The Effect of Video Training to Improve the Accuracy of University Supervisors In-Class Observations

University supervisors of student teachers are often undertrained as to how to complete in-class observations. This project examined the effects of video training to improve the accuracy of university supervisors’ in-class observations. Participants were student teacher supervisors from various locations across the state who provide supervision for a local university in the Western U.S., and the university student teachers they supervised. Target behaviors included data collection on praise rate, percentage of specific praise, and opportunities for students to respond. The findings suggest that following training the participants collected data with varying results with some areas of high accuracy and others with less accuracy. The participants rated the social validity of supervisor training high. Additionally, the effects of video training somewhat generalized to in-class observations by the university supervisor but may be improved by enhancing the video training and providing feedback following the training videos. Results of this study indicate the importance of training university supervisors to complete in-class observations with accuracy. These results also support the use of standardized video training to train supervisors