LEARNING WALKS

How we can share good practice

and learn from one another.
Jo Lakey
School Improvement Officer

What is a learning walk?

organised and highly structured collaborative
enquiry walks through the classrooms of a school by
colleagues from that (and other) school(s) in order to
identify evidence of progress and areas for
development. They included short visits to classrooms
by a team of people who work together to collect
evidence, learn about what is happening and ask
questions. They are intended to be constructive
rather than judgemental and aim to help the school
understand how teachers teach, how learners learn
and what gets taught to whom and when.
NCSL, November 2005

Why have an MFL learning

walk?

A learning walk can have many different purposes:

To review developing practice across key stage
2. Providing a snapshot view.
To share good practice and promote consistency
e.g. everyone walks their own school.
To raise awareness of new ideas e.g. visits
from or to other schools.
To check for progression e.g. a learning walk to
focus on how language learning strategies are
taught across key stage 2.
To determine training needs e.g. display for
learning
To provide quality time for reflection and to
stimulate professional discussion.

Six Stages
6. Evaluate
and plan
next steps,
plus future
monitoring

5. Verbal and
written feedback

4 .Discuss findings
and reflect
on points
raised

1. Choose a focus and

formulate key questions

2. Walkers to meet
to discuss the focus

3. Visit classrooms,
talk with pupils etc

How do you organise an MFL

learning walk?
Decide on a learning focus and key questions

- pre-set criteria or your own?

- general observations or a checklist (see PMFL School Self Audit)?

Is prior reading required?

- good way to align new initiatives such as MFL and Every Child
Matters
- can raise awareness of provision for groups e.g. EAL or SEN

Decide on a timetable

will MFL be the focus for lessons or will it be used during another
lesson?
[ 5-15 mins in each class]

Share the purpose

Discuss the focus and any criteria you might be using with the whole
staff including support staff.

How do you organise an MFL

learning walk?
Publish a timetable for your walk
Dont forget to allow time for feedback amongst
the group and to the staff concerned
- will you have an outside facilitator to chair the
discussion?
- will any form of written report be produced?
- who will be responsible for feedback?
- who will be responsible for any action points which
arise?

Who goes on a learning

walk?

Staff [home and away]

Pupils
Parents
Governors
Other professionals

Learning Conversations
The kind of talking needed to educate
ourselves needs to be carefully
planned and scaffolded

Joseph P. McDonald

Learning conversations should take place during a

learning walk, it is important to talk about things
which can move the adults and pupils learning
forward.

What are the rules?

There are certain protocols required for a learning walk:
Always stand to the side or the edges dont distract
from the teacher or block someones view.
If the children are working independently or in groups
agree whether you are going to mingle and ask
questions or simply be a fly on the wall observer.
Dont chat amongst yourselves whilst the teacher or
pupils are addressing the class!
Are photographs permitted if the purpose is to gather
evidence?

What might be the

outcomes?
1.

Time for reflection

2.

I have learned ..
I would like to know more about

Verbal and written reports highlighting

strengths, questions arising and possible areas
for development, for example;

Identification of good practice and a plan on how to

extend that across the school.
A change of policy, practice or routines.
Further information required to gain a more detailed
picture.
Staff training and development needs.

An example:The MFL Learning Environment

Our aim is to enhance childrens MFL learning through
providing a stimulating learning environment. A rich
learning environment can enhance learning by:

Stimulating childrens creativity, curiosity and

thoughts.
Providing a bridge between the pupil and new
learning.
Building self-esteem, self-worth and confidence.
Informing, motivating, influencing and exciting
the children about language learning.
Providing children with a sense of ownership,
belonging and responsibility.
Promoting positive feelings and attitudes towards
school, the classroom and language learning.

Time for Reflection

Would you use learning walks to monitor,
evaluate and review the impact of language
learning across your school?
What other strategies might be used to
identify the next steps in relation to the
development of modern foreign language
learning across a school?