THE LEARNING WALK

A Signature Tool of The Institute for Learning

What are Learning Walks?

• Learning Walks are organized visits to a school’s learning areas using the Principles of Learning to focus on:– How teachers teach;– How students learn;– What gets taught to whom; and– How the school is organized to enable students

to meet standards.

What are the purposes of Learning Walks?

• Learning Walks serve to:– Develop a learning

community

– Develop a deep understanding of teaching and learning; and

– Develop a shared vision of every child in every classroom enabled to meet or exceed high standards

Why do we advocate Learning Walks?

• Learning Walks enable us

– To see in the quality of the students’ work the quality of the teacher’s work;

– To see in the the quality of the teacher’s work the quality of the principal’s work; and

– To see in the quality of the principal’s work the quality of the superintendent’s work.

What role groups may participate in Learning

Walks?• Teachers• Principals• Parents• Students• Support Personnel• Key District Leaders• Superintendent

How do we involve our staffs in the Learning Walk

Process?• Principals orient school staffs to the

Learning Walk and its purposes and involve them in Learning Walks as their knowledge and expertise deepens.

• Principals present the features and indicators of the Principles of Learning to their school staffs and involve them in determining appropriate evidence for each.

During Learning Walks, what do we look for in

student work?• Evidence that students are learning rigorous

content focused on achieving the standards.• Evidence that students are engaged in high level

thinking and conversations about the concepts they are learning.

• Evidence that students know what good work looks like, and how to make their work better.

• Evidence that students are aware of how they learn and have developed the habits and skills to assess their own learning.

During Learning Walks, why do we talk to

students?• We want to discover if

students:– Know what they are

learning and why they need to know that.

– Know if their work is good and how to make it better.

– Are expected to solve problems, to construct explanations, and to construct solutions.

When we leave a classroom, what do we

talk about?• We talk about:

– Evidence of Clear Expectations (or the POL under study) in:

• The lesson

• The student assignment

• Student work products

– What the students said in response to questions about their work and learning displays

When we leave a classroom, what we do NOT talk about!!

• We do NOT:

– Make judgmental statements about what the teacher was or was not doing.

– Make disparaging statements about the teacher, the students or the classroom; and make comments which could be interpreted as being critical of the school.

WE ARE THERETO SUPPORT

TEACHING AND LEARNING

THERE IS SO MUCH WE DO NOT KNOW

At the conclusion of a Learning Walk, what occurs?

• The principal provides objective feedback to the staff as a whole about the evidence that was seen during the Learning Walk, and puts forward inquiries to advance the work of the school.

• Professional development and the next Learning Walk are planned.

Charting Observations from a Learning Walk

• We saw the following evidence of Clear Expectations in classroom learning displays:

• We saw the following evidence of Clear Expectations in hallway learning displays:

• We saw the following evidence of Clear Expectations in student work assignments and products:

• We heard the following evidence of Clear Expectations from students:

• Questions for discussion with staff that may advance the work

Debriefing A Learning Walk

• How did you feel about the Learning Walk?

• Are you ready to go back and lead one?

• What questions do you have?

Supervision of Instruction

• During the 2001-2002 school year, each Principal will be expected to preside over an instructional program that demonstrates consistent growth in the implementation of Clear Expectations in each classroom.