Teacher Spotlight: Leveraging Video Recording to Increase Engagement in Group Work with Kelly Priebel

As a STEM teacher, Kelly Priebel regularly utilizes collaborative groups in her classroom, and understands that the process is often just as important as the product.  In order to aid her in supporting students throughout the entire process, Kelly created a new 21st century group role: video recorder.  A member of the group records the group’s progress and uploads videos to a shared Google Drive folder that Kelly can later access to assess and provide feedback.  What started as an effective way to allow her to provide formative feedback, however, morphed into a role that kept students engaged in the work and allowed for informal peer editing.

In her most recent unit, Kelly’s students used block coding and micro:bit computers to build environmental sensors.  In groups of three, students had rotating roles of: coder, builder, and video recorder.  Some may initially view the video recorder role as the “easy way out;” however, when set up correctly, this role can be a game changer.  Not only is this role simply in charge of recording, but they are also doing an on-the-spot peer editing session: providing feedback and support to the person they are recording.   In Kelly’s classroom, the recorder was constantly double checking code and spot checking for incorrectly designed wire connections.  These students were inherently engaged in whatever they were recording because the video must show the group working through the process to determine the correct solution.  So while recording, the student is constantly double checking the work of their peers!  

This new group role has an obvious place in a STEM classroom, but can be transferred to all other content areas as well.  Any time students are working collaboratively to solve a problem, the video recorder will play an integral role by questioning, supporting, and providing feedback.  Integrating video recording will also hold students accountable and on task during their work time, as they know they must submit the video for feedback from their teacher.  So the next time you’re planning to utilize groups in a problem-solving activity, consider the video recorder role as a means to boost student engagement and facilitate peer feedback sessions.