Walk Through Observations

Nothing New...

Walkthroughs or Learning Walks are not new.  I recall quite a few years ago when my district had IPI walkthroughs.  Administrators were trained in using iPads to document observations during classroom visits.  Teachers were given rubrics on what administrators would be looking for during the walkthroughs.  After a certain amount of visits were completed by a swarm of visitors, data would be reported back to the building's staff.   As I recall, this practice was rolled out in a way that created a great deal of anxiety for teachers.  The process wasn't supposed to be evaluative, but it also didn't feel supportive.  There was no real discussion afterward to help improve instructional practices because individual teachers did not get specific feedback.  The reflection sessions consisted of teachers trying to defend what we were doing during a faculty meeting.  The process died off as many things have in my district due to the extreme turnover rates at the administrative level.

If walkthroughs were going to be reinstated, I'd want the focus to be on the 4 C's.  These are the skills that will really propel our students once they enter the world outside of the walls of our schools.  These are the skills that will create purposeful and engaged learning.  I created my own Learning Walk Through Form using Google Forms and made plans with a colleague to observe each other.


Our observations led to great conversations about instructional practice, the 4C's, and integrating technology into the curriculum in meaningful ways.

     

    

After our observations, we shared the data we collected with one another and debriefed.

Being a support staff member, I am in and out of classrooms all day long.  I often co-teach or teach within someone else's classroom or teach whole group lessons in front of a classroom teacher.  In short, I guess I don't really have hesitations about other teachers observing me.  In fact, toward the end of last school year, I joined the #ObserveMe craze on Twitter and created my own #ObserveMeMadison sign to post outside of my classroom.  Several times before the end of the school year, I invited teachers into my small space to observe lessons I was doing with small groups of students.   I was excited when my principal and MRC director came after I posted my sign for the first time.  I was proud my students were so engaged and excited that they had an audience for whom they could demonstrate their learning.  I tried a few more times before the school year ended, but it seemed that it was either difficult for classroom teachers to find the time to pop in or there wasn't a lot of interest.  The same couple of visitors came to observe.  Before the school year ended, my principal liked the idea so much that she made #ObserveMeMadison signs for every teacher. 

My sign is up again this year.  I plan to post my sign on Twitter to make others aware of when I'm inviting colleagues in.  I'm hoping I get more teachers interested.   I even started a #ObserveMeMadison Seesaw class where teachers at my school can post when they are inviting teachers in or can post what's happening in their classrooms for those that don't make it to an in-person observation.  There is such power in learning from observing each other.  As Christopher Emdin said in his TED Talk, "Allow others to observe where the magic is happening."  That is how we all become better.  The magic is happening in every single one of our classrooms.  WE have to believe that and not fear being judged.  We have to step outside of our comfort zones.  In his blog post titled "#ObserveMe," Robert Kaplinsky wrote that the best way to improve is to observe what others do and "check insecurities and pride at the door."

Once we witness the amazing things that our colleagues are doing, we can celebrate the magic by replicating that magic across the school.  Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.  Post what's happening on Twitter to celebrate the greatness.  Create a safe space to share and celebrate - like a School Staff Seesaw class.  Celebrate a colleague by recognizing what they did at a faculty meeting.  These baby steps will hopefully lead to inspiring Professional Learning Communities.