Learning Walks

Anne Siciliano

Assistant Principal - Teaching & Learning (Acting)

This first term at Brunswick Secondary College, we have initiated  a co-ordinated program of Learning Walks with a focus on active learning.

Active learning is any learning activity in which the student participates or interacts with the learning process, as opposed to passively taking in the information. When given the opportunity to actively engage with the information they're learning, students learning and retention of knowledge is increased.

What is a Learning Walk?

One of the key drivers of improved teaching practice is classroom observation. Learning Walks are a recognised and research-based tool that allow teachers to observe and reflect on what students are learning, learning strategies, student engagement and interaction with each other, as well as the content of lessons.

What are the steps involved in a Learning Walk?

Phase 1:   Agreed protocols

Teachers nominate themselves as observers. The observers are organised into pairs and are briefed on the process of observations - clarifying the focus of the walk and agreeing to established protocols. In this current cycle of Learning Walks teachers are visiting three classes from their respective Learning Area.

Phase 2:  Classroom visits

Pairs focus on one Learning Area, visiting three different classes to observe the beginning, middle and end of the lessons. 

Evidence is collected in an objective manner and recorded on a common form. The evidence is collected under the headings of Routines, Environment, Teacher Actions and Student Actions.

Phase 3:  Debrief

At the debrief, all the observers come together to review all the comments, then link to each other’s evidence and draw conclusions about each of the areas. As a group, these teachers will classify the evidence into a few broad categories that pertain to active learning with reference to which actions teachers are taking to facilitate active learning and what is the evidence of student active learning. Some of the categories that have been developed so far include having high expectations of student participation, use of props in the classroom, and the use of different questioning skills to help deepen their responses. As a natural result of the debrief, inquiries are brought up as to why and how parts of the lesson were developed.

Phase 4: Feedback to Learning Areas. 

Information is presented to the Learning Area as a summary of what was observed, and ends with a series of enquiries for the Learning Area staff. These can then be considered as part of their continual improvement processes.

What are the benefits of Learning Walks?

We believe that Learning Walks

• build a whole-school sense of accountability for the quality of teaching and learning at BSC 

• encourage continuous improvement through openness and sharing of practice between colleagues

• support teachers to identify and implement effective practices that they have observed in other classrooms

What do BSC teachers say ?

Julia Kubiak

English Learning Area - Observer

I loved it! As a teacher new to the school, this process helped me enormously to see how other teachers were using the instructional model to teach some of the same topics.

Luke Mitchell

Maths Learning Area - Observer

I was so thrilled to be a part of a Learning Walk. It gave me different ideas about how to present work to students, and I loved that I was able to see this from teachers that I work alongside, but whom I had not seen in a teaching moment. It was great to see this because I had no idea how effective some props could be!

Rosalie Fourniotis

Humanities Learning Area - Observer

I enjoyed engaging with the students in the class. We discussed their understanding of their task, and how the classroom routines helped them to complete the task.

Thank you to all the Observers and teachers who have hosted visitors so far this term.