LODDON MALLEE REGION
LEARNING
WALKS
A Professional Learning Tool
IMPLEMENTATION
SETTING UP
A set focus for the Learning Walk must firstly be established. The focus should be clearly articulated and linked to professional learning and school priorities. Evidence of the focus must be observable in classrooms.
A Walking Team should then be set-up. The Walking Team consists of 3-4 walkers with one designated Lead Walker. Any staff member can take part in Learning Walks but it is recommended that a leadership representative is involved.
Next you need to select classrooms to visit. Remember that the Learning Walk obtains a ‘snapshot’ of the learning at the school, so
consider how many classrooms you can visit in the allocated time to gather enough evidence to reflect on.
All staff are briefed on the process, purpose and protocols of a Learning Walk. Each staff member will be given a Learning Walk brochure and encouraged to ask and discuss any questions and concerns.
A Learning Walk will take approximately 1hr 45min
PRE WALK DISCUSSION- 15 minutes
This should take place just prior to the classroom visits. All walkers involved should have a clear understanding of:
Protocols and purpose
Timetable
Focus of the walk- brainstorming possible observations to link to focus
Names of the walkers
Classrooms to be visited
Date and time of whole school reflection
All walkers should be given a Learning Walk Handbook with appropriate templates for gathering evidence during the walk.
CLASSROOM VISITS- 1 hour
TIME
PROCESS
10 minutes in each
classroom
(4 classrooms)
The walkers visit each classroom for 10 minutes. They ‘look & listen’ to the learning and take notes
on any evidence that links to the focus. Walkers may speak to students and teachers only if the
learning allows for such interactions. Any discussion should be brief and unobtrusive.
5 minutes corridor talk
in between each
classroom
When walkers leave each classroom, they meet for 5 minutes outside of the classroom to share
observations. The evidence that is cited must be specific to the focus. This is not a time for open
discussion or judgements.
POST WALK DISCUSSION- 30 minutes
At the end of the classroom visits, all walkers convene for a debriefing session. They share the observations collected and identify any
patterns which may have emerged. Wonderings may then be formulated based on the evidence. Conclusions are not formed. All
evidence and wonderings are collated by the Lead Walker.
VISITED TEACHERS’ REFLECTION- Optional
Feedback may be shared with classroom teachers visited prior to whole staff reflection. These teachers are asked to read and discuss
feedback as a team, identify trends to direct future development.
WHOLE STAFF REFLECTION
Within one week of the Learning Walk, the collated evidence and wonderings are shared with whole staff to identify trends and direct
future development.
LEAD WALKER
The Lead Walker’s role is extremely important!
THE LEAD WALKER SHOULD BE SKILLED IN:
Distinguishing between cited evidence observed in the classroom and
making unwarranted judgements or assumptions
Crafting questions based on observations
Managing time
THE LEAD WALKER WILL ENSURE:
All staff participate in the Pre-Walk Discussion
All walkers are familiar with the focus of the walk and evidence to be
collected
All walkers have a copy of the handbook and observation templates
All walkers are reminded of the protocols
All walkers are on time and follow the correct process of a Learning
Walk
All discussions are based on evidence collected and are free of
judgement and evaluation
Collated feedback is shared with staff within one week of the walk
WALKING TEAM
THE WALKING TEAM WILL:
Participate in Pre Walk Discussion
Be familiar with the focus of the walk
Have a copy of the handbook with observation templates
Be mindful of the protocols
Be mindful of time and process of Learning Walk
Base discussions on evidence, free of judgement and evaluation
May assist Lead Walker to share feedback with staff within one week
of walk
GATHERING EVIDENCE
The purpose of the classroom visit is to obtain a brief snapshot of the
classroom in order to collect evidence based on the specific focus. Any
observations that are documented should be free of any judgement.
Learning Walks are a powerful tool to observe and develop common
trends in classrooms. Evidence collected is determined by the focus and
may include:
The physical environment
Provision and use of resources
Student work examples
Learning Tools
Student discussions
Use of technology
The classroom instruction
Assessment practices
and explicit focus
Classroom organisation e.g.
Management Boards
Student support displays
e5 domain/s
PROTOCOLS
A Lead Walker must be appointed to ensure all protocols are
understood and time allocation is adhered to.
Participating staff are involved in the Pre -Walk Discussion.
Prior to the walk, teachers should explain to students that visitors
will be entering the classroom.
Walkers should wear nametags.
Walkers must adhere to the focus of the walk.
Walkers must refrain from making any judgemental comments.
Walkers should not disrupt learning in the classroom.
Walkers should not speak to one another whilst in the classroom.
Individual observation templates must be shredded on completion
of the Post Walk Discussion.
engage
e5 Learning
WalkWalk
Template
E5 Learning
Template
The Teacher
Do/Say/Make/Write
Fosters positive relations with and between students
Develops shared expectations for learning and interacting
Stimulates interest and curiosity
Promotes questioning
Connects learning to real world experiences
Structures tasks, elicits students’ prior knowledge and supports
students to make connections to past learning experiences
Presents a purpose for learning
Determines challenging learning goals
Makes assessment and performance requirements clear
Assists students to consider and identify processes that will
support the achievement of the learning goals
STUDENT QUESTIONS
Are you interested in this task? Why/why not?
How do you think this may help you in life?
What is your goal for this task?
What do you need to do to achieve this goal?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
explore
e5E5
Learning
Walk
Template
Learning
Walk
Template
The Teacher
Do/Say/Make/Write
Presents challenging tasks to support students to generate
and investigate questions
Gathers relevant information and develops ideas
Provides tools and procedures for students to organise
information and ideas
Identifies
students’
misconceptions
conceptions
and
challenges
Assists students to expand their perspectives and reflect on
their learning
STUDENT QUESTIONS
What are you learning today?
How are you recording information?
How are you going to reflect on this learning today?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
explain
e5E5
Learning
Walk
Template
Learning
Walk
Template
The Teacher
Do/Say/Make/Write
Provides opportunities for students to demonstrate their
current level of understanding through verbal and non-verbal
means
Explicitly teaches relevant knowledge, concepts and skills
Teaches the content in multiple ways
Provides strategies to enable students to connect and organise
new and existing knowledge
Assist students to represent their ideas, using language and
images to engage students in reading, writing, speaking,
listening and viewing
Explicitly teaches the language of the discipline
STUDENT QUESTIONS
What do you currently know and understand about what you
are learning today?
How are you going to explain your learning?
How does this topic/goal connect to other things you have
learnt?
When do you think you will be able to practice this new learning
again?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
elaborate
e5E5
Learning
Walk
Template
Learning
Walk
Template
The Teacher
See/Do/Say/Make/Write
Engages students in dialogue, continuously extending and
refining students’ understanding
Supports students to identify and define relationships
between concepts and to generate principles or rules
Selects contexts from familiar to unfamiliar, which
progressively build the students’ ability to transfer and
generalize their learning
Supports students to create and test hypotheses and to make
and justify decisions
Monitor student understanding, providing feedback, and
adjusting instruction accordingly
STUDENT QUESTIONS
What are you learning today?
How have you learnt this?
What can you do to improve your learning?
How will you know the learning is accurate?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
evaluate
e5E5
Learning
Walk
Template
Learning
Walk
Template
The Teacher
Do/Say/Make/Write
Supports students to continuously refine and improve their
work using assessment criteria in preparation for a performance of understanding
Formally records students’ progress against learning goals
Provides feedback and assists students to evaluate their progress and achievements
Supports students to reflect on their learning processes and
the impact of effort on achievement
Guides students to identify future learning goals
STUDENT QUESTIONS
What have you learnt from this task?
How do you know you have/or will be successful?
What will you now do with this learning?
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Acknowledgement to the many educators whose work we have drawn on.
Loddon Mallee Region
Literacy Improvement Team