Lesson observation: Public, personal and political.

Initial teacher education in England is characterised by lesson observation and assessment of teaching evidence against criterion-referenced teachers’ standards. In UK-based international teacher training, these situated practices are more challenging because of staff and trainees working different time zones. In 2020, Covid-19 travel restrictions prevented assessors visiting trainees in international schools. Assessment therefore moved to a video-enhanced dialogic assessment process (VEDA), incorporating video-enhanced lesson observation and feedback, along with a dialogic online interview and evaluation of a digital portfolio of evidence. A first cycle of action research carried out in parallel to the change in provision gathered participants’ perceptions from recordings. These are themed around the way that technology supported reflection during assessment, and the holistic nature of this approach. Findings suggest that video-enhanced dialogic assessment allows for a deep and authentic assessment experience, and is a better fit as a reflective pedagogy for assessing teachers than the pre-pandemic approach.