How Video Enhanced Coaching Sets Educators Up to Reflect and Grow

Teachers make an estimated 1,500 decisions per day — just part of an already intensive workday. Without additional support, this leaves little time for self-reflection and professional growth to occur.

To help set educators up for lasting instructional success, districts can provide flexible, personalized opportunities for educators to learn and advance — like those provided through virtual coaching.

While technology is important for providing flexibility, virtual coaching is most impactful when there’s a clear purpose, plan and process in place. During my time as an instructional coach, I leaned on the power of video to help educators reflect, learn and grow within their roles.

Here’s why.

Video fuels self-reflection

Self-reflection is one of the greatest forms of professional learning. Video enables teachers to capture real moments within their classrooms, which can then be used to identify areas of strength and opportunity.

Video is especially helpful for educators to measure and reflect on learning development. One research study found that when participants recorded and analyzed their teaching, they were able to focus on details that were often overlooked in informal reflective practice or formal evaluation — heightening awareness of their overall progress.

Teachers can also use video to analyze students’ actions during class, such as:

  • Engagement with course content, peers and educators

  • Level of understanding (e.g., instructions for an activity)

  • Behaviors with peers and adults

  • Quality of conversation

Video builds trust and ensures accountability

Video is a great starting point for identifying the reality of a situation and building trust between coach and educator.

Research conducted by Dr. Jim Knight, who has studied professional learning and instructional coaching for over two decades, finds that trust is the most important variable in coaching. When teachers trust their coach and their school system, they usually embrace the help that coaches provide. However, if they don’t trust the coach or system, they likely will not want to participate in coaching.

Related: [Video] Differentiated Coaching to Deepen Teacher Reflection

To build and sustain trust, teachers and administrators should collaborate to identify “handoff goals” at the beginning of the coaching process. During this time, leadership should confirm what the teacher wants to learn, needs to learn and will learn through instructional coaching.

Personalized, actionable feedback

Instructional coaches can reference recordings to help educators identify tangible, realistic goals, and monitor the implementation of new strategies and/or resources in the classroom.

Because video offers a real-world example, coaches can use it to personalize and tailor feedback — ensuring maximum impact for the teacher.

To enhance professional learning, leverage the power of video

With the support of pandemic relief, many districts are implementing new resources to better support teaching and learning — including instructional coaching programs.

To make the most of these investments, it’s critical that educators aren’t lost in the shuffle. Instead, teachers should be given autonomy over their professional learning experiences — and coaches must honor educators’ choices and discretion.

Video-enhanced instructional coaching leads to greater, more effective use of pedagogical strategies among teachers, ultimately resulting in increased engagement and performance from students. To make the most of professional learning and coaching, districts are encouraged to harness the power of video and impact of virtual coaching.

About the Author

Allyson Burnett is director of Virtual Learning at Sibme.


Featured

  • illustration of stacked coins, bar graphs, downward arrows, and two school buildings

    Survey: Top Education and Budget Challenges for Schools

    A recent survey of more than 2,500 educators, school leaders, and district administrators across the country identified the top challenges schools are facing this year. The 2025 National Educator Survey, conducted by PowerSchool, found that teacher shortages and mounting financial uncertainty are persistent pain points across K-12 education.

  • blue AI cloud connected to circuit lines, a server stack, and a shield with a padlock icon

    Report: AI Security Controls Lag Behind Adoption of AI Cloud Services

    According to a recent report from cybersecurity firm Wiz, nearly nine out of 10 organizations are already using AI services in the cloud — but fewer than one in seven have implemented AI-specific security controls.

  • Digital clouds with data points and network connections

    Microsoft's Windows 365 Cloud Apps Available in Public Preview

    Microsoft has announced that its Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available in public preview. This allows IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.

  • laptop displaying a glowing digital brain and data charts sits on a metal shelf in a well-lit server room with organized network cables and active servers

    Cisco Unveils AI-First Approach to IT Operations

    At its recent Cisco Live 2025 event, Cisco introduced AgenticOps, a transformative approach to IT operations that integrates advanced AI capabilities to enhance efficiency and collaboration across network, security, and application domains.