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!
