Developing teaching and
evaluating language proficiency through video-based self-observation: Is it
worth doing?
Agus Budiawan
Audio-visual recordings are powerful
instruments in the development of teachers’ and students’ self-reflective
competence. They confront them with the mirror like ‘objective’ view of what
goes on in class (Fanselow, 1977). Therefore,
video-based observation can be used for many purposes including teaching,
learning and assessing. In other words, video-based observation can also be
used for teachers’ and students’ development and evaluation. Preliminary
classroom investigation in the teaching, learning and assessing process through
video-based observation has been conducted at LBPP-LIA Bogor,
Indonesia for children and adult learners. Through observation instruments such
as SCORE (Seating Chart Observation Records), observer including teachers,
supervisors, colleagues and students could see many things in terms of
teaching, learning and assessing. The results show that video-based observation
is the most neutral technique for evaluating or assessing students’ performance
and even teachers’ performance. Some aspects of teachers’ performance that can
be evaluated are teachers’ role in class, teachers’ talk and instructions,
class management, teaching pace, organization of the lesson and teachers’
competence and knowledge, etc. For students’ evaluation, the aspects that van
be observed include pronunciation, structure, word choice, fluency, classroom
interaction, students’ responses, group work, etc. The results also show that
on going video-based observation provides a valuable insight into individual
teachers’ and students’ growth in experience over a period of years.
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Budiawan, A. (2003, November). Developing
teaching and evaluating language proficiency through video-based
self-observation: Is it worth doing? Paper presented at the 38th
RELC International
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