Collaboration Walks

During a collaboration walk, teachers observe and investigate best practice by visiting classrooms (within our district) and then reflecting on their own professional growth, using the language of a rubric to guide discussion.  There will be a focus on three standards (e.g. student engagement, student discourse, differentiation, etc.) and after each observation, teachers would reflect on what they observed, saw, heard, wondered, and noticed--all connected to the standards of the rubric.  Finally, teachers would discuss what they are going to take back to their own classroom, use and implement based on the observations and collaborative conversations.  

Collaboration walks are not an evaluative process!  The purpose is for teachers to reflect upon and talk about their own professional growth and improvement, using the observation and collaboration walk process as a starting point for common discussion.  I want this to be a positive, safe, trusting, learning opportunity for both the teachers observing and the teachers being observed.  It takes courage and trust for teachers to be observed by their peers and through the collaboration walk process, I WILL ensure that the experience is positive, constructive, and supportive.     

Below is a video from Edutopia.org that explains the collaboration walk process.