© JOHN BOOZ
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.
Our work with building principals
and central-office administrators helps
us see the transformative effects of a