Exploring Learning

This week marked my second cycle of Looking for Learning visits. One of the greatest joys of this process has been the conversations that follow. Teachers have welcomed me into their classrooms with openness and trust, and our discussions afterwards have been equally generous and insightful. This culture of dialogue, where wonderings are met with reflection and opportunity, is a bright spot in itself. It reflects our shared belief that we are already strong educators and  that we can continue to grow together.  Across classrooms, several patterns of strength emerged: Clarity of learning: Many students were able to explain what they were learning and how it built on what had come before. They were not only describing the task but also connecting it to prior knowledge, showing they were constructing new understanding. Intentional design for collaboration and concept formation: I saw varied and purposeful groupings, where students were supporting one another’s learning....

Reflections on the First Week of Classroom Observations This year, classroom visits are framed by a Looking for Learning approach. The premise is simple: rather than focusing on what the teacher is doing, a small set of questions is used to gain a deeper understanding of the students' learning experience. Over the course of the year, the lens is through these four guiding questions: What are you learning today? Why do you think you are learning this, and how does it connect to what you have done before? How is your thinking shifting? How will you know you have been successful in your learning? These questions are deceptively simple, but they open windows into clarity, purpose, metacognition , and self-assessment. For this first phase, however, I deliberately chose to begin with just one: What are you learning today? At the start of a new academic year, it did not feel appropriate to press students yet about how their thinking was shifting or how they would evalua...