss the value of video coaching for educators and how TORSH is changing the game… or should we say… the classroom.
Contents
- What Is Video Coaching for Teachers?
- How Does Video Coaching for Teachers Benefit Instructional Coaches?
- 3 Video Coaching Tools Offered By TORSH
- Ready to Get Started With TORSH Video Coaching for Teachers?
What Is Video Coaching for Teachers?
Video coaching for teachers provides instructional coaches with an exceptional framework for collaborating with teachers to improve practice. Using pre-recorded video, coaches can perform observations and deliver evidence-based, data-driven feedback to teachers.
The TORSH Talent coaching and professional learning management system was designed to harness the power of video to help coaches provide more coaching with less effort — which improves instructional effectiveness and ultimately student outcomes.
How Does Video Coaching Work?
All of the teachers you’re coaching will record a video of themselves delivering a lesson using their smartphones. They then upload the video to the TORSH Talent app. They can review the video before sharing it with their coach with the option of:
- Leaving notes and comments about things they thought went well;
- Inquiring about the areas where they’d like advice; and
- Asking specific questions
Coaches can review the video at a convenient time and provide time-stamped comments, feedback, and recommendations while marking moments of both triumph and struggle.
Coaches can construct feedback based on rubrics and checklists that have been preloaded to TORSH Talent by the coach or organization so that classroom observations and goal setting are consistent across all the classrooms being coached.
What Problem Does Video Coaching Solve?
Video-based coaching overcomes barriers to coaches’ ability to provide frequent, growth-oriented feedback and sustained coaching, such as:
- Too many teachers and not enough hours in the week to visit each one’s classroom and observe a lesson.
- The limits of memory to provide constructive feedback on specific moments and actions in a lesson.
- The ability of a coach and a teacher to review a lesson in progress together.
Who Is Video Coaching For?
Every educator can benefit from video-based coaching, whether they’re teaching:
- Early education
- K-12; or
- Post-secondary
How Does Video Coaching for Teachers Benefit Instructional Coaches?
TORSH Talent automatically captures and catalogs all user interactions so coaches can easily review your notes, your mentees’ notes, video footage, progress toward goals, and more.
Having everything stored in one place really simplifies the coaching process and eliminates the hassle and stress of juggling Google Docs, handwritten notes, videos saved in different places, etc.
Coaches can even conduct live, virtual coaching sessions using the in-platform synchronous video function, saving them from having to jump out of TORSH and over to Zoom or Google Meet. Because coaches do not have to physically move from classroom to classroom, and have these features at their fingertips, coaches can expand the amount of support they can provide to teachers.
3 Video Coaching Tools Offered By TORSH
#1: Insights Dashboard
The Insights dashboard shows coaches an individual teacher’s engagement, activity, and progress toward goals as well as organization-wide stats to support data-driven conversations and coaching.
#2: Resource Library
You and your organization can build a resource library within TORSH Talent that may contain:
- Self-directed courses for teachers
- Exemplars
- Curriculum frameworks and guidelines
- Any other resources you want to supply to support educator practice.
#3: Discussion Forum
If you lead professional learning communities or have groups of teachers all working to learn and improve a specific instructional practice, the Discussion Forums provide a place for peer-to-peer collaboration and conversation.
Ready to Get Started With TORSH Video Coaching for Teachers?
TORSH Talent consolidates and simplifies all your professional learning, coaching, and collaboration activities into one online, FERPA Compliant platform so coaches can focus their energy and expertise on actually coaching teachers — rather than managing the process of coaching.
With TORSH Talent you’ve got all of the tools you need to support high-performance teachers — just like those pro athletic coaches do, with maybe a little less sweat!
No matter how sophisticated your professional learning requirements are, TORSH can provide the tools and a pricing plan to meet your unique needs. Request a demo today.
