Videopaper and teacher education Student teachers create ...

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children’. This statement highlights the pedagogical value of reflection not only regarding
the quality of teaching practice but also regarding the quality of the education provided in
schools. It is, therefore, crucial for teachers, when they are still trainees, to be able to show
in their teaching more than the standard competencies and have those experiences that are
part of becoming a reflective practitioner (Parsons & Stephenson, 2005).
The concept of reflective practice is considered prominent in teachers’ preparation
programmes around the world (Hughes & Purnell, 2008). However, it is often argued in
literature that reflective practice has become a matter of debate, as it is a difficult to define
and access (Hatton & Smith, 1995). The complexity that has grown around the concept of
reflective practice led researchers and educationists to employ diverse ways in order to
engage novice teachers in reflective practice (Romano & Schwartz, 2005). Research has
investigated a variety of techniques to promote student teachers to reflect on their teaching
practice and to develop reflective thinking such as: writing portfolios (Mansvelder-
Longayroux et al., 2007), writing accounts about their teaching (Hatton & Smith, 1995),
using critical incidents for the promotion and assessment of critical thinking (Griffin,
2003), using technology (e.g. video-recorded lessons, Videopaper) to elicit and encourage
reflection (Olivero & Lazarus, 2009).
Among different techniques that have been used in teacher education, the use of ICT
has become important in promoting reflection. Research suggests that the use of video in
the form of video-recorded lessons is particularly useful (see e.g. Romano & Schwartz,
2005), as this generates new opportunities for teachers by enabling them to video-record
their lessons and view their teaching after it has taken place. Also, the move from
traditional video-recordings to digital video has made things easier for teachers. Not only
does digital video allow them to observe their practice closely and develop better their
understandings and interpretations of it, but it can also engage teachers in editing, analyzing
and improving their practice through studying frames of classroom activity (Beardsley et
al., 2007).
The advance of technology has enabled the integration of digital video into multimedia
documents, such as Videopapers (Nemirovsky et al., 2005) thus providing further potential
for reflection. Videopaper gives practitioners the potential to illustrate their practice