Overcoming resistance to using video for teaching analysis and reflection can be difficult.

In this #PLtogether Lounge Talk, instructional coaching expert Jim Knight shared why video is the data needed to help build more teacher agency and hope toward classroom goals.

Teacher agency is a teacher’s belief that they can meet their goals in classroom instruction. Read the 2 ways, including using video, to build teacher agency according to Jim Knight on our blog:

2 Ways to Address Teacher Burnout and Build Hope, with Jim Knight

Here’s an excerpt of the conversation, or scroll down for the full captioned video of What the Research Says about Building Hope and Improving Teacher Agency with Jim Knight.

Jim Knight on Using Video to Build Teacher Agency

I really believe strongly in the power of video. I think there’s a couple things going on. One of them is, just the idea that even though it’s imperfect, it’s still better than nothing.

You know, so let’s say I was trying to improve my running, well, I could look at how fast I’m running but there may be other things I need to learn, like, what my diet entails. And then when I look at diet, it’s not just calorie, you know. But some information is better than no information.

Because the way I see data, the first thing is it makes the invisible visible. And in the classroom, that’s often children. And so, one of the stories I tell is about a teacher who had seven multi linguistic kids in class, and when she watched the video, she realized none of those seven kids were answering a question. And so all of a sudden, kids who hadn’t been seen were seen. …

Video is the most efficient and the most powerful way to do it because you cut through your perceptulars, or you cut through your defense mechanisms. But the second thing is, data can bring hope because data helps you see a goal. And understanding what you wanna strive for is really, there’s no hope unless you have something to hope for.

And so the more clear your goal is, the more powerful it is, the more likely you’re gonna have hope. But hope also involves agency, a belief that I can hit the goal.

See more from Jim Knight here: Lounge Talks with Jim Knight

Watch the full video of What the Research Says about Building Hope and Improving Teacher Agency with Jim Knight below.