Guidance for Mentors: Discussing the Lesson and Reviewing the Video

Video-supported reflection allows beginning teachers to understand their practice more accurately and to develop the professional judgement needed for responsive teaching. Your role is to guide the beginning teacher through the process in a way that feels supportive, developmental, and grounded in evidence, not evaluative.

Below is a structure intended to help you facilitate the discussion at the Weekly Review and use the video productively to deepen pedagogical reflection.

Step 1

Begin with a Supportive, Non-Evaluative Approach

Start by framing the conversation in terms of learning, not judgement:

• “We’re going to use the video to help us understand what was happening for you and the pupils”
• “Our aim is to notice things together that can move your teaching forward”
• “Let’s focus on how pupils were learning and how your decisions shaped the lesson”

This helps beginning teachers relax more, making reflection more honest and productive.

Step 2

Revisit the Learning Intention of the Lesson

Before using the video, ensure the trainee has articulated:

• what they wanted children to learn
• why this content or skill is important
• how they planned for this learning to happen

This establishes the context for analysing the teaching moments.

Step 3

Review the Video Selectively – Not the Whole Lesson

When reviewing the two teaching moments and watching the recording:

• Replay short sections if needed
• Draw attention to the children’s thinking, not just the behaviour of the beginning teacher
• Ask the beginning teacher to comment first, to encourage ownership of the reflection process. What have the written in their reflection?

Useful prompts include:

• “What do you notice now that you didn’t see during the lesson?”
• “What do pupils’ responses show about their understanding?”
• “How did your actions influence what happened next?”

Remember, video supported noticing is one of the most powerful learning tools for beginning teachers, so use the following to help beginning teachers articulate the pedagogical reasoning behind their instructional decisions:

1. The Big Ideas
   • What is the essential learning in this topic or moment?
   • What makes it conceptually difficult or important for primary pupils?
2. Children Understanding
   • What do children typically misunderstand?
   • How does the teaching moment show what children were thinking?
3. Teaching Strategies
   • Which instructional choices helped or hindered learning?
   • Why were these strategies chosen?
4. Assessment and Insight
   • How do we know what pupils understood?
   • How might we check this differently next time?

To further assist in this stage help the beginning teachers unpack why the moment was effective or problematic, not just what occurred. Use the above prompts to connect the moment to subject knowledge, children’s thinking and pedagogy. Emphasise the link between the beginning teachers’ decisions and the children’s learning outcomes.

This will help strengthen the “Explain” and “Assess” stages of reflection by prompting deeper pedagogical insight.

Stage 4

Review the beginning teacher’s written reflection the Explain–Assess–Modify Structure

This stage will combine with stage three more often than not. When watching the video of each moment or having watched them:

Explain

• Ask the beginning teacher to reconstruct what they were trying to achieve
• Encourage them to connect this to the “big ideas” in stage 3

Assess

Use the video to analyse what actually happened, focusing on:

• children’s responses
• misconceptions
• engagement
• behaviour signals
• clarity of instruction

Modify

• Support the beginning teacher to identify one or two specific, actionable refinements.
• Link each modification to the thinking developed at stage 3:
  • What will help children grasp the big idea more effectively?
  • What alternative strategy could address typical misconceptions?

This creates a clear line from intent to impact to improvement.

Other Suggestions

Building confidence while moving the beginning teacher forward can be achieved through striking the right balance of support and challenge in their discussions and feedback. Mentors should aim to:

• support by:
  • validating trainee intentions
  • acknowledging effort
  • keeping the tone developmental
• challenge by:
  • prompting deeper explanation (“What made you choose that strategy?”)
  • questioning assumptions
  • encouraging the trainee to consider alternative approaches

The discussion should conclude by connecting the reflection to future practice. To do this, the mentor could help the beginning teacher identify:

• key learning from each teaching moment
• what they will practise next (this comes through the target setting process)

Mentors could also ask, “which insight from today’s discussion will make the biggest difference in your teaching next week?”