Classroom videotaping is a tool for self-evaluation, allowing teachers to review a lesson from an observer's viewpoint and determine which techniques are effective. Teachers can review a class lesson the same day, noting which techniques are most effective at imparting information. Teachers should place the videotape near the rear of the classroom, offering a clear view of the students as well as the teacher. For instance, a teacher may discover that her slides are confusing or that too much writing on the board feels overwhelming. A teacher can take this information and change her lesson plans, adding more of the elements that work and removing some that do not.
The classroom video technique shows a teacher how a lesson affects student focus. The teacher can watch student reactions, such as students laying their heads on the desks, talking to other students during an activity or never looking up from their desks. This allows teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of lesson plans and educational techniques by gauging student response. For example, a teacher may see students laying their heads on their desks when she turns the lights out for an overhead project and decide to use fewer overhead-based projects in the future.
By watching the videotape the same day as the class, a teacher can look for mistakes he made during the lesson, such as using the wrong procedure to solve a problem or writing the wrong year on the board for a historical event. Teachers can return to class the following day and clear up those errors for students, making sure that the class has the correct information.
Student discipline is a frequent problem in classrooms, but students tend to behave better when they know the camera is watching them. By placing the camera where it can capture the students' actions, a teacher can reduce discipline problems in a classroom. Additionally, if a discipline problem does occur in class, the teacher has a video record of the event.