Breaking Down Barriers in Early Intervention

Early Intervention Providers (EIPs) are at the forefront of helping children with autism and their families navigate social-emotional development. However, their work often comes with logistical and technological challenges that can impede progress. Many EIPs work in home settings where reliable Wi-Fi isn’t always available, and they need secure, easy-to-use tools for data collection, reflection, and coaching. This is where TORSH has made a transformative impact.

Bridging the Technology Gap

The Building Interactive Social Communication Project (BISC), an innovative early intervention program through Indiana University, turned to TORSH to address key field challenges. EIPs needed a way to record video reflections and review them in real-time without storing data on their devices—a requirement to maintain HIPAA and FERPA compliance. With TORSH, they can:

• Capture video in the field without needing an internet connection.
• Securely store and manage intervention data, ensuring privacy and accessibility for the right team members.
• Engage in structured video reflection, allowing providers to assess and adjust their approaches for better outcomes.
• Collaborate seamlessly, connecting field providers, mentors, and researchers to improve intervention fidelity and effectiveness.

The TORSH Talent platform shows recent video uploads

The Impact: Measurable Improvements for Providers, Parents, and Children

Since integrating TORSH, BISC has reported significant improvements across multiple areas:

• Provider Success: EIPs have quickly adopted the system with minimal training time, allowing them to focus more on their work with families.
• Parent Empowerment: TORSH enables parents to actively participate in their child’s development, fostering a stronger parent-child bond and increasing self-efficacy.
• Child Development: Children demonstrate increased motivation to engage socially and take a more active role in their learning journey.

What Makes BISC’s Approach Unique?

Two key aspects set BISC apart from other early intervention models:

1. A Unique Developmental Sequence – BISC provides a structured approach that EIPs can easily implement. Providers see early progress, reinforcing their confidence and effectiveness.
2. Mediated Learning – The program focuses on fostering an internal desire in children to engage socially and learn, rather than relying solely on external motivation.

Seamless Implementation with TORSH

A major concern for the BISC team was the potential learning curve in adopting a new technology. However, the transition to TORSH was remarkably smooth. Providers quickly adapted to the platform, eliminating the need for additional expensive hardware like iPads. One of the program leaders shared their initial skepticism:

“I was expecting it to take a lot of startup time and a learning gap with providers, and it didn’t. Your team did so well with the implementation. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, what if this doesn’t work, and we have to buy iPads again (and never get them back)? But thank goodness, everything is smooth.”

The Future of Early Intervention with TORSH

As BISC continues its work, the team seeks to expand research efforts and scale implementation with TORSH. By leveraging data-driven insights and enhancing collaboration between intervention providers, mentors, and researchers, BISC aims to refine and improve intervention strategies that make a lasting impact on children and families.

TORSH is more than just a coaching tool—it’s a solution that empowers early intervention teams to work more effectively, drive measurable change, and ultimately help children learn how to learn.

For more information about BISC and how to participate in their upcoming Early Intervention research, click here. 

To learn more about TORSH and see a demo of the Talent platform, click here.

The post How TORSH is Empowering Early Intervention Providers in the Field appeared first on Torsh.

If you step into any early learning space, you will witness educators engage with their little learners individually and uniquely. One teacher may show a toddler how to carefully pick up and stack blocks to help them build fine motor skills. Another might clap with a preschool-aged student as they practice sounding out a word on a whiteboard. At their core, these examples are developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), where teachers are adapting their instructional practices to match each child’s developmental level. 

To the untrained eye, this concept in action may seem intuitive and straightforward. While DAP is widely understood as a highly effective practice for supporting healthy development during a child’s early years, these teaching methods do not mature on their own. Quality professional development (PD) drives quality classroom practice, with DAP as well as other evidence-based models for student learning. 

Let’s explore why DAP and practice-based coaching work well together, and how modern technology can enhance both to support children’s optimal development.

Why Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) Matter in Early Education

Adapted from the original definition created by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), The University of Maine defines DAP as follows:

 “[Developmentally appropriate practices are] an approach to education that guides early childhood professionals in everyday practice. It comes from more than 75 years of research on child development and early learning…and gives early childhood professionals information from which to make decisions.”

~The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

Three areas  in particular help educators determine the appropriateness of an everyday practice or interaction with a young child:

• Age appropriateness, or practices that support a child of a particular age and stage of growth;

• Individual appropriateness, or approaches that nurture a specific child’s development; and

• Cultural and social appropriateness, or practices that align with and respect each child and family’s identity as well as their community.

PennState Extension summarizes the intent of using DAP across these areas as meeting individual children where they are developmentally. In other words: “Teachers… get to know [children] well—and [enable] them to reach [individual] goals that are both challenging and achievable.”

Clearly, the right materials, learning space, observation cycles, and resources that reinforce staff knowledge support instructional practices tailored to a child’s developmental stage.

Challenges with Implementing Developmentally Appropriate Practices

As straightforward as developmentally appropriate best practices sound, this approach to teaching is not necessarily intuitive. Common challenges that programs face with implementing DAP include:

• A mismatch between an individual teacher’s personal beliefs about DAP and their self-reported or actual practices (Şahin-Sak, Tantekin-Erden & Pollard-Durodola, 2016)
• Partial or inconsistent use of DAP within a classroom
• Lack of ongoing support for educators with applying appropriate instructional practices in education settings

Every early childhood program and educator benefits from intentional practice, refinement, and ongoing continuous improvement around DAP in order to drive effective growth for young children. This is where quality professional development, paired with the right technology, comes into play.

High-Quality PD Yields High-Quality Practices

Many in the early childhood field already recognize that adult learning is an ongoing process; not a one-and-done effort. To improve teaching practices and drive positive outcomes for young children and their families, an early childhood educator needs continuous support to build individual skills and weave them into instructional practices. 

Quality PD is essential for early childhood education professionals to purposefully implement DAP. 

Research indicates certain professional learning models are particularly impactful with changes to teaching practices. One study found that targeted training provided via classes to early childhood teachers helped decrease teachers’ contrasting beliefs and practices that go against the principles of DAP, removing a key barrier to their adoption (Heisner & Lederberg, 2011).

Other effective professional development strategies include:

• Online courses designed for independent learning around particular topics
• Staff learning communities organized for peer collaboration in a supportive environment
• Practice-based coaching (PBC) tailored to individual practitioner needs

Coaching is most impactful in driving tangible shifts to teacher practices, whether it serves to help educators meet Head Start performance standards, embrace DAP best practices, or achieve other program priorities.

The power of coaching to improve DAP best practices

Strong relationships between coaches and mentees has proven effective in shifting developmentally appropriate instructional practices across a wide range of learning areas. Programs focused on social-emotional development via the Pyramid Model benefit just as much from practice-based coaching (PBC) as those concentrating on literacy development in the classroom.  

Part of the power behind PBC is helping staff recognize what specific DAP best practices look like in action and adapting them into their approaches. A high-quality coaching program allows teachers to self-reflect and receive targeted feedback from their coach, while also celebrating progress.

A few ways that an early childhood educator may set goals for coaching around DAP include:

• Refining their strategies for building relationships with families and learning about their cultural, linguistic, and personal backgrounds (key to “getting to know” each child)
• Shifting how they adapt the same teaching strategy for early numeracy skills (like recognizing and naming numbers) to children at different cognitive development stages
• Learning how to effectively and correctly use early childhood assessments to determine where a child is in their development

5 Ways Technology Supports Developmentally Appropriate Practices

No matter what learning goals a program sets with DAP, technology is quickly becoming a crucial part of effective practitioner growth. In particular, online learning platforms (OLPs) form the backbone for many successful adult learning models, including PBC.

The right technology can connect educators, streamline data collection, and drive improvements in developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood organizations.

Let’s explore five ways that technology cultivates a culture of continuous improvement and growth when it comes to DAP, as well as what features administrators should look for when choosing an OLP.

1. Creates visibility into teachers’ practices

OLPs must allow coaches and other professional learning practitioners to see teaching practices in action—without solely depending on live, in-person observations. While valuable, such observations are time- and resource-intensive, especially for early learning programs serving multiple sites or large regions.

This is where video technology can help reduce costs to programs and boost visibility into classroom practices. 

OLPs that have native video capabilities create flexible opportunities for:

• Teachers to record their practices for self-reflection or goal-setting
• Coaches to witness teachers’ instructional strategies anytime, anywhere—and provide specific feedback to teachers via time-stamped comments 
• Teachers and coaches to connect virtually for individual sessions, from any location at a time that works around their daily responsibilities
• Program leaders to curate videos demonstrating high-quality DAP in action for other educators to explore

TORSH Talent stands out with respect to these capabilities. Its mobile app allows teachers to record practices, even without internet access, and later upload videos when connectivity is restored. The platform provides programs with a digital library to gather exemplary videos and additional resources for collective learning purposes. Lastly, administrators, teachers, and coaches can fine-tune user permissions, ensuring that only those team members authorized to see a video can access it in the solution.

2. Centralizes program resources and guidelines for DAP

In addition to visibility into practice, an OLP must allow programs and practitioners to develop a repository of materials that guide any professional learning approach used to improve DAP. 

TORSH Talent’s Resource Library can include those videos of exemplary practices as mentioned above, but it can also house:

• Standardized rubrics and frameworks to guide coaches with engaging mentees consistently in embracing DAP best practices
• Goal-setting templates to establish each teacher’s coaching goals in connection to program priorities around DAP
• Policies and requirements for educators related to utilizing DAP, participating in professional development efforts, and more

Learn more about this and other critical features available within our all-in-one professional learning platform, designed to support the unique needs of early learning programs.

3. Monitors key data to measure PD impact and DAP fidelity

Continuous data insights, reflection, and improvement are necessary for the ongoing cycle of DAP best practices.

At the individual level, the right OLP supports teachers and coaches by capturing metrics that pertain to their unique goals around DAP best practices. Data insights may include coaching session frequency, total coaching time, self-reported progress on goals, and more.

Moving up a level, OLPs can also help coaches explore patterns about their engagement across mentees, perhaps even surfacing areas of growth for a coach themselves in how they engage with teachers and drive their successes with DAP. 

At the highest level, program administrators need an OLP that synthesizes all these data and more—even from sources outside of the platform itself—to analyze the overall impact of professional learning efforts on critical priorities related to DAP. 

TORSH Talent supports all three layers of data analysis and collection. With configurable data collection forms, customizable insight reports, and multiple forms of data integration with other education platforms, staff at every level of an early learning program have the insights they need all in one central location.

4. Develops individual learning paths for independent growth

Even in an organization that emphasizes a practice-based coaching model, educators benefit from independent resources and learning opportunities. OLPs that not only support coach-mentee relationships but also facilitate self-learning offer a winning combination to early childhood education programs.

In addition to TORSH Talent’s virtual coaching features, your program can utilize customizable Learning Paths to cultivate professional growth. Learning Paths offer self-paced modules and courses that target specific training areas based on program data, coaching observations, and individual educator needs including:

• Targeted professional development to focus on specific areas for growth or skills, helping teachers continuously improve their practice.
• Courses structured to meet specific certification or recertification needs, making it especially useful for early-career educators.
• Flexible, asynchronous learning opportunities for educators to upskill on their own time, which is critical for those balancing heavy workloads.

The best part? The Learning Paths modules can point directly to those exemplary resources curated in the Resource Library, making it easy for educators to access a wide variety of learning tools at the click of a button.

5. Cultivates collaborative learning in hybrid or virtual environments

Last but not least, the right OLP creates space for easy collaboration. These features are especially handy for programs that utilize a peer-to-peer mentorship model or otherwise wish to facilitate collective learning among their staff. 

For instance, professional learning communities (PLCs) empower teachers to share reflections, ask for colleagues’ input, or keep up to date with the latest insights related to DAP best practices in the classroom. When exploring technologies to support a PLC, program administrators should look for OLPs that flexibly adapt to a virtual, hybrid, and in-person version of this collaboration model.

TORSH Talent’s Communities feature allows PLC members to connect asynchronously and access the curated Resource Library as part of their PLC engagement.. Educators aren’t limited by the bounds of their physical program sites, either. TORSH often sees its early learning partners use Communities to facilitate multi-site PLCs on key topics like DAP. 

Drive High-Quality, High-Impact DAP Best Practices With TORSH

Ready to up-level your early childhood educators’ developmentally appropriate instructional strategies? TORSH Talent is the ideal platform for your professional development needs. From designing targeted Learning Paths to facilitating high-quality virtual, hybrid, and in-person coaching, early childhood education programs benefit from the easy-to-use and secure tools built into TORSH Talent, including:

• Video-based observation
• Targeted, specific feedback to teachers on their interactions with children and families
• Synchronous and asynchronous collaboration with coaches and among peers
• On-demand training for professional learning and certification
• Individualized coaching tools for goal setting and tracking
• Insights to guide professional learning and training

Discover how TORSH Talent can support your practitioners to take DAP to the next level, ensuring they meet every child and family where they are to help them thrive.

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Take a look at our infographic to discover 7 ways you can use video in your professional learning coaching program.

Download & Share

TORSH offers an innovative platform to support educator professional learning and coaching. Using TORSH Talent, educators can record their practice, upload the video securely, and then receive time-stamped feedback from a coach, administrator, or even fellow teacher. Interested in learning more about TORSH Talent? Reach out to schedule a conversation with one of our learning experts.

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Oxford is using the TORSH Talent online professional learning and coaching platform to: 

• To support students’ self-reflection on their classroom practice
• To conduct four formal evaluations during the clinical year
• To facilitate ongoing coaching with students

In this short video Kimberly Eckert, Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Oxford Teachers College, shares how she’s using TORSH Talent and how it has revolutionized the coaching process for her and her students. 

Interested in learning more about how TORSH Talent can streamline, simplify, and strengthen coaching for your organization? Get in touch!

The post Coaching Aspiring Teachers for Instructional Excellence appeared first on Torsh.

What’s most exciting about our work with CEC-RAP is that they serve a specific segment of the population, namely children from zero to three years of age with special needs, for whom early intervention can have a life-altering impact.

CEC-RAP focuses on, “the continued expansion of research, personnel preparation, and service delivery through collaboration with interrelated projects.” They serve kids with disabilities, communication disorders and/or multiple risks. CEC-RAP is not our typical client, as they aren’t in the business of training teachers. Rather, they help coach and train service providers such as speech, occupational and physical therapists, and social workers who are not pursuing degrees with Florida State but are already at work in the field. These service providers work with a child’s caregivers to coach them on strategies that will help them support the healthy development of their children. TORSH Talent, our customizable video-based coaching and professional learning platform, is how CEC-RAP is providing targeted coaching and training to providers thereby increasing the quality of the early intervention children and families receive.

Departments of Education and Health as well as individual programs from multiple states across the U.S. contract with CEC-RAP to receive this type of ongoing professional development for their service providers. We are very proud to be affiliated with a program that is doing so much for the youngest members of society. We feel confident that our work with CEC-RAP is changing the lives of these kids with special needs and helping prepare them to become lifelong learners.

The post Client Spotlight: Florida State University appeared first on Torsh.

“[TORSH Talent] has been really helpful for me… [Even though] COVID means that our plans are changing, we’re still getting to coach and develop our teachers.”

Reilly Blackwelder serves as the Assistant Principal of Instruction at the Rundberg campus of IDEA Public Schools.  We sat down with her to discuss the ways in which adopting virtual video platform TORSH Talent has accelerated the professional development of new teachers and expanded the leadership capacity of instructional leaders, despite pandemic struggles with staff shortages and increasing administrative loads.

IDEA Rundberg is a K-12 campus of IDEA Public Schools located in Austin, Texas.  A network of tuition-free public charter schools, IDEA was founded on the radical belief in the unlimited potential of all students and has a long history of democratizing excellent education.  Rundberg is committed to a mission of “College for ALL children,” ensuring more students from low-income backgrounds, students who would be the first generation in their families to attend college, and students who come from groups historically underrepresented in higher education have access to realizing their dreams by first completing their college degree on the path to becoming the future leaders of tomorrow.  To achieve this mission, Rundberg sets high expectations for every student and is committed to being a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist organization.

Reflective Video Tools Help Educators Improve, Especially New Teachers

“The outcome that we’re seeing is that… now that [teachers] are watching instead of just listening to us, [they] are able to start getting better, faster.”

Reilly Blackwelder, Assistant Principal of Instruction for IDEA Rundberg

Rundberg’s four instructional leaders work with their 50+ teachers.  Each coach manages a caseload of educators grouped by department but which also includes a couple teachers that cross boundary lines.  This is “for our own coaching and development…,” Blackwelder explains, so that coaches “become… better leader[s] by coaching all subjects.”

Talent provides an exceptional framework for collaborating, performing observations, and delivering evidence-based feedback.  The time-synced commenting feature allows mentors and mentees to mark a moment in a recorded video observation with a text or audio comment.  The natural meticulousness of this feature heightens focus by documenting precisely what happened and when, creating freedom for an educator to concentrate on what they can learn from that specific event or scenario.  Teachers have more “AHA!” moments, Blackwelder explained.

Check-in meetings with teachers are typically weekly or bi-weekly, depending on where an educator is at in their professional development.  Blackwelder said that their system focuses on teachers implementing assigned “action steps.”  When the educator successfully achieves an action step, a new one is given.  If a teacher needs more help, coaches will provide more real-time coaching and model-teaching until the educator has achieved the goal.

New teachers have particularly benefited from the use of video.  “I can speak specifically to one of my teachers, who is pretty new and wants to get better.  Having coached her last year without using any video, it took a long time for action steps– for her to become proficient at doing certain things,” Blackwelder shared. “And as soon as we got TORSH… [now her] action steps are being turned around so quickly.”

Rundberg’s teachers at all levels feel a greater sense of ownership over their development with the use of Talent.  Blackwelder has noticed that her teachers have become more thoughtful, reflective, and engaged in the whole process – and it’s showing results.

“The outcome that we’re seeing is that… now that [teachers] are watching instead of just listening to us, [they] are able to start getting better, faster.”  

Video Platform Expands Leadership Capacity During Pandemic Struggles

“Something that’s been really great with TORSH is that I can just go and set up my phone in somebody else’s classroom, leave it there, and let it record.  And then I can watch and observe at a different time and give them feedback.  So they’re still growing and developing, even if I’m not able to physically be in the room.”

Reilly Blackwelder, Assistant Principal of Instruction for IDEA Rundberg

Using TORSH Talent has expanded the leadership capacity of instructional leaders at Rundberg, allowing them to invest in the professional development of their teachers despite pandemic struggles.  

It’s no secret that the pandemic has exacerbated issues that education has been grappling with for years.  Educators and administrators are exhausted, overworked, and overwhelmed.  Pre-existing staff shortages have gotten worse.  Building a growth mindset in a school or district becomes difficult when administrators feel as if they are stuck in survival mode.

Blackwelder confirmed that staff at Rundberg have been facing these same stressors.  “This year has been incredibly challenging, for many reasons.  And one of the things that we’re finding very hard as admin is, every single day, we come in and we think, okay, am I subbing today?  Do we need people?  Because there’s been so many people that are out.”

Talent facilitates classroom observation through video, meaning that instructional leaders do not have to be physically present at the back of a classroom when their presence is required elsewhere.  Instead, educators record and upload videos of classroom teaching to the platform.

“Something that’s been really great with TORSH is that I can just go and set up my phone in somebody else’s classroom, leave it there, and let it record.  And then I can watch and observe at a different time and give them feedback.  So they’re still growing and developing, even if I’m not able to physically be in the room.”

These videos can be watched and re-watched by the teacher and their coach(es), administrator(s), and selected peers.  Self-reflection, collaboration, and feedback can be provided through a suite of tools, including time-synced video commenting, customized rubrics, and resources in an exemplar library.  Coaching and professional development is available at any time and from anywhere with the flexibility of using either the website or the mobile app.

From a leadership perspective, Blackwelder shared that “[TORSH Talent] has been really helpful for me… [Even though] COVID means that our plans are changing, we’re still getting to coach and develop our teachers” through observation and feedback cycles.

Let Us Help You, Too!

Reach out to our team to learn more about how TORSH can support your organization’s efforts in K-12 education!

In the meantime:

Read about how The Center for Transformative Teacher Training (CT3) leveraged TORSH in order to continue their coaching and professional development work amid the pandemic shift to virtual learning.  CT3 has been empowering schools to be bold, act in anti-racist ways, and eliminate some of the policies that led us to the current inequitable state of our educational system.

The post TORSH Talent Accelerates New Teacher Professional Development with IDEA Rundberg K-12 appeared first on Torsh.

Feedback on Virtual Classes

With the shift to virtual learning, a large K12 public school district is using their LMS to provide coursework to their students. Students are required to attend office hours and live classes with their teachers. Teachers conduct and record these classroom sessions using Microsoft Teams. Once a month, they upload a virtual lesson to TORSH Talent and share it with mentors for feedback using our time-stamped video commenting tool. Based on the feedback, coaches create goals for their teachers in TORSH Talent so the teachers can easily see what needs work and their progress as they achieve goals.

Self Reflection & Evaluation 

A state department of education uses TORSH Talent to encourage teachers to upload videos of their classes once a month. Using our time-stamped video commenting feature, the teacher self-reflects and contextualizes the video to request feedback from their coaches in growth areas. Every other month, teachers attach a lesson plan and corresponding student work to their video so facilitators can perform a comprehensive evaluation using their customized evaluation rubric on TORSH Talent. 

Rubric Adaption for Remote Instruction

One charter school network adapted their in-person observation rubric to meet the needs of remote instruction. Teachers record their virtual classes and upload them to TORSH Talent. Teachers then share the videos with their coaches, who conduct a rubric-based observation. 

Using these adaptations, teachers can receive the same high-quality coaching, in a remote world. Being virtual does not mean anyone has to give up valuable mentorship, and those examples highlight only a few of the amazing TORSH Talent features that facilitate remote workflows. 

More features our users love:

In-Person (Virtual) Observations

Coaches can join a live virtual classroom session to conduct an observation using our in-person observation tool.

Exemplar Library

Share virtual classroom resources and examples of best practices for teachers to view and grow their virtual teaching skills.

Forums

Since it is not as easy for teachers to collaborate in-person, create virtual learning communities using our forums feature as a way to share resources, and facilitate discussion.

Zoom Integration & Chat

Integrate with Zoom to host coaching sessions on TORSH Talent. The recordings will automatically upload and share with the meeting participants. Use our chat feature to stay connected and collaborate via an easy to use direct messaging tool. 

Want to learn more about the benefits of TORSH Talent?
Let us give you a personalized walk-through of the platform.

The post How to Provide High-Quality Virtual Coaching in a Remote World appeared first on Torsh.

1. Focus the camera on the students, not the teacher. 🧒
   If a teacher is very nervous or hesitant to video themselves, I tell them to place the camera where it will record the students instead. Especially when doing coaching on guided reading, this is actually more helpful for me, as the coach, because I can see how the students are responding and reading. Just knowing that they don’t have to actually be on camera is enough to ease the anxiety of some teachers.
2. Listen instead of look. 👂
   Because self-reflection is such a big part of video-based coaching, I may ask a teacher who has a hard time watching herself to just listen to her video instead. While it’s not exactly the same, there is a wealth of information that can be gained from just hearing what is said and not said during a lesson. 
3. Make it easy.  🥧
   For some teachers, the idea of video brings images of complex editing and media software. I try to emphasize to the teachers I coach that the videos they submit do not need to be flawless or look like they have been professionally done. One of the reasons I like the TORSH app is that there is no special equipment needed. They can just set up their phones in the back of the room and hit the record button. Even teachers who have claimed to be “non-techies” were relieved to know the recording process is no more complicated than the push of a button. 
4. Let them choose the video. 🗳️
   Before teachers ever submit a video, I make sure that they know they are in complete control of which video they send and who will see it. If they are not happy with how a video turns out, they can do another one. Knowing they are not bound to their first attempt creates a sense of relief for those who may be new to video-based coaching.
5. Start with a product or a process rather than teaching. ♻️
   If a teacher is very nervous about video, I may ask them to upload still pictures, lesson plans or slides, or student work samples instead. Then, I may move on to asking for video of the students participating in the lesson. Maybe they record students collaborating on a project or having student-led discussions. In some cases, I may leave it more open-ended and ask them to record something that shows the student learning in whatever way they think is most reflective of it. 

Understandably, the act of recording and viewing themselves on video can be unsettling for some teachers. Most will have their anxiety eased after the first couple of uploads, but some may continue to worry. In those cases, it may be best to reconsider whether video-based coaching is the right vehicle to support the teacher’s development. With some empathetic scaffolds, however, most teachers will be able to overcome their initial anxiety to reap the benefits that recording and reflecting on their practice can provide. 

Robyn Hartzell has served in education since 1998 and has experience in a variety of roles: teacher, instructional coach, interventionist, trainer, consultant, and program coordinator at the campus and regional levels. Currently, she works as an independent consultant and coach promoting effective instructional and leadership practices and championing the need for quality professional learning. Robyn takes privilege in coaching professionals in their craft and is passionate about helping organizations develop leaders who make a lasting, positive impact on the programs and people they serve.

Be sure to follow Robyn on Twitter @robynhartzellpd and check out her website at www.hartzellpd.com

The post 5 Tips to Help Teachers Overcome Video Anxiety appeared first on Torsh.

Tips for establishing a solid foundation of trust when using remote, video-based coaching: 

1. Have a framework. Video-based coaching may be new to many educators, and they may not know how to get the most from it. By providing a framework for coaching and learning, it gives a structure that can be adapted once their comfort grows. For me, this framework is what I call a Learning LABS approach (Learning through Action Based Study). We establish the goals of the coaching upfront, and I create Learning LABS in the Workflow feature of TORSH that break the large goal into smaller objectives. For each objective, there is content provided and ways for educators to apply the learning and record it for feedback and self-reflection. 
   
2. Be clear about the roles and expectations. The initial introduction to coaching (in any form) is always critical because it is where we establish the boundaries and expectations for each coaching engagement. I like to do this in-person (or at least through real-time video), but sometimes it has to be done in other ways. Regardless of the format, there are a few things that I always share:
   
   • Dates for coaching cycles and uploads or a map of the learning plan.
   • Who will see or have access to the videos? This varies by organization and the intent of the coaching.
   • Sharing features–Many teachers mistakenly assume that when a video is uploaded, it will automatically be shared with all users. This is only true if they change their settings to make this possible. So, I always make sure to go over the setting features with them to ease those anxieties. 
3. Provide detailed steps for getting started. While teachers are confronted with new technologies every day, it is sometimes daunting to think of learning to navigate yet another one. I like to provide a detailed step-by-step email that lets them know the following information and steps:
   
   • They will be receiving an email from TORSH Talent to set up a profile within 24-48 hours. If they haven’t received it, check their spam folder. 
   • Once the email is received, click on the link to set up a profile.
   • Once their profile is set up, download the app.
   • Do an intro video to practice uploading and sharing
   • Once I receive the intro video, they are invited to a workflow and can begin.
     
4. Start with something light. No matter what the overall goal is for coaching, the first video needs to allow a risk-free experience. I like to have teachers give me a tour of their classroom as a way for them to become comfortable with the vulnerability of allowing someone into their space. This also provides me with a glimpse into their personality and style which allows me to connect on a personal level before jumping into the learning. 

Trust is not built in a day, but it also doesn’t have to take years. In my experience, I have found that once teachers do their first video, they get much more comfortable with the whole process. That is…if there IS a process. The time taken upfront to build a framework, provide clarity about the process and expectations, and design a risk-free first encounter can accelerate trust exponentially. 

Be sure to follow Robyn on Twitter @robynhartzellpd and check out her website at www.hartzellpd.com

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During this casual Q&A with Dr. Jackson, we look back at the unlikely path that guided her to become an educator and evolution (thanks to her technical aptitude) into the Instructional Technology Coordinator (ITC) for Newton County Schools, and ultimately on to become the Regional Education Development Specialist for Audience Enhancement.

Jackson was at the forefront of bringing video into the classroom. During her time with Newton County Schools, the district was the first in the United States to implement cameras in every classroom in 2014. This experience, along with other highlights shared from her career as an educator throughout this episode, shows the role coaching, mentorship, and professional development has played for her. It is also recognized in her passion for inspiring other teachers today.

The post Using Video to Enhance Teacher Professional Development appeared first on Torsh.