Quality Assurance Using the Classroom Walkthrough Process

1. 2008 NCLB School Choice Leadership Summit Quality Assurance Using the Classroom Walkthrough Process Mary Jo Butler, Frank Moore, Tina Roberts, Suzanne Adkins Wednesday, June 25, 2008

2. Overview • Introduction • Purpose of Classroom Walkthrough • Classroom Walkthrough Is … • Classroom Walkthrough Is Not … • Conducting the Walkthrough • What to Look For • Reflection • Sample Forms

3. Classroom Walkthrough • Provides a method for providers and districts to: • Gather information about instructional strengths and weaknesses • Develop action plans for targeting professional learning of staff for improving student achievement

4. Purpose of Classroom Walkthrough Related to SES • Reinforce attention to focus on teaching and learning priorities • Provide opportunity to collect data to monitor the fidelity of SES program consistent with the approved application • Gather and provide data related to instructional practice and student learning

5. Classroom Walkthrough Is… • Management by walking around • Tool for instructional improvement • Process for giving and receiving non-threatening evidence-based feedback from colleagues • Snapshot of instructional student learning session

6. Classroom Walkthrough Is Not… • Formal observation • Audit • Evaluation of tutors • Dog and pony show

7. Classroom Walkthrough • Is NOT intended for evaluation purposes.

8. Benefits of the Classroom Walkthrough Process • Supports continuous improvement • Strengthens focus on teaching and learning • Gathers information to develop plan for professional development • Aligns provider staff, school/district staff, and tutors in terms of expectations • Creates a common ground for discussing academic improvement • Provides for quality reflection on teaching and learning

9. Classroom Walkthrough Will Assist Tutors • Reflect on learning • Reflect on teaching practices • Align instruction • Improve student achievement

10. A classroom walkthrough should take no more than two to four minutes Conducting the Walkthrough

11. Classroom Walkthrough Checklist • Systematic information checklist to record tutoring session learning activities

12. Curriculum Instruction Focus on Learner Classroom Environment Differentiation What to Look For….

13. Curriculum • Is it clear and evident what students are expected to learn? • Can students articulate what they are doing and learning? • We are doing math. • We are working on page 47. • We are learning how to graph the slope of an equation. • Does curriculum align with Sunshine State Standards?

14. What are the instructional practices? How are students grouped? What research-based strategies are evident? Instruction

15. Is instruction direct and explicit? Are these opportunities for guided practice? How is positive corrective feedback provided to students? Instruction

16. Learner Activity • What are students doing? • Are students active in their participation with a performance task? • What materials are they using? • What is the cognitive level at which they are working?

17. Learner Activity (cont) • Student engagement: At what level of engagement are the students working? • Are students authentically engaged? • Are students compliant in the activities? • Are students off task?

18. Thinking: At what level of Bloom’s Taxonomy are students working? Are students working at the comprehension level? How often are our students at the level of analysis? Learner Activity (cont)

19. Bloom’s Taxonomy

20. Knowledge

21. Comprehension

22. Are classroom procedures evident? What resources are available for student use? Does the classroom arrangement support learning goals? Student centered or TMTT? Classroom Environment

23. Now What? • Reflection • “…the ability to look back and make sense of what happened and what you learned…. • …the ability to look forward, to anticipate what is coming and what you need to do to prepare.” • Sommers, 2001

24. Now What? • Reflection • Continuous learning and improvement requires embedding the norm of reflective practice in your work. • Reflective Practice to Improve Schools • Yourk-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, Montie

25. Reflective Feedback • Single focus • Non-judgmental • Open-ended • Tutor reflection • No verbal response from tutor

26. ABC’s of Giving Feedback • Give target reminder • Identify targeted behaviors/skills/strategies • Give positive reinforcement regarding work on targets

27. Sample Reflective Prompts • Prompts should have a contextual lead-in statement that serves as a reminder to the tutor about what was happening when the walkthrough was conducted. • “Two of three students began working on reading tasks within 60 seconds after transition time”

28. Sample Reflective Prompts • “Modeling a think aloud strategy for your students, followed by guided practice in pairs gave you an opportunity to monitor and gather data regarding comprehension.” • “Vocabulary activities were differentiated to meet the targeted practice that your below-grade level students needed.”

29. Classroom Walkthrough for SES • Engagement of students • Teaching research-based instruction and curriculum • Time on task • Learning environment

30. Wrap Up for the Classroom Walkthrough Process • Technique for gathering information regarding teaching and learning • Assists in developing action plans for targeting staff development and program improvement • Can be customized and tweaked to fit the situation and need • Will promote reflective decision making

31. The more effective the tutoring instruction – the more learning gains can be expected!!!! Bottom Line

32. Contact Information Mary Jo Butler, Chief Bureau of Student Assistance Florida Department of Education Phone: 850.245.0479 E-mail: maryjo.butler@fldoe.org Website: www.fldoe.org/flbpso