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For more information about networked learning communities visitwww.nlcexchange.org.uk www.ncsl.org.uk/nlc

To order a copy of this publication, please [email protected] quoting reference NLiA/NLW ordownload from www.ncsl.org.uk/nlc

www.ncsl.org.uk

Network leadership in action:

Networked LearningWalks tools andtemplates

Development tools and templates designed to supportthe processes of Networked Learning Walks.

National College forSchool LeadershipNetworked Learning GroupDerwent HouseCranfield University Technology ParkUniversity WayCranfieldBedfordshire MK43 0AZ

T: 08707 870 370F: 0115 872 2401E: [email protected]: www.ncsl.org.uk/nlc

© National College for School Leadership, 2005

Learning Walks tools and templates 13/6/05 2:08 pm

Questions to ask before your walkThere are some questions your network will need toconsider before you walk. We have learnt that payingattention to these questions as part of the planning ofthe walk will help your Networked Learning Walks to be successful and useful learning experiences for all those involved.

This booklet provides some tools and templates that youcan use to help plan and conduct your NetworkedLearning Walks.

The templates should be used in conjunction withBooklet 1 Getting started with Networked Learning Walks.They are designed to give you ideas and frameworks forplanning your walk, collecting data during the walk andreflecting on what walkers have learned from the walk.

When you are planning your walk you will need to agreeprotocols with colleagues from the host school and withthe walkers in your team. Part of this agreement will beabout the tools and forms that you use. You can use theframeworks in this guide as a basis for these discussions,but your walk will be more successful if you adapt themto suit your context, your schools and your networkcolleagues. With this in mind, all of these tools andtemplates are available as Word documents atwww.nlcexchange.org.uk

What will you have todo to get headteachersand co-leaders on board

and active?

How and when will youfeedback the data collectedto the colleagues who have

been visited?

In what CPD have teachersparticipated? What was the

focus and what were thespecific outcomes?

How will teachersbe notified?

What is our pupil learning focus and what is the pedagogical approach within this?

Which aspect of this are we hoping to investigate within our Networked Learning Walk?

2 3Learning Walks tools and templates Learning Walks tools and templates

Networked Learning Walkstools and templates

What is the focus for our walk? What are the principles underpinning this focus?

Finding a focus for your walkIt is a good idea to derive the focus and principles foryour Networked Learning Walk (NLW) from your networkpupil learning focus eg Thinking Skills, Assessment forLearning, Emotional Literacy, Philosophy for Children,Building Learning Power – you can then base your NLWon the principles which underpin these approaches toteaching and learning.

What is the role ofstudents, and howcan they effectively

be involved?

Who willparticipate and why?

How will teachersbe involved?

How will you selectthe classrooms to

visit?What will be the focus

for the enquiry?

What are the timing andresource implications?

(before, during and after the walk)

What CPD have our colleagues been part of, that we would expect to help them with the pupil learning focus?

Learning Walks tools and templates 13/6/05 2:08 pm Page 3

What are the changes we would expect to see in classrooms as a result of the CPD? What will our work around the pupil learning focus actually look like?

What will we see...

on displays?

in classroom organisation?

in books and work?

in classroom management and behaviour?

What will we hear...

when we talk to children?

when we talk to teachers?

when we observe a whole class?

Capturing data during your walk

You will need to agree a way of capturing the data each of the walkers collects. Below is an example of a datacapture sheet that one network used when investigatingtheir pupil learning focus.

Pupil learning focus: developing independent learning through a Critical Skills approach.Recording sheet for Networked Learning Walk eg ‘I noticed…’ ‘I saw…’ ‘I heard…’

The displays support learning…

Discussions with students: What are you learning? How do you feel about this work? What are you good at?

Help is given to individual pupils…

Use of praise: what did you see and hear?

Discussion with teacher: how are pupils supported in becoming successful learners?

What questions did you hear?



Feeding back to colleagues

It is very important that colleagues who have been visitedhave the opportunity to hear feedback as soon aspossible after the walk.

Experience has shown that this is best done through aface-to-face meeting, although a thank you letterproviding detailed feedback on all aspects of the walkprovides a useful alternative, if a meeting is not possiblefor practical reasons.

When you agree the protocols for your walk you will alsoneed to agree protocols for feeding back to colleagues.

This is vital if the Learning Walk is to be seen as a reallearning opportunity and not an external observation ormonitoring exercise.

Your network will need to consider some or all of thefollowing questions.

Re flecting on the wa l k

You will need to provide walke rs with a way of re fl e c t i n gon all their observ ations and a way of finding commont h reads, issues or questions. This is done as the walke rsp ro gress around the school in the corridor talk and duringthe final debrief discussion. The lead walker take sresponsibility for making sure that the observ ations areevidence-based and for leading the final debrief.

We have learnt that networks find it useful to provide a framew o rk for individuals to make sense of t h e i ro b s e rv ations befo re they begin the debrief d i s c u s s i o n .

This framew o rk was developed by one network. Eachw a l ker took between five and ten minutes to re flect on the walk and to collate their observ ations befo re the finald e b r i e f. As well as allowing the walke rs to make their own sense of the walk, it also provides valuable writteno b s e rv ations for the lead walke r.

Look through your observation sheets and review your notes

I have learnt…

Make a list of the evidence of teaching and learning you observed during the walk

Any questions for the headteacher or teachers?

Next steps

What information will befed back to colleagues?When will it happen?Where will it happen?

Will it be as individuals or as a whole group?

How will the focus forthe next walk be decided

and by whom?How will we celebrate

achievement?

How will our networkprovide an overview of

the next steps, including a description of further

opportunities for learners?

How will the observationevidence be shared with

the headteacher?How will the observationevidence be shared with

colleagues?What next steps will they

suggest?

How will our school andnetwork colleagues access

the data that has beengenerated?

Who is responsible forplanning the next walk?

What is our next learningopportunity?



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