Dr. Baecher is passionate about serving English language learners and their teachers, and has been involved in the TESOL field as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to adolescents and adults, in school, community, and university settings; as a program administrator for ESL services, as a mentor teacher and as a teacher educator and researcher. Dr. Baechers research, teaching, and service activities are shaped by three common and related aims: 1. examining the work of practicing ESL teachers, 2. increasing the quality of TESOL teacher education, and 3. engaging a collaborative partnership of faculty, teacher leaders, and teacher candidates to advocate for English language learners. She has published and presented nationally on the subject of video analysis of lessons in the process of teacher development, the challenges facing ESL teachers, and the connection of teacher preparation to teacher practice.

She actively provides professional consulting to New York City public schools and districts. Working over many years with "video learning communities" in the CUNY early college partner school network provided Baecher with an opportunity to pilot many protocols and to deeply understand the contexts in which teachers can use video in dynamic and meaningful ways. In many ways, this book can be seen as a logical 'next step' in her commitment to the value and need to expand video analysis.