Using video feedback and interpersonal process recall to develop competencies and skills in teachers.

Abstract

The notion of emotional competence provides an attractive overarching structure to help teacher professionals to build interpersonal and intrapersonal skills to manage complex relationships and complex teaching and learning situations. All teachers need to demonstrate a range of personal skills and competencies, in line with teacher registration standards, professional standards, and university standards, such as the Griffith graduate characteristics. Teacher education programs focus directly on very few skills and competencies and graduating teachers identify a range of specific behaviour management and personal skill deficits. When specific skills were taught, strategies mostly relied on either direct instruction or behaviour modeling. An sound alternative strategy of interpersonal process recall (IPR) of videotaped sessions has produced sustainable training of trainee teachers attempting to use specific communication skills. The use of IPR helps students to bring to awareness the internal processes, such as thoughts, feelings, goals, impressions, and internal dialogues that were involved in the skill learning videotaped session. This strategy, using video technology, has application in other teacher education skill development settings.