ILT Learning Walk

Before the Walk

Assign roles for the observation.

Classroom Environment / Student Actions / Teacher Actions
Teacher and Student Interaction and Interaction Facilitation
Student to Student Interaction
When appropriate, the person assigned to the role of student observer may ask students questions to ascertain the student’s level of understanding of concepts or processes.

Each role should focus on collecting evidence only in connection to the indicators.
The group facilitator will try to push members to staying on track and citing evidence – please don’t be offended if he/she cuts in to move process along.

Focus on describing what we see (avoid commenting on what we don’t see in the classrooms during the lesson). Being descriptive requires[1]:
The ability to articulate the relationship between the teaching and learning
Conversation to be grounded in shared evidence and dialogue
Group members may have questions or “wonderings” about what they are seeing. They should capture these on the template.

Remind team members of norms:

Honor confidentiality – we do not share information about individual teachers (even with the teacher being observed)
Make every attempt to minimize disruption to the lesson – no talking in the classroom unless it is with a student. Students should not be asked questions while the teacher is providing direct instruction to them.
Professional behavior – act how you would want visitors to act in your classroom

During the Walk

Discuss the visit process with the group:

The group will visit each classroom for approximately 10 – 15 minutes (note: this is just a snapshot of the lesson; we can’t expect to see explicit instruction around all of the indicators, but we will likely see evidence if they have been part of the regular practice).

After the Walk

Conduct Final Debrief:

Focus solely on the evidence.
Report only what was seen and heard.
Report examples of quantitative evidence.
Example1, “In 5/6 classrooms visited...”
Report examples of qualitative evidence.
Example 1, “In 5/6 classrooms visited, students listened and responded to questions and answers from their teacher and peers.”
Example 2, “In 1/10 classrooms visited, students ensured that all voices were heard during academic discourse.”
Have groups discuss what was seen and heard in the classrooms that supports the school’s instructional focus.
Example 1, What evidence can we provide in each of the three areas/for the indicators the school has identified?
Example 2, What patterns are we seeing across the three areas? In how many classrooms did we see that?
Example 3, What are our wonderings? Which 1-2 wonderings are most important for the school’s focus question and continued improvement?