IMPLEMENTATION.

In order to translate the wealth of ideas built into the WalkThrus toolkit into improved teacher practices and habits in the classroom, it’s essential to have a coherent plan of action. Our five-step implementation plan is informed by our extensive field experience supporting schools with this vital work.

1 | DESIGN YOUR PD CYCLES.

Set up calendared meeting structures and lesson visit routines allowing PD activities to happen on a sustained basis within the time constraints present in your context.

Identify the configuration of people and teams who will work together in coaching cycles. Establish the full schedule of coaching cycle meetings in the calendar, ideally with only 2-4 weeks between inputs. Without these structures, sustained PD and coaching can’t happen.

Guidance for delivering a programme of effective PL sessions.

Lay the groundwork for an effective coaching programme.

Six core design decisions for school leaders.

Five key checks to help see it through.

Whole-organisation, team and individual streams of PD.

Guidance on flexible coaching arrangements.

2 | DIAGNOSE YOUR LEARNING PROBLEMS.

Before you focus on techniques, take time to evaluate the range of key learning problems your students experience.

Explore The Learning Model and key theories of learning so deliberations are evidence-informed. Use lesson visits, student data and teacher discussion to identify common learning problems in curriculum areas or across the school.

WalkThrus and their underpinning model for learning.

Ensuring focused discussion before and after lesson visits.

Generating feedback using video.

Protocols for coaches and team leaders visiting lessons.

Collecting useful information from the classroom.

Three simple questions to unpack complexity.

3 | IDENTIFY YOUR TEACHING SOLUTIONS.

Use the WalkThrus Resource Hub to identify a set of core techniques that are designed to solve the learning problems identified.

Use the Cluster Builder, Core and Common Clusters and Problem–Solution tools to help curate a set of techniques around which to focus your PD and coaching.

Ensure that the clusters you create directly address the common learning problems you need to tackle.

Solve the problems students encounter with their learning.

Combining WalkThrus techniques using our online tools.

Helping teachers to spot, understand and solve problems.

Five common challenges for coaches to prepare for.

Five more common challenges that all teachers face.

A powerful framework for goal setting.

4 | LAUNCH YOUR TRAINING.

Run training sessions for teachers that build a shared understanding of The Learning Model and its implications, the role of WalkThrus in PD, and a set of core techniques with the Theory, See It, Name It, Do It approach.

For coaches and middle leaders, focus on using the coaching process effectively, including how to conduct lesson visits, and feedback meetings.

Key ideas about how learning happens for teachers.

Exploring the mechanisms that make coaching effective.

A structure for delivering training workshops.

Our five-point ADAPT approach explained.

A model training session in action.

Rolling out a curriculum to build coaching capacity.

5 | INITIATE & SUSTAIN YOUR COACHING PROCESSES.

Run the cycles that you have designed, ensuring the time is always safeguarded.

Use the WalkThrus Coaching Process to guide your whole approach. Follow the guidance around each of the five elements ensuring your lesson visits and meetings form iterative feedback loops.

Review progress in solving the learning problems and refocus your training and coaching as needed in light of the assessment of progress being made.