(DIGITALTRENDS) — Bill Gates wants a video camera in every classroom in America. After partnering with Measures of Effective Teaching, observing 3,000 willing teachers, and spending millions of dollars researching educational effectiveness, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation thinks it has the formula for what makes a good teacher.
Mr. Gates believes that the single most important determining factor in the educational success of a child is the efficacy of their teacher. It’s a point in which the majority of people can agree, even teachers themselves. He posits that the only way to truly obtain teacher improvement is through meaningful professional development based on impartial, regular observation. One of his main talking points is that athletes use video all the time in an effort to improve their craft, so why shouldn’t teachers be afforded the same opportunity?
As a former teacher myself, I’d like to first discuss the observation process as it stands now.