The Three-Minute Walkthrough Changing School Supervisory Practice One Teacher at a Time Downey, Steffy, English, Frase,

1. The Three-Minute WalkthroughChanging School Supervisory Practice One Teacher at a TimeDowney, Steffy, English, Frase, and PostonCorwin Press, 2004 Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

2. The Downey WalkthroughCarolyn Downey • Short, focused, frequent informal visits • Usually no more than 2-3 minutes in length • Gather information about curriculum, instructional practices, and decisions teachers make • Collaboration for professional growth Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

3. Downey Walkthrough • Looking for areas for reflection: • The goal of each visit is to trigger thoughts that might be useful for teachers to consider. • Follow-up is to give an opportunity for reflective thought. • Follow-ups are used on occasion and not after every visit. Could be 8-10 visits before engaging in reflective dialogue. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

4. Informal Brief 2-3 minutes Gathering of data to look for teacher decisions Walkthrough time is throughout the day and unannounced Formal Longer 5-15 minutes Gather data about teacher effectiveness Walkthrough time is typically known and scheduled Comparison of Walkthroughs Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

5. Informal No checklist used; focus on curricular and instructional decision points Nothing put into personnel file Focus on professional growth Formal Can have specific checklists (rubrics) or type of form to gather data about specific practices May be put into personnel file Focus on evaluation and assessment Comparison of Walkthroughs (cont’d) Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

6. Informal Ultimately leads to reflective conversation Coaching focus Formal Usually leads to direct feedback from supervisor to teacher Judging focus; often inspection Comparison of Walkthroughs (cont’d) Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

7. Reasons for Brief WalkthroughsDowney and Frase, 2001 • The frequent sampling of a teacher’s actions gives greater validity to what you observe. • Frequent observations often lower teacher apprehension over time, making formal observations more effective. • The more you know about how people are functioning and making decisions, the more you know about the school’s operation. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

8. Reasons for Brief WalkthroughsDowney and Frase, 2001 • The more you observe, the more you learn, and the greater the repertoire of strategies you can share with staff. • You can identify common areas of decisions that might prove valuable for group staff development– entire faculty, department and grade level groups. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

9. Reasons for Brief WalkthroughsDowney and Frase, 2001 • You can observe how effective staff development endeavors have been in impacting teaching behaviors in the classroom. • If parents call about a concern, you have your own observational data, in most cases, of the teachers’ intentions and practices. You are better informed. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

10. Reasons for Brief WalkthroughsDowney and Frase, 2001 • It helps to identify possible individuals who might become marginal if you do not provide assistance quickly. • It helps you keep perspective about your work. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

11. The Downey Five-Step Observation Process Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

12. Step 1 - Student Orientation to the Work • Within the first 2 or 3 seconds before students see you, look to see if they appear to be attending when you first enter the room. Are they instructionally oriented? • You are not concerned with the nature of student work or what the teacher is doing. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

13. Step 2 - Curricular Decision Points • What objectives has the teacher chosen to teach at this time, and how aligned are they to the prescribed written curriculum? • You will spend the majority of time delineating the actual curricular objectives. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

14. Step 2 - Curricular Decision Points The Three C’s • Content - skills, knowledge, process, concepts to be learned by the student • Context - conditions under which student will demonstrate the learning (mode of response, materials, and information given to them orally or in writing) • Cognitive type- knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

15. Step 3 - Instructional Decision Points • What instructional practices is the teacher choosing to use at this time to help students achieve the learning of curricular objectives? • For example: questioning skills, use of non-linguistic representations, grouping strategies, informal assessment strategies, metacognitive strategies, manipulatives, compare/contrast, homework use, feedback, looking a individual learning levels. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

16. Step 4 - Walk the Walls Curricular and Instructional Decisions • What evidence is present in the classroom of objectives taught and/or instructional decisions used to teach the objectives? • Ask the teacher: What criteria do you consider when deciding how the walls will be used? Walls of celebration, # of books read, # of A’s, data, etc. • Other artifacts? behavior charts, graded papers • Note: This step can be done anytime. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006

17. Step 5 - Safety and Health • Are there noticeable safety or health issues that need to be addressed? • For example: extension cords, backpacks on floor, burned out lights, loud heat/cool registers, general ventilation, etc. Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies in Business and Education 2006