Walkthroughs

Walkthroughs

This one word can affect teachers in many different ways. There are teachers that do not care if you walkthrough their room any time of the day, they will not be changing their actions for the observer. There are teachers that immediately start getting nervous and sweat when anyone walks through their room, they hate to think they are doing something wrong. There are teachers that get mad when someone walks their classroom, they may think, “how dare someone think I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing.”  For me, walkthroughs are my favorite part of my job. I love being in the learning, seeing what is going on around campus and talking to the kids.

What are walkthroughs?

Walkthroughs are when one or a few educators take time to be in classrooms to gather data for a specific purpose. These educators can be the leadership team, a grade level, a group of teachers that have the same need, or administrators. Walkthroughs are the most authentic way to gather data. Getting into the classroom and seeing what is truly happening is the best way to gather data. You want to see why scores are not aligned in a grade level. Watch the level of teaching in each room and you will find the answer. Walkthroughs need to have a purpose: looking for trends on a campus, helping a teacher grow, or seeking what professional development is needed. There are pieces to a walkthrough that are vital, and you need all four pieces in order to create a tool for student success.

Purpose:

   You need to set a purpose and share this with the teachers before going into their room. This process should be a positive one, not an “I gotcha’.” No one likes to wonder what someone is looking for or why they are in their rooms. Let teachers see what you are using to collect data. Let them see what the “Look-Fors” are; they should not be a secret. The focus should be aligned to the campus or district goals or improvement plans.

Data Collection:

  Data collection needs to be focused on a specific purpose. Walking into a room and trying to make comments on everything single thing that is happening within the room is not realistic nor is it helpful. Use a Google Form, a graphic organizer, a note taking sheet, whatever your team has deemed appropriate for the walk.

  When you are collecting data, look at both qualitative and quantitative- you want the whole picture. Quantitative data should always involve talking to students. Talking to kids is always so enlightening; they have such insightful views on the learning happening in their class. Asking students specific questions to see their perspective is key in the walkthrough process.  A classroom can look like it could be featured in Pottery Barn, but if a student doesn’t know what to do when they are stuck on a problem- there is a major concern. When you ask the same question in every class and get a different answer from every student, it could show autonomy or if can show a possible misalignment within the grade level. It is also important to share what the data shows. If you aren’t using the data to grow the teachers, then you are wasting your time.

Feedback:

  Everyone wants to know what was seen during an observation, good, bad, and ugly- they want to know! Teachers crave feedback as much as anyone. Feedback is a great tool to help teachers grow in their craft, reaffirm they are doing a good job, make steps to reaching their professional goals, and help point out positive and negative aspects of their teaching style. When you give feedback, it is important to highlight the positive and the need to work on actions. If you do not share the data with the teacher, they will not get to use that tool to be better their craft.

Take Action:

 Now what? You have collected the data what do you do with it? There is not a one-size fits all answer, but simply put- you need to take action.  

  Looking for trends within a grade level, campus, or even as a district helps you lead your staff to grow as a whole. Using your data to show teachers where they can watch an expert teacher in action on their own campus adds validity to your journey. When teachers can see best practices happening on their own campus with their students, it makes change seem more attainable, less intimidating, and easier to initiate. 

  Designing professional development for grade levels or whole staff should be done when you find a need looking through the data. Developing professional learning opportunities based on real needs throughout the school year is the best way to help your teachers grow in their craft and meet the needs of each student in the school.

There many ways and types of walkthroughs a campus can use to help them grow and learn about the learning and teaching happening on campus. Learning about walkthroughs and implementing them is a journey that can really open your eyes to wonderful things happening on campus as well as refocus your attention to practices that need to be refined. If you and your colleagues aren’t participating in walkthroughs for more than just official evaluations, you are missing out on the best part of being an educator- learning with and through each other!