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Read ch. 5  Relationships, roles, and responsibilities (pgs 69-74)

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Read ch. 5  Relationships, roles, and responsibilities (pgs 69-74)

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5 Best Practices: Classroom Walkthroughs (Article Read)

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5 Best Practices: Classroom Walkthroughs (Article Read)

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5 Best Practices for Classroom Walkthroughs — iAspire Education

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Trust is the foundation upon which all teacher observations and classroom walkthroughs are built. If you stick with these core best practices for classroom walkthroughs, your school will build a cycle of trust and continuous improvement.

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Eduardo Briceño: How to get better at the things you care about | TED

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Walkthrough Protocol/ Data Collection Example

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Concept 2024 - LS English - Course Description

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G6 - English Language Arts - Course Description

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G7 - English Language Arts - Course Description

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G8 - English Language Arts - Course Description

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LS/MS Reading Expectations and Curriculum 

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LS/MS Reading Expectations and Curriculum 

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Concept 2024 - Reading Expectations / Curriculum

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K-5 Reading Standards CCSS Vertical Alignment

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Emails:

Justine Otte, EKC Senior Strategist

justine@erinkentconsulting.com

April Stout, EKC strategist

apriljstout@gmail.com

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Touted as a systematic and efficient way to gather helpful data on instructional practices, classroom walk-throughs (also called learning walks, quick visits, and data walks) are showing up everywhere.

The idea behind walk-throughs is that firsthand classroom observations can paint a picture to inform improvement efforts. These observations typically involve looking at how well teachers are implementing a particular program or set of practices that the district or school has adopted. For example, a school principal might want to know whether teachers are able to put into practice their recent training on quick-writes and pair-shares.

In theory, before visiting classrooms, observers decide what they will focus on, what evidence they will collect, and how they will make sense of it. Afterward, they report their findings formally or informally to one or more audiences.

Walk-throughs are not intended to evaluate individual teachers or principals or even to identify them by name in postobservation reports. Rather, the goals of walk-throughs are to help administrators and teachers learn more about instruction and to identify what training and support teachers need.

The sheer variety of walk-throughs is breathtaking. They can last from 2 to 45 minutes. The group observing may range from 2 to 12 people and may include teachers, administrators, community members, and students. Walk-throughs can focus on one teacher, all teachers, or a subset of teachers and schools.

Observers sometimes question students to find out whether they understand what they are doing in the lesson and why. In other cases, observers focus on a particular instructional challenge raised by the teachers under observation: for example, use of questioning techniques and wait time. Or, in a version of walk-throughs verging on compliance monitoring, observers are armed with a checklist on which to record how the classroom furniture is arranged and whether the teacher has posted state standards targeted by the lesson.

Sometimes observers huddle in the hall to discuss what they saw and later send a written report to the school. In other cases, they meet with the faculty to share their findings and then shred their notes at the end of the day to reinforce the point that their purpose is not to evaluate teachers.

Although research on walk-throughs is limited, available studies reveal wide variation in their usefulness and effects. According to an in-depth study of three urban districts conducted by the Rand Corporation, administrators find walkthroughs more useful than do teachers (who rarely receive individual feedback), and those doing the walkthroughs report learning more than do those who are observed (Marsh et al., 2005). District leaders and principals in a sample of schools in one large urban district reported that the data from walk-throughs gave them a better understanding of how well teachers were able to identify and move students in and out of support programs. This finding led them to make adjustments in the professional development they provided (Supovitz &amp; Weathers, 2004).

Other studies point to the value of district-designed walk-throughs in developing shared understandings of high-quality practice. Training in the use of valid and reliable data-collection instruments and clear rubrics play an important role in creating a common language and communicating district priorities (Coburn, Honig, &amp; Stein, in press).

Walk-throughs also carry significant risks. When the purpose is murky or when trust among teachers, principals, and central-office staff is low, walkthroughs are likely to be perceived as compliance checks, increasing distrust and tension. Valli and Buese (2007) describe increased teacher anxiety in their four-year study of 150 teachers in a district that instituted walk-throughs. Convincing participants that the results will not be used to evaluate individual teachers or principals is a tall order for most districts. In one urban district, in spite of efforts to alleviate fears, more than one-half of the principals believed that district staff members conducting the walk-throughs were passing judgment on them (Supovitz &amp; Weathers, 2004).

Kerr and colleagues (2006) found that district leaders communicate sincerity about the constructive intent of walk-throughs in several ways. One way is to focus walk-throughs on areas where teachers and site leaders have ample professional development opportunities and support to implement changes. When walk-throughs are disconnected from larger improvement efforts, teachers tend to dismiss them as "drive-bys" or "gotchas." Leaders can also communicate good intentions by using high-quality data-collection instruments and training walk-through observers in their use. If teachers and principals perceive the data collection as superficial or invalid, they lose confidence in its purpose and value.

Organizations listed on the Web offer a wide range of protocols and electronic data-collection devices to support walkthroughs. Although the efficiency of electronic checklists is appealing, the kinds of data that provide the most valuable feedback are not necessarily those that are easiest to count and record. In fact, Stein and Nelson (2003) argue that the more a walk-through aims to assess good instruction, the more it requires those making the judgments to be knowledgeable about instruction and spend more than a few minutes observing.

The research suggests that walkthroughs can play a constructive role only when districts make their purpose clear and carry them out in a climate of trust. Many districts and schools can tell tales about walk-throughs that backfired.

Before launching any type of walkthrough process, it is important to ensure that everyone understands how it connects to improvement efforts. This connection should be reflected in the specific data that observers collect, the thoughtfulness and quality of the protocols, and the way the results are used. Checklists focused on surface features are not likely to provide useful information to teachers as they implement new approaches or refine their teaching practices. Districts will not accomplish much by amassing new data unless they train observers well and prepare educators to use the data.

If school districts keep these cautions in mind and use walk-throughs as one of a number of strategies to support strong instructional leaders and teachers, they will find that walk-throughs can promote school improvement.

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What Research Says About... / Classroom Walk-Throughs

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Touted as a systematic and efficient way to gather helpful data on instructional practices, classroom walk-throughs (also called learning walks, quick visits, and data walks) are showing up everywhere. The idea behind walk-throughs is that firsthand classroom observations can paint a picture to inform improvement efforts.

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What You Need to Know about Classroom Walkthroughs: Episode 193 | Bright Morning Podcast

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Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB)

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Pushing Back on Eight Outmoded Beliefs with Kim Marshall #5

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Hanover Quality Feedback, Teacher Engagement, and Student Achievement.pdf

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There is no better data source than directly observing the learning process in action. Classroom observation is critical for supporting teachers' growth, and understanding what's happening across a school or district. But making classroom observations effective requires a defined vision and teacher trust, so that they can serve their purpose as formative assessment without feeling too evaluative to teachers.

The solution? Blast walkthroughs: continuous, informal, and brief. take a look at how short, informal visits to several classrooms can function as a useful "temperature check" instead of high-stakes assessment - plus example protocols, key questions and a strategy guide to get you started.

About Blast Walkthroughs

In this article, we're focusing on walkthroughs that are short visits to several classrooms. This kind of walkthrough may also be referred to as "learning walks" or "instructional rounds."

Blast walkthroughs ARE: A schoolwide picture made up of many small snapshots to measure the impact of existing PD or to prioritize topics for future PD and additional supports
Blast walkthroughs ARE NOT: An evaluation of individual teachers or classrooms

Customizing Blast Walkthroughs to Fit Your Context

Before you start implementing blast walkthroughs, how will you gather support from your staff? Consider hosting a meeting to establish clear expectations on the purpose, process, priorities, and information-sharing for the walkthroughs.

Defining priorities

Define your scope and area of focus, making sure these are explicitly shared with teachers before the walkthroughs start.
Guiding Questions:

What are your instructional priorities? Does your school have a shared instructional language/framework for teaching and learning? Walkthroughs should be explicitly aligned to your district strategies and framed in language that is familiar to teachers.

What will those strategies look like in the classroom? Break down strategies into "look-fors" that are clear and observable. There are many publicly available existing resources and templates on which your team can build. Keep in mind that visits are short, so be wary of time-sensitive look-fors that may not naturally occur on a typical day or outside of a specific portion of the lesson (i.e. completing an exit slip).

Are teachers being set up for success? Walkthroughs aren't meant to be pop quizzes; define your "look-fors" ahead of time. In the same way we define objectives for our students, teacher should be able to clearly identify what observers will be looking for-and ultimately, what success would mean in their classroom.

Are your observers clear on their priorities? Provide observers with clear and explicit instructions for their look-fors. When possible, focus on whether/how often something is occurring instead of questions that are more subjective.

Timing and frequency

In general, visits should be short and unannounced to give you the most accurate reflection of a typical day.
Guiding Questions:

How often will you conduct walkthroughs? On average, 1-2 times per month per classroom is sufficient to understand the climate of the school. Six classrooms per week is a good goal if you're building walkthroughs into an ongoing data collection process.

How long will you spend in each classroom? 5-10 minutes will give you a good idea of the classroom climate, but up to 30 minutes may be needed if your priorities address higher-level thinking. Adapt your schedule to reflect your look-fors and consider whether or not your look-fors are best observed during blast walkthroughs or will require a different method.

What types of classrooms will you focus on? If you're looking for trends, you may choose to group your classroom visits by grade level, subject, area of focus, etc. or choose to simply gather a random sampling from the building.

How will you ensure the walkthroughs are "unobtrusive"? We recommend keeping the specific times and locations of walkthroughs unannounced so that your presence doesn't prevent you from observing a typical day.

Observers

Your purpose should define who conducts the walkthroughs.
Guiding Questions:

Who will be doing the walkthroughs? Will there be one or multiple observers? If you are considering multiple, will the groups be homogeneous or heterogeneous? (e.g. principals, principals and teachers, or principals and district office leaders)

Whose perspectives would be valuable? What is the relationship between the observers and the teachers being observed? You may choose to bring only administrators, for instance, or include instructional coaches to give them an in-depth look at what's happening. Some teams may even choose to bring teachers to build investment, gather a new perspective, or encourage peer learning.

Example protocols

Some examples for a five-minute walkthrough:

Example 1: Instructional practice
1. Walk the entire room
2. Identify:

Purpose of lesson

Student engagement within and across student groups

Physical environment

Examples of student work

Example 2: Student outcomes
1. Focus on an area of student learning outcomes
2. Identify:

Do student grouping patterns support the focus outcome?

Do students understand their goals for learning?

Are students learning both basic and higher order levels of knowledge

In both examples, it's also useful to speak quietly and quickly with 1-2 students about their understanding of what they're learning, why they're learning it, and what to do if they need help.

Sharing data

What you do with the data you've collected afterward will define the success of your walkthroughs. Consider how the information will inform your professional learning approach and also how you can tighten the feedback loop to build teacher buy-in.
Guiding Questions:

How will you analyze the results? Will it be an immediate debrief with observers? How will you conduct analysis and who will be part of that process?

How will you share school-wide trends? What are the "shareable bites of data," or the key metrics and trends that should get shared school-wide? What opportunities do you have to share trends (emails, PLCs, team meetings, faculty meetings, board meetings)? How will these decisions impact teacher mindsets about non-evaluative walkthroughs?

What kind of feedback will you share with teachers? Even if the primary purpose of walk-throughs is to build an understanding of schoolwide priorities, teachers often appreciate a brief thank you, or in some cases, a copy of the feedback that was recorded.

More tools

Looking for more help on incorporating observations or blast walkthroughs in your district? Schedule a demo today.

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Blast walkthroughs: how to build protocols that make the most of observation data

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There is no better data source than directly observing the learning process in action. Practical evidence is critical for supporting teachers' growth and understanding what's happening across your school or district.

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Understanding the 3 Types of Feedback Triggers | Soundview Magazine

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Understanding our triggers and sorting out what set them off are the keys to managing our reactions and engaging in feedback conversations with skill.

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McREL International: Classroom Walkthroughs (Describes 3 types)

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McREL International: Classroom Walkthroughs (Describes 3 types)

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Escola Concept Leadership Session Aug 2025

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Check out this Presentation designed by EKC.

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Goals:

Build a collaborative culture of learning

Identify and reflect on student learning

Inspire conversations around teaching and learning

Build understanding as a school team

Celebrate observed practices and identify trends to support next steps