When my oldest daughter began playing lacrosse, we decided to enroll her in private lessons to help her learn the fundamentals. After a couple of lessons, I noticed that the coach was on her phone often during the sessions. Curious, I watched more closely: was she checking social media? Was something happening and she needed to stay by her phone? Neither, it turned out. Instead, my daughter’s coach was recording the session, replaying it back for her so that she could see details about her stance, stick position, and more. Her very skilled coach was using video for reflection. It was at that moment that I felt a surge of gratitude.
As an educator, I’m familiar with the importance of using video. As an instructional coach, I have used video to record myself coaching others. Albeit uncomfortable at first, once I got past how awful my hair always seemed to look, I achieved a new level of reflection. Watching myself coach others opened my eyes to my approach to coaching, communication skills, nonverbals, and even how often I blink my eyes. Video was no longer something I used just to capture my kids being cute, it was the pathway to achieve a greater level of coaching. I’m passionate about video because it offers educators, and athletes, an opportunity to go deeper into what it looks like to do what we do. Instead of looking back on a moment and thinking to ourselves, “How did it go?” we can now watch a video to see exactly what it looked like, how things happened, and ways that we can get better. Video is essential for coaching, teaching, and learning.
I will never forget the first time I used video. A kind partner allowed me to practice my coaching with her, and we sat side by side, time after time in coaching conversations. My coach at the time would watch these videos with me, and we would discuss my coaching and she would suggest ways in which I could improve. I began to record even more. I moved on to record myself facilitating, which was an entirely new level of reflection for me; it felt very vulnerable to watch myself lead learning for others. Once again, I was tempted to judge my outfit or how often I moved my hands (I am still trying to keep my elbows to my sides). Watching myself as a professional development facilitator helped me see how long I was pausing for reflection, how many minutes I spent on content before allowing people to talk, or even watching the participants to see when their energy increased or decreased. Once again, I noticed how many blinks I make in a single minute, but greater than that was my ability to take a step back and think about the impact of my facilitator’s presence on those in my sessions.
I have also used video to coach other instructional coaches. In this capacity, I worked alongside instructional coaches who were reflecting on their own practices so that they could grow. I would meet with coaches, and we would go over their videos, looking for ways in which they demonstrated instructional coaching best practices and ways in which they could continue to strive toward proficiency in instructional coaching standards. Having standards for instructional coaching guided us to know what goals to set and what strategies to use to reach those goals. 10 times out of 10, the instructional coaches I supported had massive light bulb moments that drastically changed the way they coached. While each person started very tentatively with video, they ended up grateful for the opportunity.
One of my top success stories was with a very open-minded coach who is now a leader in a central office department in her school system. As we watched her video together, she shared her dismay at seeing her body language and how it shut down the conversation with her teacher. We watched as she sat back, crossed her arms, and did not smile at her new teacher. While it was happening, she didn’t understand why the teacher was resistant to her ideas or coaching. However, while watching the video, she began to understand. After working with this coach for a full year, I was so pleased to see her complete her coaching program and become an even stronger professional in her field. Having a greater sense of self-awareness pushed her to be mindful about how she shows up, what her nonverbals communicate, and how to notice feelings from others. I’m really grateful to have been a part of her journey.
Using video is not just about helping coaches get better. It’s about helping teachers get better, too. But not just for the sake of improvement. Coaches, educators, leaders, and everyone else involved in education are all here and working toward excellence for one reason: students. Together, we form a joint enterprise focused on improving the lives of children all around us. How can we do that? By leveraging the positive impacts of reflecting with video.
I can tell you for certain that video changed my daughter. When she pulls her stick back to shoot or pass in a lacrosse game, she pictures her coach and hears her coach’s words. When she is getting ready to attack, she straightens her back and practices the footwork that her coach taught her. You can stop her after a game and ask what went well, and she’ll revert to thinking in the same way she was taught to reflect using video from Coach Monti. This lacrosse coach had unlocked the secret to success: improving the lives of children begins and ends with our willingness to be open and reflect. Video gives us a way to do just that.
