An important theme woven into all of Charlie's courses is that of status order among children in the classroom. He's very interested in his students' being able to see the dynamics of the classroom in a way that they might not when they're caught up in the flurry of classroom activity. Using video, he's able to show his students examples of kids getting cut out of conversation, for example, which they might not notice without the second look opportunity a video provides.
"A picture really is worth a thousand words," says Charlie, and "seeing a video of what's going on puts a pretty fine edge on status order." Of course, Charlie wants students to develop the skills that will allow them to see these dynamics without the double-take a video provides. Showing them a video of themselves or their peers in the classroom with kids help them to see things they missed while working with kids, and heightens their awareness to what's going on when they're working in a live classroom environment.
As Charlie puts it, “there are specific skills I want my students to learn. I can show them the skills, break them down, have them practice, and then have them readily available on the web site as a reminder. It only increases my capacity to be effective and to get out a consistent message.”
Video helps students take a second look so that their next first look will be more complete.
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