Sarah stepped forward at our CAFE conference in Tacoma, Washington, and slowly but deliberately walked to where Joan and I were greeting attendees and answering final questions before leaving for the evening. Once no one else was in line, Sarah approached, looked me straight in the eye and said, "If I videotape myself teaching Daily 5/CAFE would you give me feedback on the implementation?" 

My years of experience and literacy coaching skills kicked in, and these words came to mind: "For us to grow as teachers, we need two things: a clear picture of current reality and a goal we want to achieve" (Fritz, 1984). Over the course of the two-day conference Sarah created a goal to implement Daily 5/CAFE correctly. She doesn't need me though. She has everything she needs: equipment to videotape herself, a reflective mind, and colleagues who know her strengths as well as the culture and climate of her classroom and the school. 

Jim Knight (2014) suggests that videotaping is the perfect vehicle to show what is really happening, helping us focus on our teaching and analyze the current reality so we can set a goal to move our teaching forward. "When video recording is shared in a way that supports each educator's intrinsic desire to improve, it can be a powerful tool for rapid, significant improvement" (p. 18). 

Joan and I have been videotaped many, many times (we have 16 DVD's and over 500 video clips on this site). For me, it is at the top of the list of painful, challenging, humbling, nerve-wracking activities. It is also the most powerful, insightful, thought-provoking thing I have done to change, modify, grow, and improve my teaching. 

In our professional culture, we must all be learning and improving our teaching. Consider videotaping yourself, finding out what your current teaching reality is, and setting your goal for improvement. Be okay with the truth that no lesson is perfect, and then dive in and learn. Grab a teammate or colleague and do it together. That's what Joan and I did, and we are all the better for it. 

Fritz, Robert. (1984). The path of least resistance: Learning to become the creative force in your own life.  New York: Ballantine Books.

Knight, J. (2014). What you Learn . . . when you see yourself teach. Educational Leadership, 71(8), 18—23.

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