Critical Reflective Practice through Classroom Walkthroughs

1. (Insert appropriate images as selected from Image palette) Critical Reflective Practice through Classroom Walkthroughs www.deet.nt.gov.au DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING

2. What are our current experiences? Think • Why do you visit classrooms now? Pair and Share • Find a purpose that is similar and different to yours View • Choose your most frequently used purpose for classroom visits and think about what you do, think, look for. • View the video as though you are visiting the classroom with this purpose. • Record the visit and what you do after the visit. Pair and Share • Share your visit and post visit actions with your partner. Question • Pose a question about classroom walkthroughs and record on sticky note for sharing.

4. Four Types of Classroom Visits • Visible Presence • Informal Teacher Observation • Formal Teacher Observation • Brief Classroom Walk-Through • It is about colleagues working together to help each other think about practice. It is not about judging a teacher’s effective use of a given teaching practice. (Downey, 2004: p 4)

5. Why focus on teachers? “teachers account for the greatest source of variance in student learning” (Hattie, 2003)

6. It is not about best practice (a single answer or program) but about better practice, processes… forever moving forward (Hayes and Noonan, 2007)

7. Why focus on teacher learning and reflection? Principal Accountability Build a culture of critical reflection and learning for continuous improvement within their school community Teacher Accountability Maintain professional standards of teaching Engage in critical reflective practices and contribute positively to a culture of continuous improvement

8. Why focus on teacher learning and reflection? Professional Engagement Standard 2: Teachers reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional knowledge and practice.

9. Why focus on teacher learning and reflection?

10. Why focus on teacher learning and reflection inside the classroom? Effects of Staff Development: Classroom Application Adapted from Bruce Joyce and Beverly Showers, 1998

11. Why focus on teacher learning and reflection? Readiness Phase: Systematically explore and examine instructional model. Phase I: Develop a model or language of instruction. Phase II: Develop a systematic way for teachers to interact about instruction using the model. Phase III: Establish a systematic way for teachers to observe expert teachers and each other using the model of instruction. Phase IV: Monitor the effectiveness of individual teacher’s implementation and impact on student learning as a form of teacher feedback.

12. NT Teaching and Learning Framework .40 .30 .50 .60 Typical Teacher Effects .15 .70 Developmental Effects .80 ZONE OF DESIRED EFFECTS 0 .90 REVERSE 1.0

13. Goals of Classroom Walkthroughs • Principal as “Lead Learner” • Frequent classroom visits by school leader • Identification of effective practices • School improvement planning • Professional learning planning • School-wide reflective practice • Increased student achievement

14. Classroom Walk-Through Model Six Steps Step 1: Snapshot of Teaching and Learning Step 2: Identification of Instructional Strategies Step 3: Assessment of Learner Engagement Step 4: Survey of the Learning Environment After the Walk… Step 5: Analysis of Data Collected Step 6: Reflection with Teacher

15. Classroom Walkthrough Guide Ref: Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline Step 6 Reflection with teacher – share observations, invite teacher to make own conclusions Step 5 Analysis - After the walkthrough Steps 1-4 - During the walkthrough

16. Step 1: Snapshot of Teaching and Learning T1 Teaching objective and learning expectation are made explicit T2 Target – classroom program outcomes, school priority areas, NTCF outcomes T3 Taxonomy – Level of thinking expected T4 Text and/or materials

17. Step 2: Identification of Instructional Strategies List observable instructional strategies and what you see the teacher did and said in relation to using these strategies

18. Effect sizes and influences on achievement Example: Feedback 0.72 – 0.81 .40 .30 .50 .60 .15 Typical Teacher Effects .70 .80 Developmental Effects ZONE OF DESIRED EFFECTS 0 .90 REVERSE 1.0

19. What is it we do to make a difference to learning? Marzano’s meta-analysis

20. What is it that we do to make a difference to learning? Hattie’s meta-analysis 0.80 + Large effect 0.40 – 0.80 Moderate effect

21. Step 3: Assessment of Learner Engagement • Percentage of students engaged in talking, thinking, participating in the targeted learning • Level of student questioning, contributions to conversations • Looking at the quality of thinking in student work

22. Step 4: Survey of the Learning Environment • “Walk the walls” …and • the desks, tables, floor, resources, technology

23. Experiencing a walkthrough View • Use the four steps to walkthrough the classroom of the teacher on the video • Try to be aware of what you are thinking and feeling as you walkthrough in this structured way • Record during the walkthrough using the I saw, I heard, I wondered model Pair and Share • How was the walkthrough similar and different to your current experiences visiting classrooms? • How might you use walkthroughs in your workplace?

24. Step 5: After the Walk… • Check for alignment of the 4 T’s • -Teaching objective • -Target • -Taxonomy • -Text • Identification of Instructional Strategies • Learner Engagement • Learning Environment

25. Step 6: Reflection with Teacher • Four-step process – 4 D’s • Determine one area of focus • Determine type of feedback • Determine how, when, where • Determine prompt

26. 1. Determine one focus area… • Four T’s • -teaching objective • -target • -taxonomy • -text/materials • Instructional Strategies • Learner Engagement • Learning Environment

27. 2. Determine type of feedback… • 2.1 Reflective feedback with prompt • Hattie’s feedback model • 2.2 Reflective conversation • Use After Action Review • What was expected? • What actually occurred? • What went well and why? • What can be improved and how? • Use a feedback protocol such as Tuning, Consultancy or ATLAS

28. Feedback is a process of asking Where am I going? Feed Up How am I going? Feed Back Where to next? Feed Forward

29. Hattie, 2007

30. 3. Determine how, when, where… • To last no longer than 2-4 minutes • Within the first 24 hours • Email or face-to-face • Informal place

31. Probing Questions Suggestions Open ended questions 4. Determine prompt… • related to the focus • non-judgmental language • goal is to stimulate thought

32. Experiencing a walkthrough View • Use steps 5 and 6 to analyse your observations and structure feedback to the teacher. • Record your feedback notes Pair and Share • How was the walkthrough similar and different to your current experiences visiting classrooms? • Why, when and how might you use walkthroughs in your workplace? • What might be opportunities and enablers to use walkthroughs? • What might be barriers and how can they be overcome?

33. Time Issue • How important is this • role responsibility in relation to • other roles you have in your work? • What is the time ratio?

34. Where Office area Hallways/Grounds Off campus In classrooms Time Spent 65 % 17% 11% 7% Principal’s Time Howell (1981), Morris (1981), Kmetz & Willower (1982), Stronge (1988)

35. How much time for CWT’s? Goal: Every Classroom Every 2 Weeks • CWT once in each classroom during the fortnight (3 min.) + • Analysis of data (4 min.) + • Reflective feedback with each teacher (3 min.) • Total = 10min per teacher per fortnight • _____ hours/ fortnight • _____ % of 50 hours or 3000 min/ fortnight

36. Re- Allocating Principal’s Time

37. “We must not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” T.S. Elliot