Arab Educational Information Network

Project LEAP (Leading Exceptional Annual Progress) provides a five-course sequence of professional development at the graduate level for in-service teachers seeking licensure in English as a Second Language (ESL) which promotes the use of digital video for personal reflection and sharing of classroom strategies with other professionals worldwide. For the participating teachers themselves, the experience of creating digital videos to showcase ESL strategies in classroom practice has had a number of outcomes. Perhaps most important, the teachers who are involved in this work have come to perceive a level of teacher leadership for themselves as they truly have taken the lead in this important work. From the view of strictly instructional outcomes, it is clear that when assignments for graduate students involve the creation of digital video, with the plan of sharing those videos beyond a single classroom or course, the quality of student work elevates in contrast to projects which are planned for presentation to classmates alone. Finally, the ability to share work in a potentially global basis without the boundaries of time, space, or level is very attractive. These digital videos can be a service to both pre-service and in-service teachers at undergraduate and graduate levels at any time or any place with Internet access. (Published abstract)