Professional vision and videos of teaching actions: a review on construct and formative approaches

Abstract

The article proposes a comprehensive review of studies about the use of videotaping in teacher education.
It deepens two issues: a) the construct of professional vision and its sub-processes that teachers activate during the observation of video; b) the formative approaches designed to develop the teachers’ competence in viewing a set of teaching actions. Regarding the first topic, it analyses three conceptualizations. The first model explores two processes that feature the professional vision: noticing noteworthy events and making sense of them. The second one investigates the relationship between general pedagogical knowledge and professional reasoning. The third one underlines how teachers activate a set of interpretative frames with the aim of focusing attention and making
sense of particular elements contained in videos. The second topic is the examination of two main formative approaches associated to the use of video in teacher education. A first approach addresses the development of interpretative abilities to act consequently during teaching in the classroom.
This method is recommended for in-service teacher training. A second way addresses both the knowledge of educational principles and the development of decision-making abilities. The studies reviewed suggest to use this second way with pre-service teachers.