What's Your Next Component 3 Move?

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  Where are you with Component 3 right now?

  • A.
    Still thinking about it — I haven't chosen a lesson to film yet
  • B.
    I've got a lesson or a plan, and I'm getting ready to record
  • C.
    I've recorded — now I'm staring at the footage trying to choose
  • D.
    My clips are chosen; I'm working on the written commentary
• 2.
  What's the thought that nags at you most?

  • A.
    "What lesson is even worth filming?"
  • B.
    "What if the camera's rolling and it all goes sideways?"
  • C.
    "How do I know which clip is actually strong enough?"
  • D.
    "How do I write about this without just retelling the lesson?"
• 3.
  Which is true for you today?

  • A.
    The camera hasn't come out yet
  • B.
    I've set up (or thought hard about) how I'll record
  • C.
    I have more footage than I know what to do with
  • D.
    I've got a draft started — or a blank doc and a blinking cursor
• 4.
  What would help you most right now?

  • A.
    A way to choose a lesson that'll actually generate good evidence
  • B.
    Practical "where do I put the camera" filming guidance
  • C.
    A clear way to evaluate my footage against the rubric
  • D.
    Help turning what I see on the tape into analysis that scores
• 5.
  Finish this: right now, Component 3 feels like…

  • A.
    a blank page I haven't started
  • B.
    a performance I'm nervous to give
  • C.
    a pile of video I have to make sense of
  • D.
    a translation problem — I know what happened, I just have to write it

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  PLANNING

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  You're in the Planning Stage — the Smartest Place to StartYou haven't hit record yet. That's not behind. That's your advantage.You're turning it over — which lesson, which day, what's even worth filming. Maybe you've hovered over the record button and backed off, afraid of burning a week on footage you'll never be able to use.Here's what most candidates learn too late.The teachers who struggle most aren't the ones who planned too long — they're the ones who filmed first and planned never. Component 3 isn't won in the footage. It's won before the camera comes out, in a lesson built with intention. Plan it right and the evidence is already there when you press record.I'm Tracey — NBCT, former NBPTS assessor, and Component 3 coach. I've scored these videos, and I've been the nervous one on camera. So believe me when I say: the plan is where this is won or lost.Start where it actually starts. My free AAT Lesson Plan Template walks you through choosing a lesson worth filming — and mapping what you want the assessor to see — before you ever turn on the camera.
• 2.
  FILMING

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  You're Ready to Film — Let's Make Sure the Camera Shows ItYour teaching is worth seeing. The nerves are normal. The lesson doesn't have to be perfect.You've got the plan. Now it's the camera living in your head — where to put it, what if you stumble over your words, what if a student blurts a wrong answer, what if the best moment happens outside the frame.So let me take the pressure off.Component 3 isn't looking for a flawless lesson. It's looking for real teaching, planned with intention and examined honestly. A wrong answer shows how you respond to student thinking. A pause shows how you give students time to think. Your job on camera isn't to perform — it's to set up so you and your students can be seen and heard, then teach the lesson you already planned.I'm Tracey — NBCT and former NBPTS assessor. I've been on the scoring side and the nervous-on-camera side, so I know exactly what the assessor needs to see and how it feels to hit record.The Component 3 course gives you the practical, where-do-I-put-the-camera guidance to record with confidence — and to know what you're actually capturing while you capture it.
• 3.
  SELECTING

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  You've Got Footage — Now Choose With Clear EyesYou have the video. The real question is what it shows.You're scrubbing back and forth, second-guessing. The lesson that felt great on the day, versus the one that might actually show more. And underneath it all, the question that won't quiet down: how do I even know which clip is strong enough?Here's the line that changes how you choose.Pick your clips for their analytical and reflective value — not because the lesson felt good. The strongest clip isn't the smoothest one. It's the one you can write the most honest, rubric-aligned analysis about. Once you know what you're hunting for in the footage, the choice gets a whole lot clearer.I'm Tracey — NBCT and former NBPTS assessor. I've watched candidates agonize over the wrong clip for weeks, when a simple rubric lens would have settled it in an afternoon.The Component 3 course gives you the rubrics, checklists, and evaluation frameworks to judge your own footage the way an assessor would.
• 4.
  WRITING

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  You're Writing the Commentary — the Part That Actually ScoresThe video shows what happened. Your writing has to explain why.You're staring at the prompts — vague, demanding, asking for "analysis" — and everything you write keeps coming out as a retelling of the lesson. You know what you did and why. Getting it onto the page as something an assessor can actually score is the wall you've hit.This is the most learnable part of the whole thing.The gap between a commentary that describes and one that scores comes down to three kinds of writing: describe, analyze, reflect. Description is what happened — and it's where most drafts stall. The score lives in the analysis: connecting each claim to the exact moment an assessor can watch on your tape. Then the reflection: what you learned and what you'd do next, and why. You already made every one of those decisions in real time. Now you just have to name them on the page.I'm Tracey — NBCT and former NBPTS assessor. I've scored these commentaries, and the teaching is rarely the problem. It's whether the writing ties the claim to the moment. That's a skill, and it's teachable.The Component 3 course walks you line by line from retelling to analysis — writing to the exact rubric bullets.