Walk-Through Observation of a Teacher by Administrators

An administrator may walk into a classroom at any time for the purpose of evaluation of the effectiveness of the teacher in the classroom, but usually they give the teacher some notice before an official walk-through and evaluation. In general the administrator will let the faculty know the purposes of classroom visitation, which may be to collect data that measures the level of implementation of strategies and use of best practices to fulfill the goals of the school, district, state and federal government. The administrator may have an outside evaluator visit the classroom along with the school administrator or a district supervisor may conduct the walk-through evaluation. Some walk-through visits are simply to collect data and are non-evaluative. The administrator may model the walk-through process in their presentation to the faculty. The administrator may be looking for patterns of instruction, to improve teacher effectiveness, to encourage discussion of the instructional process and to allow more reflection on the process of instruction. The administrator may provide a form that will be used in the walk through/evaluation process. Administrators should let their faculty know that future visitations by any member of the administrative team will be frequent and unannounced. Administrators should let the faculty know that they will share their observational feedback with them and that this is for the purpose of improving instruction.

The teacher should prepare the students by letting them know that visitors may be coming into the classroom and you would certainly appreciate their being good students and that the purpose of the visitation is to observe teachers and students and to collect data. The classroom work should continue as usual and that if asked about the assignment they should answer to the best of their ability.

Each school may have a different type of evaluation procedure and data recording form. Typically they may look for the following:

Walk-Through Observation
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Level of Student Engagement: A count of non-engaged students.

Alignment with District/State Curriculum: Determine the assignment or lesson being taught, look at the materials being used, and ask students the lesson's purpose or can they explain the assignment.

Evidence of the Strategies (CRISS Strategies), Philosophy and Other Strategies: Cooperative learning groups, graphic organizers, activating background knowledge, questioning etc.
Note: CRISS stands for (CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies) and is a nationally recognized professional development program.

Display of Student Work: Look at displays, poster boards, wall displays of student work.

Lesson Plans: If available, one person from the visiting group reviews the plans.

Nature of Assessment: If testing, look at the question types, kinds of assessments used (Alternative, traditional etc.)

Safe Learning Environment: Physically and emotionally safe.

Other Comments: This could vary on a walk-through.
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It is important for the teacher to understand that they have some control over the process listed above. If the teacher looks over the criteria above it is easy to identify some things they can do in advance of such a walk-through. They can have posted information on the board about strategies students can use in the classroom and if these are printed large enough and in a very visible location they can also serve as reminders for the teacher while in the process of instruction, the display of student work can be prepared in advance but must be changed on a regular basis, the preparation of lesson plans should have been completed in advance of a lesson and any hazards in the classroom should be removed prior to any class instruction. The lesson plan must conform to state and district curriculum guides. The only element that is somewhat beyond the teacher at any given moment is the student engagement. Even this, however should be noticed quickly by the teacher and appropriately handled. It is natural for students to get distracted and if the teacher constantly walks around the classroom or maintains eye contact with students on a regular basis the engagement of students can be maintained at a high level. The use of lessons that foster engagement in the lesson naturally helps in the process.

As a teacher, you want to be effective in the classroom and the criteria in the walk-through evaluation are only indicators of what effective teachers have shown in the past to be effective in the classroom. This walk-through evaluation can be an uplifting experience because it can demonstrate to others that you are displaying the very attributes that a good school would like to foster on a regular basis.