A Vehicle to Promote Student Learning Walkthroughs A Vehicle to Promote Student Learning

Observing Teaching and Learning Taking multiple snapshots of teaching and learning episodes and providing regular feedback to teachers and students

Definition of a Walkthrough A Walkthrough is an organized tour through the school …using “Look Fors” to focus on elements of effective Instruction and Learning

Question How can I have an impact on what happens every day, in every classroom, for every student! Ensure that every child is held to and enabled to meet high standards Examine how “Look Fors” are manifested in the classroom Talk to teachers and students about what is being learned and how performance is evaluated

Walkthrough Objectives Learn more about instruction and learning Validate effective practice and ensure continued use Create a community of learners for adults and children Open the school and classroom to all staff Focus teachers and the principal on student work and the learning process Improve decision making about instruction and learning Design more useful professional growth opportunities

Communicating Expectations to Your Staff Conduct a Walkthrough meeting with the staff. This meeting sets the stage for the Walkthrough and helps to establish clear expectations for the staff related to the purpose and process of a Walkthrough. Specific school goals, special programs or areas of focus for the school should also be reviewed at this meeting.

Getting Started with Walkthrough Process Conduct a preliminary Walkthrough to learn important information about the staff, students, curriculum and school. The goal of this Walkthrough is to see the school in operation and to begin collecting base-line data around a wide spectrum of effective instructional practices.

Focus for the Walkthrough Establish a focus for subsequent Walkthroughs. The principal and teachers work together to identify the specific elements of effective instruction or guiding principles of learning that they wish to target for implementation.

“Look-Fors”, Standards, and Best Practices Connect the “look-fors” to established standards. When developing “look-fors” in the classroom, they should reflect the district’s standards for curriculum and instruction. This is an important step with respect to developing a common language for staff and for establishing a matching set of indicators around instruction and learning.

Visible Signs of Clear Expectations Look-Fors- related to clear expectations Are the objectives clearly stated and tied to the standards? Are standards/rubrics posted in the classroom and discussed with students? Are models of high quality student’s work on display? Are the elements that make student’s work good quality labeled & articulated? Can students show examples of examples of their work and describe the criteria they are trying to meet?

Scheduling the Walkthrough 5. Schedule the Walkthrough The principal should establish a schedule for Walkthroughs and communicate this to the teachers. Set a reasonable number of times to conduct Walkthrough, schedule them on your calendar, and stick to the schedule.

Data Collection & the Walkthrough 6. Identify the type of data to be collected and gather data during the Walkthrough. Sources of data include student learning behaviors, students’ work, teachers’ behaviors, materials unutilized, physical arrangement of the classroom, and class activities. Especially, note specific examples of effective practice and exact details about the implementation/use of “look-fors”.

Observing Students Using the Walkthrough 7. Observe student behaviors that impact learning. A major area of emphasis for the Walkthrough should be centered on the students. Walkthrough participants may observe students’ behaviors, level of engagement, and quality of work. Talking to students about what they are doing and how they evaluate their work presents a wonderful opportunity for assessing effective teaching and learning.

Validating Effective Practice 8. Start by validating effective practice. The Walkthrough begins as a process for validating powerful teaching practice, effective use of guiding principles of learning, and the effective learning strategies demonstrated by students.

Feedback to Teachers 9. Debrief with teachers Debriefing with teachers and, in some instances, with students is a critical step in the Walkthrough process. Giving specific feedback based on firsthand observation is a powerful tool.

Debriefing Strategies 10. Utilize a variety of strategies for debriefing with teachers. Providing feedback to the staff as a whole and to individual teachers is critical. This process begins by validating effective teaching and learning and encouraging its continued use.

Providing Feedback to Teachers around Effective Practice

Debriefing Tools Oral Feedback- verbal feedback Written Feedback to Staff-general narratives Written Feedback to Teachers-short notes, email Debriefing the Faculty-short meeting with everyone Group Conference-group conference based on focus or group Growth Conference-group conference on focused growth area

Coaching Each Other 11. Coach each other during the Walkthrough The Walkthrough provides an excellent opportunity for participants to talk about instruction and learning and to coach one another. While this process begins with the principal and other administrators walking through classrooms and the school, including teachers in the process of a powerful tool.

Coaching Each Other Walkthrough participants can use the Walkthrough as an opportunity to coach each other. It is amazing how much there is to learn by being able to visit classrooms, especially accompanied by another colleague. The rich discussion that occurs after each classroom visit helps to build a sound base of knowledge about effective instructional practice.

Changing the School’s Culture 12. Create a school culture where teaching, learning and sharing are embedded in the fabric of continuous improvement. The Walkthrough should be seen as part of the culture and not as an event. To make this process a part of the culture, principals must establish a visible presence in classrooms.

The Learning Community 13. When teachers, students, and the principal discover a way to connect around teaching and learning, everyone benefits. The Walkthrough Observation can be the connector that advances learning for everyone and embraces a change in culture.

Set Guidelines for Participation 14. Establish guidelines for all participants in the Walkthrough. Clear expectations need to be established concerning the professional behaviors for individuals participating in this process. While feedback is important, negative or judgmental comments to others regarding a teacher or a student are not appropriate.

Set Guidelines for Participation Keep the water safe for everyone engaged in the Walkthrough

What are the Most Frequently Asked Questions Asked by Teachers Walkthrough Observations

Questions Why are you encouraging our administers to come into our classrooms so often? I liked it when they left me alone to teach. Why are you here so often? Am I doing something wrong? What do you think about our school? How good or bad are we? What do I need to do to improve?

Questions How long will we have to do this? Does anyone care what I think is important related to instruction? Can you just tell me what you are looking for? You really want me to share my best teaching ideas with all of my colleagues? Why?

Questions What can you possibly learn about my teaching when you only visit my class for 3-5 minutes? (What others can we add)? Discuss