"I'm Starved For That": Preservice Teachers' Experiences with Video Analysis

Video self-analysis is a useful tool for teacher education, and while teacher educators often espouse the benefits of its use, the perspectives of preservice teachers who have used this tool have rarely been taken into consideration. Their perspectives can help teacher educators understand what makes video self-analysis tasks more meaningful, authentic, and engaging for preservice teachers. In this study, two graduate student researchers interviewed former preservice teachers who were recent graduates of an initial teacher certification program about their perceptions of video analysis use in the program. The guiding question for the study was, In what ways did video analysis provide impactful learning experiences for these preservice teachers? The researchers had worked as university supervisors and course instructors with the preservice teachers in the study. Four participants reflected in hour-long, semi-structured interviews on the effects of using video self-analysis. Results from qualitative coding analysis indicated the benefits of seeing other classroom contexts, leveraging multiple, converging voices for reflection, and curating intentional video footage through planning. Possible implications for instructional design include planning for scaffolded video analysis tasks and cultivating video-based reflection in and for practice.