Practicum Supervision Goes High Tech

By Maya Israel, KU SPED Doctoral Student/Practicum Supervisor

In collaboration with ALTEC (Advanced Learning Technologies in Education), the KU Department of Special Education began using Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) within practicum supervision last spring. IVC is a two-way video and audio communication that allows people at different locations to see and hear each other at the same time through an internet connection.

For practicum supervision, a small camera called a “poly-com” is placed in the classroom (usually on top of a television) and is equipped with a microphone. The same equipment is also placed in either JRP (the building housing the Department of Special Education) or at the KU Edwards Campus, allowing for observation and participation between the practicum supervisor and the practicum student. Because the poly-com has excellent zoom and peripheral capabilities, the practicum supervisor can see around the room in a manner similar to actually being in the classroom. As part of this experience, the practicum student and supervisor engage in the same type of observations and post-observation conversations as they would in face-to-face supervision; the only difference is that the practicum supervisor is not directly present in the classroom. Many schools already have poly-com cameras, but the School of Education also has poly-com cameras that can be loaned to participating schools as well.

Adrianne Miller was the first practicum student with whom we used IVC last spring. She is a middle school math teacher in Kansas City, KS, and is a master’s student in KU’s adaptive special education program. At the end of the semester, Adrianne discussed her experiences using IVC. She shared that a major advantage is the practicum supervisor’s ability “to see truly what my classroom looks like without any visitors, because we all know that kids act differently when it’s just the teacher and them versus when there is somebody else in the classroom.” Because Adrianne’s school already had the poly-com technology, she is planning on using it for instructional purposes in the future. She said that prior to her practicum, the poly-com was “sitting in a box somewhere. Nobody really knew what to do with it.” Now that it is “out of the box,” Adrianne hopes to explore its instructional uses further.

To learn more, listen to Adrianne discussing the instructional uses of IVC or Maya Israel, Adrianne’s practicum supervisor, discussing the use of IVC for practicum supervision.

Dr. Deb Griswold, practicum coordinator for the KU Department of Special Education, is interested in further expanding the use of IVC within practicum. Like Adrianne, she considers the reduced disruption to the classroom as a major benefit of IVC: “When we use IVC, having another person in the classroom is not a factor. We are no longer a variable.”

With the help of Amber Rowland and Isa Kretschmer of ALTEC as well as Dr. Deb Griswold and Dr. Earle Knowlton (professor of special education), we are exploring further uses of IVC for practicum supervision and are developing a protocol for using IVC within practicum. The purpose of the protocol is to provide a basic introduction to the poly-com technology and offer practical information regarding its use for practicum observations as well as pre- and post-observation discussions. Click on the ALTEC Interactive Video Team site to view a sample clip of using video technology in the classroom and to learn more about their work.

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1122 West Campus Rd.
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045 3101

phone: (785) 864-0556
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