Exploring the Potential of Video Observation for Enhancing Preservice Teachers’ Reflective Practices

Through this dissertation research study, I investigated and communicated the ways in which preservice educators’ stories about viewing videos of themselves teaching influence their ability and willingness to reflect upon personal teaching practices. As a component of the requirements of the teacher education program within the University of Houston’s College of Education, preservice teachers view video footage of themselves teaching a lesson within their field placement classroom. Each preservice teacher subsequently documents personal reflections regarding the lesson through identifying individually meaningful moments, or "pause points." With the objective of offering the reader a rich narrative account of the video observation experiences of three preservice teachers, the study features three in-depth interviews exploring the tensions, challenges, and triumphs these individuals negotiated through their encounter with this highly personalized, self-exploratory process. In accordance with the related literature, the outcomes of this study point to immense potential for video observation as a means of promoting preservice teachers’ heightened reflective practices.