Observe and Learn

Matt Swift

While educators focus on important issues such as classroom practices, developing lesson plans, and motivating students, one practice is often overlooked—classroom walkthroughs. Bobb Darnell discussed the significance of walkthroughs during his session, "Using Walkthrough Data to Enhance Teacher and Student Learning". According to Darnell, observing not only the teacher, but also the students leads to figuring out what works and what doesn't.

Darnell said observers should look at the way a classroom is being taught and how engaged the students are. After collecting data on the classroom and determining the effectiveness of the environment, the observer should provide feedback to the teacher on what is being done right and what areas call for improvement.

Darnell used a series of humorous video clips, from Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Saturday Night Live, to engage his audience and then have them "observe" the clips and come to their own conclusions on how well they thought the students were motivated and engaged. For example, the Saturday Night Live clip, featuring Jerry Seinfeld as a history teacher, showed how Seinfeld's character was using negative reinforcement with his students,something that would harm a real classroom. While a casual viewer would not notice this, Darnell used comedy to show his audience the importance of observation.

While administrators are generally tasked with classroom walkthroughs, Darnell suggests that teachers observe other classrooms so they can see other educators' approaches. The observers should look at both the teachers and the students and conduct interviews and come up with feedback.

Through observation, educators become better practitioners of their craft are are able to create a vibrant and engaged classroom. A classroom where students want to learn and not just stare blankly into space while the teacher, like Ben Stein's character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, keeps repeating, "Anyone? Anyone? Does anyone know the answer?"