Video-Enhanced Dialogic Assessment: Online Vivas for teacher assessment

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is usually gained at the end of a course in initial teacher education in the UK. It can be gained by overseas teachers if they meet the eligibility criteria. The assessment-only route to QTS for teachers in overseas British curriculum schools is characterised by interviews, lesson observations and assessment of an evidence portfolio that together demonstrate the extent to which a candidate’s practice meets the UK Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2011). In 2020, international travel for assessors to carry out QTS assessments in British schools overseas was halted because of Covid-19. Against this backdrop most assessments are currently undertaken using a video-enhanced dialogic assessment process (VEDA), incorporating video-enhanced lesson observation and feedback and a digital portfolio assessment. In order to complete the process, a dialogic assessment interview is carried out. It can most easily be imagined as an online viva examination using video-calling software. The VEDA process has the advantage of connecting candidate and assessor in a shared online dialogic space, as outlined by Wegerif (2007), in a process of video-stimulated recall, reflection and dialogue (Nind et al., 2015) combined with exploration of artefacts and evidence of practice. From this perspective, dialogue can encourage reflection on video captured during lessons, elicit tacit knowledge through questioning and discussion, help construct additional evidence and lead to a negotiated appreciation of strengths and areas for development.