One system.
Thousands of journeys.
Instructional coaching, reflection and collaboration for every teacher.
“The IRIS Connect framework builds on best evidence on both teaching and PD to develop a synthesis that can underpin school improvement.”
– Daniel Muijs, Professor of Education and Head of School, Queen’s University, Belfast
Video professional development
A powerfully simple solution for a complex problem
The research is clear: high-quality Teacher PD matters. At first glance, it seems straightforward: set clear objectives, establish a structured program, and prioritize. However, every teacher is different and brings a variety of skills and expertise to the table. Consequently, a ‘one size fits all’ strategy that doesn’t cater to the specific domain knowledge and needs of each teacher can impede growth and undermine adaptive expertise.
It’s vital to meet teachers where they are, build a shared vision of where practice could be, and offer an impactful and adaptable path to get there. Previously, personalized learning at scale was challenging due to time, complexity, and budget constraints. IRIS Connect’s video tools and adaptive pathways offer a way forward.
Think of IRIS Connect as a navigation system guiding each teacher’s development:
1
Our video technology works like a GPS, allowing teachers to deconstruct and discuss the learning dynamics in their own classrooms, helping them start their development journey from where they are.
2
Our expert-curated resources and collaborative workspaces help teachers to identify and understand their destinations.
3
Our adaptive pathways provide teachers with step-by-step guidance as they grow through reflection, collaboration, or instructional coaching.
Video observation tools
Start where you are
IRIS Connect’s video observation tools provide unparalleled insights into classroom dynamics. Our industry-leading technology allows educators to explore teaching practices from fresh perspectives, uncovering nuances that may ordinarily go unnoticed.
Educators effortlessly and securely record lessons, utilizing multiple viewpoints and audio sources to spotlight pivotal moments and reflect
on practices through the lens of developmental rubrics.
Sharing videos with peers or coaches enriches professional dialogue and paves the way for tailored development opportunities that
really matter.
Teaching Theory & Research
Choose a destination
The integration of theory and research fosters a deep understanding of vital teaching strategies, readily accessible through concise learning modules on our platform. These modules are enriched with insights from domain experts and feature video demonstrations by experienced teachers implementing strategies across varied contexts.
Our platform also facilitates the creation of your own subject-specific learning resources, enabling you to develop a robust library of practice with videos that reflect the unique context of your school.
Adaptive Instructional Coaching, Reflection & Collaboration
Select your route
Pathways bridge the gap between theory and practice, providing teachers with evidence-informed frameworks to successfully develop, adapt, and embed new skills in a way that’s suitable for their individual contexts and levels of experience.
- Reflection pathways guide teachers through a process of recording their lessons, reflecting on what they see, and refining their technique over time.
- Instructional coaching pathways are mapped to the development needs of each teacher. Every pathway provides a secure space for teachers and coaches to work together, eliminating time and location barriers and enabling instruction within and between schools.
- Collaborative pathways allow staff to tap into the collective expertise of their team, share good teaching practice, and work together to improve learning outcomes.
Clear action steps
Follow step-by-step instructions
Regardless of which pathway a teacher chooses to follow, their learning experience will be driven by an adaptive series of interactions that have been shown to promote sustainable developments in classroom practice*.
With each pathway automatically recording progress, teachers can easily pick up where they left off and receive a lasting record of skill development over time.
*EEF report: ‘Effective Professional Development’, 2021
Admin Dashboard
See progress
Every teacher’s classroom videos are private and can only be viewed if they decide to share them.
Since everyone is on a different journey, it’s important for leaders to keep track of where each person is at any time. This way, they can offer extra help where and when it’s needed, helping everyone reach their goals.
A simple dashboard helps you stay up-to-date with your teachers’ progress, showing important steps on their individual pathways.
Customized Learning Experience
Make it your own
Getting started is easy with our ready-to-use resources included in every subscription. If you’d like, we can tailor these resources to fit your school’s specific needs.
We can help you create custom learning experiences, organizing all your different PD activities linked to your school’s own culture, processes, and objectives.
Make IRIS Connect your Hub for everything PD in your school or trust, and keep track of all your professional development activities.
Get in touch with one of our knowledgeable consultants to talk about your PD needs and start planning your implementation together.
Case studies
West Hills STEM Academy
Teachers and coaches at West Hills STEM Academy in Bremerton, Washington have been using IRIS Connect video technology to transform their professional development process. Assistant Principal Andrea Tee shares a few insights from their journey:
”We have a large staff and one instructional coach. Often, the instructional coach is requested to support during the same time in multiple classrooms. It is not possible for this to happen! The video-based professional development program helps to mitigate this problem as she can now be in more than one place at once.”
How do educators at West Hills use IRIS Connect?
“Educators at West Hills STEM Academy use IRIS Connect in a variety of ways, determined by their individual needs for professional development and support. Some use it to target a specific skill they have selected to work on and reflect privately or in collaboration with the instructional coach. Some share their videos within their Grade Level PLCs to talk about practices and connections to the curriculum and its implementation. Others use it to share with their evaluator to talk about their growth in connection with the CEL5D instructional framework. Some even use it for the purpose of reflecting and improving classroom management.”
How have your teachers/coaches/students benefitted?
Things teachers have said:
“I found it useful both for self-reflection as well as getting a better picture into what groups were doing/how they were interacting when I wasn’t nearby. It was a great way to record student discourse that I didn’t always get to hear.”
“Increased my focus on a topic. I don’t like being watched but after a while I forgot the camera was there so my teaching was more natural and felt like it was an opportunity to get genuine professional feedback without worrying about someone sitting in my room. Watching the video helped me reflect on practices other than just my focus topic.”
“It’s helped me see where I spend most of my focus/attention during my lessons.”
“Students get to evaluate themselves and actually see their form for different skills vs thinking they know what they did.”
“As a coach, it has allowed me to be in more places at one time, helping to support more teachers in what they need. The direct benefit to me is time.”
Educational Service Center Region 11
Educational Service Center Region 11 in Texas has been using IRIS Connect to dramatically increase the capacity of their instructional coaching program.
Teela Watson, Former Director of Instructional Services & Digital Learning for Region 11, reflects on their experience using IRIS Connect.
Describe how your organization uses IRIS Connect.
“We have coaching contracts with seven districts — but I only have five coaches. The coach first builds a relationship with teachers and then asks if they would consider using an IRIS Connect camera system so that they can be coached when they choose rather than when we show up. We typically coach 12 teachers in a district at a time. We do it on a volunteer basis and we are finding that 50% of teachers are immediately willing to use the video cameras. These teachers report that, by using the cameras, it’s less distracting to the students in the classroom than if there’s another person in the classroom. We have absolutely seen a change.”
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
“I think our greatest challenge is also a very exciting one. It’s a problem, but a good one to have. Once we started using IRIS Connect, teachers wanted to film themselves more and more often. We ended up increasing our workload a tremendous amount. When we coach face-to-face, we do about 20 classroom visits a year. With video coaching, we have found that they want an in-person session and then 10-15 more video sessions. IRIS Connect allows our teachers to get coached 35-40 times. The good news, we don’t have to physically drive out to our districts. Some of our districts are 90 minutes away.”
The return on our investment in IRIS Connect is absolutely invaluable.
“We are able to scale to a much larger size. I’m able to coach twice as many schools with half as many people. That has been amazing. Human capital is my most expensive budget expense. IRIS Connect has prevented me from having to hire more consultants. A consultant, by the time I pay salary, benefits, equipment, and indirect costs is around $110,000 per employee. I can buy an incredible number of IRIS Connect licenses and camera kits for that same amount of money. It has been an amazing return on my investment. I have saved money in terms of salary, travel, and time.
I highly encourage other Education Service Agencies to consider this model. In districts, it’s rare that you have enough instructional coaches to coach all the teachers in your district on a regular basis. Using IRIS Connect you can absolutely be coaching many more times throughout the year.”
Tumwater High School
For the past several years, teachers at Tumwater High School in Washington have been using IRIS Connect video technology to transform their professional development process. Below, Principal Jeff Broome shares his insights about their journey.
“We had been looking for ways to provide teachers with more opportunities for personal growth and reflection besides the traditional evaluation and coaching methods. Our district does not allocate coaching resources at the secondary level so we were looking for ways to facilitate this process through our PLCs. We had already been doing peer “learning walks” and discussing problems of practice, so the IRIS Connect platform was a logical extension of our work.”
Have you seen changes in the culture of professional learning?
“Yes, definitely. Our PLC times are so much more focused because teachers are more in tune with their own improvement goals and they have shared with their colleagues. It is a very vulnerable process and when you are able to do that; it takes your PLC to a completely new level. We are also trying to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and IRIS Connect allows us to drive teachers to be more reflective about their work.”
What tools or resources have you found most helpful in using video for professional learning?
“The videos and tools in the platform have been very helpful. I have been very fortunate to have a strong teacher leader with me on this journey. Chad Stussy our Science Department PLC leader has been instrumental in leading this charge. As a Principal, I recognize that my instructional leadership can sometimes be limited by the fact that I am not a teacher and have not been one for some time. Using teacher leaders has been a great way to get excited, motivated and credible people moving the same direction to push a cultural change in our building.”
Do you find that using video for PD increases PD efficiency and effectiveness of professional learning at Tumwater?
“The problem with general PD delivery is that it is one size fits all. We preach differentiation to our teachers but we rarely provide it for them in their PD opportunities. Video PD provides teachers with an opportunity to chart their own PD path. The price of an Discovery Kit is the same as sending a team of teachers across the state to a conference for a few days — it is well worth it.”
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Find out how IRIS Connect can support your school or organization