What people don’t know they make up. So, if you “go”, then you have to “give”. Say what?
Imagine that you are at your physician’s for your yearly physical. You arrive on time. The nurse calls you back to your examination room. Your physician comes in and asks how you are doing. The physician then proceeds to check your “stats” … your weight, height, blood pressure, pulse, etc. They thank you for your time and move on to the next patient. Would we be okay with that? Of course not! We not only want to be seen by the physician, but we also want feedback on the data that is collected – and we want the feedback right away.
The same holds true for our staff. They want to be seen, and they want feedback – and they want feedback right away. In other words …
Here are THREE simple strategies to help you get started:
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Whatever you do … STAY OUT OF THE OFFICE. That’s right. When the bell rings to signify the start of the day, whatever you do, don’t go back to the office. Start your day in a classroom, and don’t go back to the office until you’ve visited at least 3 classrooms. 3 x 5 = 15 classrooms a week … LOOK AT YOU GO!
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Take advantage of tech … forget the long reports, endless checkboxes, rubrics, etc. Use a google doc, a text, an email, something simple to send feedback right away. A THANK-YOU and a QUICK SUMMARY of your visit will go A LONG WAY.
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Sweep. And I’m not talking about brooms here. SWEEP a floor. SWEEP a wing. In other words, in and out of a few classrooms in 3-5 minutes looking for something very specific … teacher/student talk, engagements, use of higher-order questions, anchor charts … you get the picture. Then, back to the office you go to send a quick email. Something simple … really simple … “Thanks for letting me stop by your classrooms this morning. It was great to see evidence of the anchor charts we made together in the last PLC. In one classroom, a student was able to tell me about the anchor chart”.
On your mark, get, set … GO and GIVE.
Can’t wait to hear what you try!
You got this!
Kerry
