http://informalmath.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/the-next-step-in-math-blogging/
As much as I like the idea of teachers critiquing each others' practice, as a researcher I know there are some significant (and important) hurdles to overcome. The laws that protect research subjects require that we must protect people’s health and well-being, including their reputation. This usually means securing student assent and parent consent to participate in research, and while it’s relatively easy to get those if you’re sharing transcripts of classroom discussion while using pseudonyms, it can be very difficult to get if you’re using video to be shown to the world. I think the benefits of what you’re suggesting would far outweigh the negatives, and teachers collaborating and critiquing each others’ teaching might be the best way we can improve practice. But we have to figure out how to do it the right way, and I don’t think dismissing this as “not really research” is the way to go. Large school districts usually have a research office and maybe we can work with them to figure out a process to make this work.
As much as I like the idea of teachers critiquing each others' practice, as a researcher I know there are some significant (and important) hurdles to overcome. The laws that protect research subjects require that we must protect people’s health and well-being, including their reputation. This usually means securing student assent and parent consent to participate in research, and while it’s relatively easy to get those if you’re sharing transcripts of classroom discussion while using pseudonyms, it can be very difficult to get if you’re using video to be shown to the world. I think the benefits of what you’re suggesting would far outweigh the negatives, and teachers collaborating and critiquing each others’ teaching might be the best way we can improve practice. But we have to figure out how to do it the right way, and I don’t think dismissing this as “not really research” is the way to go. Large school districts usually have a research office and maybe we can work with them to figure out a process to make this work.