Reflective Teaching: How Video and AI Help Teachers Improve

Reflective teaching matters. As teachers and professionals, we need to ask ourselves: how are we reflecting and improving? The times I've videoed myself teaching have been hard to watch, but I've learned so much. As you listen to the innovations happening in the teacher education program at Valdosta State University, think about how reflection can improve your teaching.

Dr. Karen Terry has spent more than 30 years in education as a teacher, administrator, district leader, and now a professor preparing future teachers. Her goal is for the teachers from her program to still be happy in the classroom ten years later.

A big part of her program is the connection with mentor teachers. In today's show, Karen shares how her student teachers record their lessons and use both AI coaching AND mentor feedback to reflect and grow. I find it fascinating that each one adds value. Some student teachers who are eager to grow record themselves, reflect with AI, and try strategies they might not have found otherwise.

I would argue that what changes these teachers is their commitment to reflection and growth, along with their willingness to listen to their mentors and use the tools they're given.

Most teachers I know are overly critical of themselves, so we need to give ourselves grace when we watch ourselves teach. Yet reflective use of video can be a valuable tool!

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What most student teachers say after they finally watch the lesson they thought was terrible
• How an AI coach walks a new teacher through reflecting on one goal at a time
• Why a skeptical veteran mentor ended up named mentor of the year
• How one student teacher used video to handle a student's tough behavior
• Karen's test for telling a lasting tool from a passing fad
• What happened when her students wrote their own rules for using AI

If this episode helped you, please rate or review the show wherever you listen. It helps other teachers find it.

Show notes, the full transcript, and the research behind this episode: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1007