SP contest prioritizes video classes over experience – 08/06/2023 – Education

New requirement in the contest for professors in the state of São Paulo, video classes are worth twice as much as having a graduate degree and showing experience in the classroom. With this assessment, candidates with experience in online content production can get ahead of teachers who already work in the classroom or who have more time to study.

The video presentation is responsible for 40% of the final grade, equivalent to the sum of the discursive and objective tests, which are worth 10 and 30 points, respectively. The title test, which adds academic training —such as a master’s or doctorate— and professional experience, gives up to 20 points.

The Secretary of Education says that the video lesson will be used to assess, by practical demonstration, the teaching skills of the candidates. Asked why the videos are worth 40% of the grade, the folder did not respond.

Sending the recordings, whose deadline ended on July 30, was the first stage of the contest, before the objective and discursive tests, which take place on Sunday (6). However, only those who perform well in the exams will have their videos evaluated.

For the competition, teachers recorded a 5- to 7-minute presentation on a topic provided for in the public notice. The document describes that the video must be a simulation of the class, in which the students would be on the other side of the camera.

Because it was a novelty, teachers reported difficulties in making the recording. Tiago Luz, physical education teacher and online content producer, started a course for candidates in this situation.

He says that the initiative came about after receiving, on social networks, numerous doubts regarding the new stage of the competition. With about 80 participants, the course taught everything from how to avoid language addictions to the use of editing tools on smartphones.

According to the professor, the candidates, accustomed to face-to-face classes, found it difficult to conduct the presentation on video, feeling inhibited in front of the camera.

“They had to do a theater, because it’s different to record a video with nobody there in front, pretending there’s a student. You’re more acting than teaching a class”, he says. The evaluation criteria go beyond the content of the lesson, and include aspects such as posture and tone of voice.

Another concern of professors is whether the requirement for videos could harm those with less dexterity or access to technological tools.

This was the case of Ricardo da Silva Gomes, 57, who felt disadvantaged by not having adequate equipment. Graduated in physical education, he works in the area of ​​social assistance, but applied for the contest to return to teaching.

To make the recording, he used a ladder as a filming tripod and pasted papers on the wall to improvise a blackboard, an item recommended in the announcement. Ricardo says that editing was also a challenge, as it was done on a less capable computer.

“The quality of my video wasn’t good, but I had to send it anyway, because it’s a criterion. I tried to do my best, but my structure didn’t make it possible”, he says, who even thought about giving up sending the recording . “As you lose 40% of the grade, this puts you in a position that has no middle ground: either you do it, or you get no points.”

For Eugenio Ramos, a professor in the education department at Unesp-Rio Claro, the video lesson is a step forward, since the practical evaluation was not part of the competition. However, he says that the adopted method has limitations.

One of them is the duration of up to seven minutes, which is not enough for candidates to expose their technical knowledge. “This format does not adequately capture the profession, but rather if the teacher manages to express himself almost like a youtuber and present content in a short period of time”, he declares.

The higher score than the other stages is another disadvantage, as it favors teachers with experience in video production. He says that the practical test could have a longer duration and less weight on the final grade.

Although new, the method has spread to other teaching competitions in the country. One of the first was in the capital of São Paulo, where candidates went to a predetermined location to do the video lesson, without having to take their own equipment to record. The same is true of this year’s competition in Recife.

In Paraná, teachers will also have to send videos made by themselves, but only those approved in the first phase.

In addition to requiring the shortest recording, the São Paulo contest is the only one not to request a lesson plan, which describes what will be taught by the teacher in the recording.

According to Professor Roberto Guido, member of the executive board of Apeoesp (Union of Official Teaching Teachers of the State of São Paulo), the videos indicate the state’s intention to prepare basic education for distance learning. The use of digital textbooks from the 6th grade would be another indication of this intention.

The teacher reaffirms the union’s position against the model, which he says is incapable of capturing what happens in a classroom.

“Teachers are not afraid of being evaluated, because this is one of our work instruments. But we cannot use evaluations to exclude. If you want to evaluate a teacher, let it be with well-defined criteria, because the production of a video will not solve.”

According to the state secretariat, teachers will not be analyzed for their technological skills, but for skills related to the content of the class.

The secretariat also informs that the entire tender process is the responsibility of Vunesp, contracted to carry out the event, and did not give details about the composition of the examining board and how the evaluation will be carried out.