Classroom walk-throughs are a trend that is on the move! The non-threatening, non-evaluative walk-throughs give principals a quick snapshot of student learning. That snapshot is used to engage teachers in conversations about how to improve teaching. Included: Principals talk about the benefits of walk-throughs, and how to initiate walk-throughs with teachers who might fear frequent classroom visits by the principal.
School leaders are under a lot of stress -- but if exercise is a stress antidote, then principals might be among the healthiest managers around. That's because a lot of principals are doing an awful lot of walking. They're using a technique known as the walk-through to take the pulse of student learning in their schools.
The walk-through technique is based on the work of Carolyn Downey and others
(authors of The
Three-Minute Classroom Walk-Through: Changing School Supervisory Practice
One Teacher at a Time). Walk-throughs are intended to be separate
from any formal teacher evaluation process. The technique is used strictly
as a means of engaging teachers in dialogue and reflection about teaching
practices and school-wide goals.
"The walk-through is a significant step in influencing real change in schools by getting administrators close to the classroom and building their capacity to become instructional leaders."
--- Susan E. Sather, Ph.D., NWREL
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The walk-through process can benefit teachers in many ways, according to
Kathy Larson of the Cooperative
Education Service Agency #2 in Milton, Wisconsin. Larson, who presents
a session called Classroom
Walk-Through Training, says teachers benefit by learning to use reflection
to increase their knowledge, skills, and performance; strategically aligning
classroom instruction to district curriculum; and increasing student learning
across grade levels.
As one teacher put it, walk-throughs "allow us to see where we want
to go, with the students' best interests in mind."
Deepi Kang-Weisz
Edenrose Public School
Grades K-5
Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
When I do classroom walk-throughs I am looking for best practices determined
by a reflective question that focuses on a practice or strategy our staff
has determined to be a priority. The process is an informal and non-evaluative
one; its purpose is to foster reflective practice.
Marguerite McNeely
Hayden R.
Lawrence Middle School
Grades 4-6
Deville, Louisiana
I get into every classroom at least six times a year. When I do a walk-through
I use a checklist of observable best practices. I use my walk-through
observations to give informal praise for good teaching. I also refer at
faculty meetings to lessons I observed.
Michael Miller
Saturn Elementary
School
Grades PreK-6
Cocoa, Florida
How can I properly supervise teachers if I am not in classrooms on a regular
basis? I know how tight a Title I principal's time can be, but walk-throughs
are a priority for me and my assistant principal. Our goal is to get into
every classroom three times a week.
Ron Tibbetts
Henry Barnard School
Grades K-5
Providence, Rhode Island
On walk-throughs, I observe if assignments are differentiated -- modified
for children with special needs and enriched for those who finish early.
I am looking to see if lessons seem organized and children are on task.
I get into every classroom two or three times a week.
Todd Wiedemann
Berrien
Springs (Michigan) High School
Grades 9-12
Berrien Springs, Michigan
I walk through each teacher's classroom an average of once every two weeks.
Walk-throughs are part of our school's teamwork approach to improve teaching.
My assistant principal and I do them, and soon our guidance counselors
will be involved too. |
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Principals who have been trained to use the walk-through observation
technique speak clearly about its benefits.
"The biggest benefit is that the process gets principals into classrooms much more often and with a specific reason in mind," said principal Todd Wiedemann. Since the walk-through has a specific focus "it puts teachers and principals on the same page in terms of expectations."
Another huge benefit is that it's an effective use of a principal's time, Wiedemann told Education World. "To make it into every classroom once every two weeks and only use 10 to 15 percent of my time is an awesome advantage."
Principal Ron Tibbetts agreed that getting principals into classrooms more often is one of the biggest benefits of the walk-through approach. "The more principals are able to spend time in classrooms, the more they understand what the teacher is doing and how the art of teaching is approached," he said. "Walk-throughs create a mutual ground for discussing students, curriculum, achievement, and behavior. They keep the administrator 'in-touch' with day-to-day classroom activities."
Walk-throughs enable principal Marguerite McNeely to really know her teachers' strengths and weakness. "By knowing that, we can plan for improved instruction," said McNeely. "Doing walk-throughs -- being visible and giving feedback -- helps everybody know that I am active within the school and pressing for improvements always. Walk-throughs reinforce that I have a vested interest in what goes on daily in our school."
Walk-throughs also improve rapport with the students and decrease discipline issues, said McNeely. "And when I do walk through, I also check lighting, space and maintenance issues, the availability and condition of textbooks and other materials, teacher routines such as gradebooks, attendance, and lesson plans...
"A lot can get done in a walk-through," added McNeely. "The staff welcomes me because they know I am there to aid them and support their efforts."
The dialogue that results from walk-through observations is the biggest benefit for principal Deepi Kang-Weisz. "The reflective focus questions become a springboard for professional dialogue that is all about improving instruction and learning," she told Education World.
"Walk-throughs are a great way to maintain contact, and they provide a basis
for reflection and sharing effective practices for staff as individuals
and a faculty as a whole," added Kang-Weisz. "At staff meetings, I share
some of the great things I see during walk-throughs. I encourage staff
to share their practices, and we all ask questions and learn together.
We are a professional learning community at work."
Making teachers comfortable with the walk-through process is the key
to making it work. At the first mention of frequent, quick classroom walk-throughs,
teachers might resist. They may fear that there is an ulterior motive
or that the purpose behind walk-throughs is to "catch" them doing something
wrong. Combating those fears and establishing trust -- and helping teachers
see walk-throughs as the non-threatening tool it is -- is key, said Kang-Weisz.
"Talking about the process and determining collectively the focus questions
around which walk-through observations are done is essential," she added.
"The shortness of the time spent walking through classrooms is balanced
by the number of times a principal gets into each room during the year.
There is a cumulative effect from those visits that provides an overview."
For Todd Wiedemann, training is the key. "You have to train the teachers
on the importance of the walk-throughs and the relevance of the data collected,"
he told Education World. "Teachers have to buy in to the fact that walk-throughs
are a tool that will be used to help them improve and not to punish them.
"Once you get the teachers to buy in to that thought, then you have to make sure you are consistent with the follow-through. Use the data collected to drive staff meetings, and incorporate the data into the school improvement plan."
Each year, Marguerite McNeely spends part of her first faculty meeting
prepping teachers for her regular classroom visits. "I provide teachers
with all the informal and formal forms I will be using when observing
them. I explain what each item on those forms is measuring and how it
can help us in development of a successful school," she explained. "I
am very up front with my expectations."
Ron Tibbetts also sets the tone for regular classroom visits from the
start of the school year. "At the first teachers' meeting, I mention that
one of the things I like to do is visit classrooms, even if it is only
for five minutes or less," said Tibbetts. "That sets the stage for regular
walk-throughs.
"The more I can get into a classroom, the less of a distraction my visits
become to students and the more comfortable a teacher will become with
having me in the room. In a way, the goal of walk-throughs is that I will
be such a common presence that teachers will wonder what is going on when
I cannot get into their classrooms."
Many principals see classroom walk-throughs as an extension of the Management-By-Walking-Around (MBWA) strategy developed by Hewlett-Packard executives in the 1970s and popularized in the book In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman.
"Whether walking through a classroom, the cafeteria, or a hallway, the walk-through technique keeps an administrator visible and accessible," said Tibbetts. "Walking through classrooms offers possibilities for interactions that otherwise might not occur.
"This morning I fielded a question about an Internet connection and was able to bring a printer back online. A couple of classrooms later I had the pleasure of listening to a kindergarten child read me her story about her family and her new brother...
"I might not get into every class every day, but walking around the school at least once every day is a necessity. It is important for visibility, but it is also necessary to check safety, security, and other building concerns."
Principal Michael Miller aims to get himself or his assistant principal
into every classroom a total of three times a week. "My school is 800
students so that is a tall task, but most weeks we meet our goal," Miller
told Education World.
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One day, a couple of parents stopped by
unexpectedly to talk with principal Ron Tibbetts. They had
some questions about the teaching style of their child's
teacher. They also had a question about something Tibbetts
had not observed.
Walk-throughs had given Tibbetts a good glimpse into the
true abilities of his teacher. "In my opinion, her curriculum
objectives and interactions with the students were developmentally
appropriate and very much on target," said Tibbetts. "I
was able to give very specific examples to relieve the parents'
anxiety."
Walk-throughs also involve regular follow-up conversations
with teachers, so when Tibbetts met with the teacher he
was able to share what he said about the curriculum and
his support of her approach. "We were also able to move
the conversation to the other item raised by the parents
-- the one I hadn't observed," said Tibbetts. "We were able
to freely discuss it and make a few changes."
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On the quick walk-throughs that Miller and his assistant principal do,
there is always a purpose. "Each week, we have specific things that we
are looking for," he said. They communicate the weekly look-for in advance.
One week they might be looking to learn Is the objective of the lesson
clear to the students? Another week the purpose might be to learn
Is the lesson aligned with state standards for the grade level?
or Is the teacher asking higher-order thinking skills? The following
week they might be looking at instructional strategies. They will want
to know What instructional strategy is the teacher using?, Do we see
the same strategy every time we walk through the room?, and Is
this an appropriate strategy to use with the lesson? At other times
they might be looking to learn How are the students engaged? Is engagement
authentic, ritual, or passive? or Is the students' work displayed?
or Are classroom rules displayed?
In addition, this year Miller is observing how teachers are using the new LCD projectors that were installed in all classrooms.
Walk-throughs are all about teachers and principals working together to reflect
on teaching practices. Reflection is the key component. After
his walk-throughs, Miller often leaves teachers with an observation and
a question that might encourage thoughtful dialogue and deeper thinking
about lessons, curriculum, and teaching strategies. The prompts are always
non-judgmental. For example, Miller might say…
* When I was doing my walk-through today, the students
were in their seats responding to questions. How do you plan your lesson
to encourage the students to be active participants?
* While I was doing my walk-through today, the students
were taking notes and reviewing a social studies lesson. How do you ensure
that all students understand concepts of the lesson?
* As I was watching the students work the problems today,
I was wondering how many arrived at correct answers. How did you conclude
how many of the students worked the problems correctly?
Sometimes teachers have a ready answer to Miller's questions -- an answer
that details something they do that was not observed. Other times, the
question offers the teacher a chance to reflect on the why of something
they are doing. Subsequent observations enable teachers to continue to
analyze their classroom practices and take charge of their professional
growth.
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Focus questions set a purpose for a classroom
walk-through. The questions can cover any area of student
instruction or learning. They challenge teachers to target
specific best practices and to reflect continuously about
their progress toward individual or school-wide goals.
The questions below present a few examples of questions
that might be spurred by observations made over the course
of several walk-throughs. The questions are presented
in the first-person [teacher] voice.
How can I vary instruction methods to include a wider
range of cooperative learning (partner work, small-group…)
tasks?
How can I be sure my curriculum is covering all state
standards for the grade level?
How can I develop lessons that challenge students to do
more high-level thinking?
When students are working on research reports, how can
I help them do less copying of material and do more to
make the material their own by summarizing, paraphrasing,
and including personal examples and reflection?
How can I integrate technology into my lessons in real
ways?
How can I do more to challenge the most gifted students
in my class?
How can I use less direct instruction and incorporate
more inquiry-based learning in my lessons?
What can I do to develop a classroom "tone" that is less
teacher centered, more student centered?
How can I use fewer reward-punishment enticements and
do more to make student learning an intrinsic thing?
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Miller and the other principals in his county have been thoroughly trained
in the walk-through procedure by Joe Whelan. Whelan's approach is based
on the research of Robert Marzano, Robert Pickering, and Jane Pollock.
He suggests keeping a map of the school and marking when you have been
in each room. "This is a good visual that helps ensure you are hitting
all classrooms and not just the ones close to the office," added Miller.
Any question that causes teachers to reflect and has the potential to result in improved student learning and achievement is a worthy one. Sometimes a focus question is tied to a school-wide goal; the question will be the basis for all teachers' walk-through observations. Other times, individual teachers might be asked to reflect on questions tied directly to their personal classroom practices or goals.
For example, increasing student time on task might be a school-wide or individual teacher's goal. When a principal enters the classroom, he or she might collect data on the number (or percent) of students who are focused on schoolwork. Over a period of several walk-through observations, the principal or another observer will have significant data that might spur a reflective question such as How can I increase the number of students who are actively engaged in learning? Subsequent observations and conversations continue to focus on that question, and teachers share their successful methods for increasing student engagement.
In another example, a 2001 article from the National Council for Staff Development, Seeing Through New Eyes, detailed how a team of observers set out to walk-through one Texas middle school. Their goal was to learn if the school was making progress on its goal of increasing the amount of writing students did across the curriculum. Before the walk-through, observers created a list of things they might expect to see:
- Students actively involved in writing.
- Evidence of past student writing, such as piles of written work and examples of student writing posted on classroom walls.
- Students writing in their journals.
- Students who could explain the writing process to observers.
- Displays of exemplary student writing, so students can models of what good writing looks like.
- Prompts for journal writing on chalkboards or whiteboards.
Many of those things might be easily observed, even in a several-minute walk-through. The observers' findings -- plus other signs of student writing they had not even considered -- provided the basis for a report and follow-up dialogue about what teachers were doing to achieve the school-wide goal. "Best practices" that were observed in classrooms were shared school-wide. Most important, additional discussion ensued about what else could be done to enhance writing opportunities and results.
The goals of all this observing and questioning are clear: As a year of walk-throughs
progresses, principals should see more student engagement, students working
at higher cognitive levels, and teachers questioning their own practices
and making appropriate adjustments.
Principals record their walk-through observations in a wide variety of
ways. Some have set forms. Others use informal forms or observation notes.
See links to sample walk-through observation forms at the end of the article.
George Manthey of the Association of California School Administrators is the developer of the Walk'bout, a computer/handheld program that many principals use during walk-throughs to record "best practices" and other observable behaviors. The program can be used to generate reports for teachers. An updated version of the Walk'bout, called Walk'bout II, examines more closely the cognitive depth of teachers' lessons through the lens of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. Both Walk'bout products are tied to content standards.
"The Walk'bout can be used to analyze student learning activities," Manthey explained. "The program's standards database allows the observer to easily see where the observed student activity fits within the state standards and whether or not the standard being taught is tested at that grade level."
The Walk'bout tools require training, said Manthey, adding, "One reason principals really like them is because we can customize them based on the district's priorities."
Bill Craig, principal at Byron (Illinois) High School uses another program, The Administrative Observer Software, on his handheld computer for recording observations and generating reports that provide teachers with feedback.
"Feedback is most powerful when the expectations are spelled out ahead of
time and when feedback is expressed in terms of those expectations," Craig
wrote in My
Recipe for School Improvement: Walk-Through Observations on a Handheld
Computer. "My teachers know… the seven of eight most important things
I hope to see, and I ask them to focus on those things each class period.
The Administrative Observer lets me put those expectations into the software
as preferences and record my thoughts easily while I am in the classroom."
Walk-through observations continue to grow in popularity. Paul Young thinks he knows why. "In most school districts, formal evaluations have been negotiated to the point that they result in minimal observations at best," said Young, principal (retired) of West Elementary School in Lancaster, Ohio and past president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. "It is best that you develop a close professional relationship with teachers so that you can comment on performance throughout the year in personal, informal, and informative ways. Develop trust, and then you can really mentor and help a teacher grow."
"Walk-throughs help gather data that is needed to nurture performance," added Young.
"Classroom walk-throughs work," said Todd Wiedemann. "As long as the training
is in place and there is consistency in their use, walk-throughs are a
great tool for everyone in education."
Classroom Walk-Through (CWT)
This PowerPoint presentation by Todd Wiedemann, principal of Berrien Springs (Michigan) High School, serves as an introduction to the basic goals, concepts, and process of walk-throughs.
Teachers Find Assessment Encouraging
This news article from the Columbia (Missouri) Tribune reports on the use of walk-throughs in the city's public schools.
The Spokane School District: Intentionally Building Capacity That Leads to Increased Student Achievement -- Walk-Through Information
In Spokane, during walk-throughs, administrators look for three Cs and a E -- curriculum content; challenges to students' cognitive abilities; the classroom and lesson context; and evidence of student engagement. Administrators also "walk the walls," looking for displays of student work and other evidence of learning.
Leadership By Walking Around: Walk-Throughs and Instructional Improvement
This article by Howard Johnston for PrincipalPartnership.com focuses on recent research about the walk-through approach.
Seeing Through New Eyes
This 2001 article from the National Staff Development Council focuses on how walk-throughs impacted teacher instruction and student writing at Haas Middle School in Corpus Christi, Texas. In that case, walk-throughs were used to inform an entire school, not individual teachers, with feedback.
Attempting to Harness Real Change
In the El Segundo (California) Unified School District, the walk-through technique has been used on a school-wide basis. A leadership team will walk through an entire school looking for evidence of a clearly defined school-wide focus. After the observation, a debriefing is held; the leadership team reflects for the entire faculty on what they have observed.
Data Analysis By Walking Around
What happens when you walk around schools intent on capturing the voices of roughly 1,300 students -- half the student body in your district -- not once, but twice a year through structured personal conversations? What do students' voices add to our knowledge about instruction and learning? This 2001 The School Administrator article explored those questions.
Classroom Walk-Throughs Their Way
This 2005 article from UCLA's School Management Program describes other ways in which walk-throughs have been used. For example, at Twenty-Fourth Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, the entire faculty did the walking. They chose an essential question and did a walk-through. During the debriefing that took place after the walk-through, many teachers commented on new ideas they took away from the process.
The Walk-Through: A Unique Professional Development Opportunity for Principals
In these walk-throughs, principals conduct structured observations in which they look for evidence of a school's particular professional development focus. Included: A form used for walk-through observations of this type.
Principals use a wide variety of forms to document walk-through observations. Refer to Three-Minute Classroom Walk-Through for information and sample forms. Following are a handful of sample forms that we found online.
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Walk-Throughs