Teaching videos in initial teacher education: a qualitative study of pre-service teachers’ reflections

Abstract

Teaching videos, defined here as recordings of authentic classroom practice in schools, have become an important resource in initial teacher education. This study examines how pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) reflect on the use of teaching videos during a university seminar in EFL pedagogy and linguistics. The sample comprised 28 pre-service teachers. Participants viewed selected excerpts from a publicly accessible video documenting an upper-secondary lesson on countering disinformation as part of critical media education. They subsequently took part in a guided discussion. Their written reflections were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified. Participants valued the teaching video for offering insights into authentic classroom practice and facilitating the observation of classroom interaction (Theme 1). They described such videos as starting points for reflection that enabled them to evaluate observed teaching in light of their developing professional perspectives and to consider alternative pedagogical approaches (Theme 2). However, participants also recognised the selective and mediated nature of video-based representations of classroom practice (Theme 3). They expressed concern that individual videos, particularly when presented without sufficient contextualisation, might unintentionally function as normative models of teaching (Theme 4). The findings suggest that conceptualisations of professional vision should account for the situated and mediated character of video-based observation. They also have implications for learning through reflection on other teachers' practice and for the design of video-based learning environments in initial teacher education.