EFFECTS OF USING VIDEO ON TEACHERS' ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND CLASSROOM CHILDREN'S INTERACTION

Classroom settings in early childhood education are so complex. Therefore, interpreting and understanding what happens in childhood classrooms is a difficult issue for kindergarten's teachers. This research was an investigation of how using video can facilitate teachers' interpretation and understanding of what happens in their classrooms. A number of classrooms sessions in kindergartens in Al-Ain city were videotaped. Then, teachers gathered to watch, discuss, and interpret what they watched in their own classrooms. They also reflected on their practices. Teachers' discussions and reflections were analyzed to study the effects of video on teachers' ability to interpret class interactions, and shift teachers' discussion over time. Results showed that the use of video facilitated teachers’ interpretation and understanding of what is happening in their classrooms which in effect made them more aware of classroom events and interactions. Consequently, they started to pay more attention to classroom details.