In response to the 2/26/14 post, “The Power of Teacher PowerWalks,” a reader asks:

SC,
Just a thought. On the campuses where teachers are doing walk-throughs, are they going with administrators and debriefing afterwards?

SC Response Good question.  It depends on the campus.  Most campuses begin the process with administrators taking a small group of teachers to visit classrooms with informal discussions occurring after the visits are completed. The purpose for the visits is NOT for teachers to judge what they have seen, but instead to discuss what stood out, what was working, and were there any missed opportunities.  In many cases, no data is actually collected, recognizing the fact that a couple of adults entering the classroom will alter the instructional environment and flow.

There are also a number of campuses where teachers regularly visit classrooms on their own, and in many cases collect observation data.  In this case, there usually isn’t a formal discussion with an administrator, but with these elite campuses immediate conversations aren’t needed.  On these campuses the discussions about what was observed occur between teachers at planning meetings and student staffings.

And that is the idea.  You encourage teachers to visit teachers to change the course of professional discussions. From “What I think or feel,” to “What we see, know and do.”  

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