UCLA SMP EdNews, January 2005

Classroom Walk-Throughs Their Way

by Bobby Blatt, Barbara Linsley, and Linda Smith
UCLA SMP Faculty

How do classroom walk-throughs support building a professional learning community?

Teachers reflect on this very question as they experience classroom walk-throughs (CWT) and share the results with colleagues. In many schools trained in this process, the practice of teachers walking through each others' classrooms to gather information on teacher practice and student learning has become a critical component of the school's commitment to improve teaching and learning for all. Some of the comments made by teachers and administrators who have learned about and used the UCLA School Management Program approach to classroom walk-throughs include:

• "The process has been self-reflective and [has] enhanced communication between grade levels and within grade levels."
• Classroom Walk-Throughs are a "tool to help gather data about our school [in order to] engage in a reflective dialogue about how students are learning and the staff development needs that we have."
• It "allows us to see where we want to go, with the students' best interests in mind."

The classroom walk-through process provides schools with an opportunity to collect real-time data that reveals how professional development is impacting classroom instruction and student learning. As teachers craft a focus question that reflects an identified goal area, and collect and share data gathered during the walk-through, they develop a deeper understanding of how and in what form teacher practice is being transferred from a professional development setting into classrooms. As they analyze the data, next steps in professional development are designed to further the instructional impact to meet learning goals for students. This process becomes part of a continuous cycle of inquiry and improvement, always focused on the school community's genuine questions and involving authentic collaboration among teachers, administrators, staff and parents.

Schools and districts have implemented versions of classroom walk-throughs for a variety of purposes. The UCLA SMP approach is unique in that it emphasizes a non-evaluative, teacher-driven process that is focused on inquiry and reflective dialogue. Many of the schools implementing classroom walk-throughs are adapting the process to meet the needs of the school community and its teachers. Leadership teams and faculties are using the process to access new data and influence decisions about teacher practice. The schools have put their own stamp on the process to make implementation more personalized and meaningful.   Here are a few of their stories:

• Twenty-Fourth Street Elementary School in Los Angeles kicked off their inaugural classroom walk-through with the entire school doing the walking. They elected to implement the process after school when the students were not present. Twenty-five teachers volunteered and opened their rooms to their colleagues. The team chose an essential question and, in small groups, visited groups of classrooms, Kindergarten through fifth grade. During the debrief, teachers indicated that they were taking away many good ideas that they plan to use. (Some schools take digital photographs as they tour classrooms, so that they can reflect on classroom environments that promote literacy, for example.)

• Suva Elementary School in Montebello is in its fourth year of classroom walk-throughs. This year they are implementing grade-level team walks with their essential questions focused on consistency and coherence of practice across the grade. They are finding this new approach very enlightening and helpful to grade-level planning. 

• Shenandoah Elementary School in Los Angeles initiated their first walk this year with the Leadership Team doing the walking. Their plans for the future are to have every teacher participate in this opportunity with a different group of teachers walking each time.

• Baldwin Park High School has used the classroom walk-through process as a springboard to discussing the issue of "student engagement in standards-based learning," an essential component of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. After the initial walk-through, the faculty found that they had many different interpretations of what "engagement" means. As a follow-though activity, they used a faculty meeting to discuss three questions regarding the nature of "student engagement" and deepened their understanding of what they would actually see and hear in a classroom where students were deeply engaged in their learning. In turn, this led to teacher-facilitated professional development to share their expertise and learn additional classroom strategies, related to Robert Marzano's (Senior Scholar, McREL) research, English Language Development, and SDAIE.  

No matter how schools tailor the process, the essentials are the same—Teachers learning from teachers in a non-evaluative way, talking about their craft, and developing lessons that will improve student achievement. Teachers say it best:

• "It's a tool for change to support academic achievement of the students." 
• "An opportunity for a paradigm shift!" 
• "This is a process that will help our school to be reflective thinkers, as we move toward accomplishing our goals as teachers in a learning community."

For this month’s topic:

"What focus questions have you used during your Classroom Walk-Throughs?
How have non-evaluative Classroom Walk-Throughs impacted
what you do in the classroom?"

Let us know some of your experiences with CWT and its effects on your teaching practice. Please click here to add your responses to this month's combined brainpower. We will share some of your ideas in a future issue of EdNews.

"Most change that occurs in our schools is only surface level. It is possible to walk into a classroom that appears to be based on the latest theory and practice—desks grouped in clusters, small groups of students working together, learning centers and computers in place—only to discover that the change is cosmetic. The rationale for and understanding of the physical and learning configurations are missing."

• Rigor and Standards

• Meet the Faculty: Barbara Linsley

• Ask SMP / Ask Your Colleagues: In future editions, we will share our responses to some of your questions (and, sometimes, use those questions as the basis for future Combined Brainpower topics).  If you have any questions regarding your teaching practice or other issues at the school site, please click here to Ask SMP.  We will include your questions and our answers in future editions.

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A nonprofit school reform initiative of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and The Anderson School, the UCLA School Management Program (UCLA SMP) is devoted to the sustainable transformation of public schools into learner-centered organizations where all students can achieve at high levels.

UCLA SMP works with educators, administrators, and community members to create well-managed schools, to enhance teacher effectiveness, and to improve student achievement through professional development leading to personal transformation and community building.

Since the program was launched in 1992, UCLA SMP has worked with over 700 schools in districts throughout California.

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