ABSTRACT
Regardless of the quality of classroom video data, merely watching videos will not change the ways teachers reflect upon and enact teaching. To support nuanced discussions of practice grounded in videos, teachers need to take part in scaffolded viewing and interpretation. They can also benefit greatly from gaining access to a shared vocabulary and a common language for describing distinct qualities of teaching practice. This chapter addresses the potential challenges associated with reflecting on video clips, importance of framing discussions, and different ways such support can take place. It also highlights the importance of establishing a common professional vocabulary for discussing teaching and sheds light on how one specific way of framing discussions about teaching, namely observational manuals, can lead to both common language and more targeted discussions. Throughout the chapter, the authors share data from empirical projects addressing how attention to specific teaching practices, in combination with the provision of tools and concepts that enable a common and specified language for discussing those practices, can enhance the mentoring of teachers in PD and teacher candidates during fieldwork.
