School leaders are expected to juggle a number of responsibilities between the daily 'to do' lists that never have an end...I'm not even going to list them all...you've seen the list before. But, their primary responsibility is to serve as an instructional leader and with that responsibility comes a shorter list of 'to-do's'. This includes, leading professional development, analyzing student data, attending PLC's, and observing/evaluating staff. We're gonna spend a little time on the last one, well, specifically on walkthroughs.
Much has been written over the past couple of years about the impact of walkthroughs on student outcomes...some positive, some not so positive with regards to the return on time invested (ROTI). Yes, I am adding to the edu-jargon alphabet soup if you're not already using that term. The reason to add the 'T' is that in education it can be our most precious commodity, so it should be considered in how we invest it. I contend that walkthroughs are an incredibly important part of an instructional leader's responsibilities but with the caveat that they should have a strong purpose or the ROTI will not be strong. Why are you walking through today? This is a question that every school leader should ask themselves...just like everything else a school leader does, it should serve a valuable purpose as it takes up valuable time....so...
Much has been written over the past couple of years about the impact of walkthroughs on student outcomes...some positive, some not so positive with regards to the return on time invested (ROTI). Yes, I am adding to the edu-jargon alphabet soup if you're not already using that term. The reason to add the 'T' is that in education it can be our most precious commodity, so it should be considered in how we invest it. I contend that walkthroughs are an incredibly important part of an instructional leader's responsibilities but with the caveat that they should have a strong purpose or the ROTI will not be strong. Why are you walking through today? This is a question that every school leader should ask themselves...just like everything else a school leader does, it should serve a valuable purpose as it takes up valuable time....so...
Why are you walking through today?
Calibration
It's important that school leaders have a common understanding of what high-quality instruction looks like in classrooms. One of the ways to ensure that everyone is on the same page is through the use of 'side-by-side' or calibration walkthroughs with 2 or more administrators. These small teams of administrators walk into classrooms, observe the practice in action, and then debrief. A number of different protocols could be used for this process, but often times the Principal will lead this work with his instructional coaching team. In this case, it's as much about the teaching and learning in the classroom as it is about building the 'Instructional Eye' of the leadership team. The principal leading the work, must step back, listen to the team, and coach the team. The team should feel comfortable taking risks in this environment and being honest with what they saw in the room. This is where the coaching of coaches comes in...the principal must guide the team based on their observations and sharpen their tools. This could also include a process called Instructional Rounds (see below).
Data Collection
School leaders can always use this is a purpose for conducting walkthroughs and should in most cases. Qualitative and quantitive data can be gathered during a walkthrough and then, hopefully, used to determine next steps for professional development or to evaluate the impact of professional development. School leaders can create different forms using Google forms or another digital tool to collect specific information for the focus for their data collection walkthrough. School leaders collect data on teaching strategies, math practices, common core alignment, task level, teacher talk/student talk ratio, and many other topics. It's most impactful when it's on the focus of the school or the needs of the school. Sometimes the data that is collected is anecdotal and give leadership teams a better understanding of the pulse of the school. You may be doing a walk-through for a coaching session, but can walk out with 'data' on student culture...it's probably going to be qualitative. An qualitative data is very valuable in schools. Of course, the constant reminder with all data in schools is that it's not important that it's collected...what's important is how it's used...don't collect any data just to collect it...use it...draw meaning from it...make decisions or determine further investigation/next steps from the data.
Coaching Sessions
We have spent a lot of time focusing on coaching our teachers after walkthroughs and it is one of the driving forces behind individual growth for teachers. Coaching sessions using Paul Bambrick's Leverage Leadership walkthrough/feedback model have allowed every teacher to receive regularly scheduled walkthroughs that are focused on student learning as it plays out in the classroom. This type of walkthrough allows our leaders and teachers to engage in an on-going professional dialogue about what can be tweaked, adjusted, or newly implemented to result in higher student outcomes. It may be that a newer teacher needs to 'shift the lifting' from the teacher to the student so the student is carrying the cognitive load or that the teacher needs to ensure all students are giving 100% when directions are given, so they need a strong, consistent attention strategy. Either way, both are connected to student learning and both are focused on what those individual teachers need to adjust in their classrooms. Whether you use Leverage Leadership or another model, the goal is that you are coaching your teachers...not evaluating them...coaching them.
Visibility/Presence
Leaders often believe that being visible and showing a presence in the hallways, cafeterias, playgrounds, and classrooms is important to maintaining a strong culture and developing relationships with students and teachers. This is very true! So, let's make the most of that time...when in the cafeteria, the leader should interact with the students, the cafeteria workers, and the staff monitoring students. The same holds true for the hallways, playgrounds and the classrooms. The classrooms....yes, the classrooms. As a school leader, getting into classrooms to be visible is a low-level purpose in some ways, but can be very powerful. There are times when you want to learn alongside the students, asking them what they are learning, why it's important, and what are they going to do next. I would contend that you take the opportunity to make your 'visibility walkthroughs' more purposeful by having a specific look-for whether it be focusing on school culture or academics. When you get back from your 'visibility walkthroughs' take a minute to jot down some notes so that you can do some follow up walk throughs with a more laser sharp focus.
Instructional Rounds*
Instructional Rounds is a process adapted from the medical model of teams doctors visiting patients and working collaboratively to determine the best approach towards treating a patient. This builds off the collaboration of the team and allows multiple perspectives and can result in great growth for a school. It differs from traditional calibration approaches in that the 'Rounds Team' is looking for a problem of practice in the school that has been identified. They then take copious notes on what the teachers says and does, what the students say and do, and what the task is that students are being asked to complete. The team then convenes in a room and dissects the classroom using the 'evidence' collected and draws conclusions based on the 'evidence'. The team can then work to determine classroom or school-wide next steps in professional development or instructional focus. Teachers, most likely, will not receive feedback from this process, but it happens at times. Recently, we have embarked on this process in our elementary schools...game changer for thinking about instruction! (See future blog on Instructional Rounds!)
Question Audit
Leaders can take data on the number of higher order thinking questions using a 'question audit'. A 'question audit' is when observers spend 10 to 15 minutes in each classroom recording every question asked and only the questions asked. It usually occurs in a 'locust' kind of effect as multiple observers break out into schools and rotate from room to room over a period of a couple of hours. Questions are written on post-it notes and then sorted into categories using a taxonomy such as 'Blooms'. School teams then analyze the data to determine questioning trends across grade levels and subject areas. As with most data collection walkthroughs a professional development session focused on changing the level of question to a higher level typically follows.
So, as you can read from the descriptions above and it's not all encompassing...there are lots and lots of reasons to spend time in classrooms, but there are still principals that are not spending enough time in classrooms...so why? That's a blog for another time. Thus, the 'Part 1'. Most importantly though is that school leaders have a purpose and a focus...don't just walk through to walk through...our time is too valuable and walkthroughs are a valuable way to spend your time. What is the ROTI of your walkthroughs?
As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this post...I hope it has a strong ROTI!
Instructional Rounds is a process adapted from the medical model of teams doctors visiting patients and working collaboratively to determine the best approach towards treating a patient. This builds off the collaboration of the team and allows multiple perspectives and can result in great growth for a school. It differs from traditional calibration approaches in that the 'Rounds Team' is looking for a problem of practice in the school that has been identified. They then take copious notes on what the teachers says and does, what the students say and do, and what the task is that students are being asked to complete. The team then convenes in a room and dissects the classroom using the 'evidence' collected and draws conclusions based on the 'evidence'. The team can then work to determine classroom or school-wide next steps in professional development or instructional focus. Teachers, most likely, will not receive feedback from this process, but it happens at times. Recently, we have embarked on this process in our elementary schools...game changer for thinking about instruction! (See future blog on Instructional Rounds!)
Question Audit
Leaders can take data on the number of higher order thinking questions using a 'question audit'. A 'question audit' is when observers spend 10 to 15 minutes in each classroom recording every question asked and only the questions asked. It usually occurs in a 'locust' kind of effect as multiple observers break out into schools and rotate from room to room over a period of a couple of hours. Questions are written on post-it notes and then sorted into categories using a taxonomy such as 'Blooms'. School teams then analyze the data to determine questioning trends across grade levels and subject areas. As with most data collection walkthroughs a professional development session focused on changing the level of question to a higher level typically follows.
So, as you can read from the descriptions above and it's not all encompassing...there are lots and lots of reasons to spend time in classrooms, but there are still principals that are not spending enough time in classrooms...so why? That's a blog for another time. Thus, the 'Part 1'. Most importantly though is that school leaders have a purpose and a focus...don't just walk through to walk through...our time is too valuable and walkthroughs are a valuable way to spend your time. What is the ROTI of your walkthroughs?
As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this post...I hope it has a strong ROTI!
Hey...I forgot one reason for 'walkthroughs'....Evaluation....Well really this is more from the teacher end than from the leader end. We tell all of our leaders that 'walkthroughs' are about growth and feedback to improve practice or to inform our leadership team that it's not an evaluation tool. It's others that are concerned that walkthroughs will end up in their evaluations. And really even when it's a formal observation...really "The primary purpose of observation should not be to judge the quality of teachers, but to find the most effective ways to coach them to improve student learning" Bambrick-Santoyo (Leverage Leadership, 2012). So, our real challenge is changing mindsets around feedback, walkthroughs and observations...focus on growth for everyone involved.
Thanks for taking your valuable time to read this blog...please feel free to comment or debate my premise any time!
*Instructional Rounds in Education by City, Elmore, Fiarman, and Teitel