Visitation Tools

Advance preparation greatly enhances the value of program visitations. These worksheets will enable effective recording of information from observations and interviews - both during and after the exercise. 

GENERAL PREPARATION TIPS

• Dialogue in advance the questions you want answered. You may wish to use the Nine Characteristics of High Performing Schools (http://www.k12.wa.us/edtech/9char.aspx) to formulate your questions. Another option to consider is the Effective Practices protocol (http://www.spu.edu/orgs/research/visitprotoco.pdf ), which was used in a study of 16 high performing elementary schools in Washington.
• After selecting a program, have a principal or teacher leader contact the host school's principal. Find out if they have an established set of protocols for conducting visitations. If they don't, share your your tentative protocol with the hosting school. Refer to WSRC's  Effective Practices protocol as a sample.
• Meet in advance with school principal or teacher leader to review agenda. Confirm if visitor's badges are required.
• Schedule the reflection/debriefing meeting for visitation team for no more than five days following the visitation.

These tools may be used to help gather data during school observations.  

	Observation - Recording Worksheet Printable Worksheet 17k pdf
	Observation - Debrief Worksheet Printable Worksheet 13k pdf
	Observation - Reflection Worksheet Printable Worksheet 17k pdf
	Interview - Recording Worksheet Printable Worksheet 18k pdf

REFLECTION/DEBRIEF TIPS

• Outline emerging themes
• Share visitation information with full faculty; allow time to dialogue about information shared and to answer questions from those who did not attend the observation.
• Determine how to use this knowledge/create proposal with smaller team if necessary.
• Send thank you note to host school.
• [Optional] Offer to meet with host school staff to share what you learned.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The worksheets above have been adapted and refined from existing resources for the purposes of these visitations. Special thanks to Connie Hoffman & Associates, Nancy Skerritt and the Washington School Research Center for their contributions.