IWalk

        For our final observation at CF High school we were asked to take part in what is known as an IWalk.  Normally teachers would use IPads and an app specifically designed to gather generic data about classroom management within the high school.  We were given paper copies of the information being asked for and sent to 5 classrooms to observe for up to 5 minutes.  In that time we were able to collect information such as how the seating is arranged, what level of Bloom's Taxonomy is being facilitated, whether the students are working in groups, what percentage of students are engaged, as well as what the teacher is engaged in.  The application also includes subject specific information regarding literary strategies, math concepts, etc. 
         The information could be used to loo at what's going on in the school as a whole, or could be concentrated by grade level, or department.  The information seemed too generic for me at first.  I wondered about gathering information that is to unbiased.  With students in ESL, Special Education and then Mainstream, how could they all be grouped in and filtered through the same questions?  When we tallied some of the information I was still skeptical.  the commendations that we had made for the department we observed were looking like they would be moved to recommendations because the other departments had opposite findings.  After learning that the data could be separated by department, and grade I felt like the app could definitely be used to help get a good picture of what is happening in the school, but I still feel like it's something that should be monitored closely.  Different classrooms, have different looks and the expectations should always be high, but do the same questions always apply to each classroom.  Of that I'm unsure. 
      The one thing that I am sure of is that student's are learning at CF.  One impressive piece of information we gathered was that they were all learning at higher levels of Blooms taxonomy and that there were high level of engagement by the students.  Seeing the students participate and just being able to go into the classrooms and see what was happening seemed like a worthwhile activity for a teacher.  If gathering data in the process is being done, overall I think  it's a great idea.  Seeing other classrooms engaged is most likely a motivating activity for a teacher stuck in a rut!  So I have become a fan of the Iwalk App!