The Reflective Lens

Reflection-on-practice has become a criticalcomponent of teacher professional development overthe past decade. As a result, it is increasinglyimportant for teacher educators to better understandthe relationship between reflection and thedevelopment of professional expertise. This studyinvolved a particular kind of self-reflection thatutilized video of credential candidates' own teachingas the object of reflection. Reflection on the lessonwas facilitated by either mental recall or videotapedlesson analysis. Video analysis is a powerful tool tosupport the growth of preservice teachers in makingthe critical connections between theoretical pedagogyand classroom interactions. Video analysis of theirown classroom performance can shift reflections frombeing centered on teacher actions to looking morebroadly at teacher and student interactions. Theeffects of video analysis can persist over time andsupported the professional growth of new teachers.The results of this study strongly suggest thatprofessional development activities that targetimproved reflection-on-practice through the use ofvideo analysis can be effective.