The COVID-19 pandemic has caused uncertainty in everyone’s daily life, especially for our teachers and students. However, the good news is that hiring is still moving forward at many schools, albeit, virtually. We have been hearing from many of our school administrators that it’s helpful for them to view videos of candidates teaching as they make their final hiring decisions.
If you don’t have a recent video teaching demo, it’s not a bad idea to record one of your lessons now, whether that’s a sample of you explaining an activity for your current class’ remote learning, or being able to record an online class. Links are easier to share than a large attachment which may be too big to email, so video demos can be uploaded to YouTube (you can adjust privacy settings, so they are visible only with a password), your teaching website (Weebly and Wix are popular), Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. Explain Everything Edu is a useful app that can record your screen as you deliver instruction.
A successful video demo lesson should include:
A detailed lesson plan to accompany the video and examples of any supplemental materials you will use
The goal of the lesson: what is the essential question and lesson objective? What do you hope the students will take away from the lesson at the end? What skills will students be practicing?
How you plan to assess the students’ understanding throughout and at the end of the lesson
Clear and detailed explanations of instructions throughout the lesson
Descriptions of how you would engage the students and get them actively participating
Questions you would ask the class and why you’re asking those questions
Combination of direct instruction, teacher modeling and independent practice, and class discussion
A wrap up of the lesson with clear closure and plans for assessment
Ideas of how to extend the lesson if time allows, including how to tweak the lesson for different grades, enrichment activities students could do at home
Schools are understanding that a lesson recorded at home, in front of your computer is no substitute for a dynamic lesson with live students, but administrators will be very appreciative of your flexibility and ability to be adaptable and do whatever is needed during this challenging time. Plus, here’s a great opportunity to show off your creativity and tech skills!
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Educator’s Ally is a highly personalized placement agency that connects teachers and administrators with independent day and boarding schools nationwide. Since 1975, EA’s dedicated approach to recruiting has been valued by schools and candidates alike.
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