Educational Leadership

can walk through as many classrooms, grades, and subjects as possible. That way, they can compare what they saw and maximize their learning.

Cheryl Soloski, coordinator of cur-
riculum, instruction, and assessment
for the district, explains how formative
walk-throughs have benefited their
leadership team:
We are all looking for the same thing:
assessment-capable students. Can stu-
dents explain what they are supposed
to be learning during the lesson? Are
they using student look fors [criteria
for success] to assess how well they are
learning it? Can they tell us about the
next steps they will take to improve their
understanding during the lesson? Our
common focus allows our administrators
to have conversations that are richer and
action oriented.

These conversations happen informally whenever administrators see one another and formally during monthly meetings where administrators examine their walk-through descriptions to learn together and share insights. They ask themselves: What did I see? (What evidence of learning did students exhibit during the lesson?); What does it mean? (What is it evidence of?); and What do I need to learn more about? (Where are the gaps in my understanding?).

JAE S. LEE AP/WIDEWORLD

Formative walk-throughs differ in style and purpose from traditional walk-throughs. Traditional walk-throughs— frequent, short classroom visits that focus on the effects of instruction—are often guided by checklists of strategies that principals look for as they observe teachers and instruction. These prescriptive lists tie principals to a protocol that gathers one-sided evidence, invites misconceptions about effective teaching and meaningful learning, and derails opportunities for collaborative learning.