Using Your PLCs to Promote Collective Instructional Improvement

A simple shift from observation checklists to curiosity-driven inquiry can transform how school leaders support teachers and improve student learning.

Individual-level observations—where principals evaluate one teacher at a time against a checklist of best practices—often fail to create lasting change. Teachers receiving individual feedback tend to become defensive, implement surface-level compliance changes, or feel singled out for improvement. This approach misses a fundamental truth: Instructional challenges are rarely isolated problems. They’re patterns that exist across classrooms, requiring collective solutions that boost teachers’ collective efficacy rather than individual fixes.

As an educational consultant, I recently completed learning walks through four third-grade math classrooms with a principal. Her clipboard was full of check marks: learning objectives posted, students on task, questioning strategies used. But as we prepared for the afternoon’s grade-level professional learning community (PLC) meeting, she realized she had data but no real insights. The question wasn’t whether she was observing effectively—it was whether she was asking the right questions to create shared ownership for improvement across her entire team.

The Problem with Traditional Methods of observation

Traditional learning walks focus on compliance and individual performance: Are standards posted? Is the pacing guide being followed? While these elements matter, they miss the deeper story of learning and fail to build collective responsibility for growth.

Here’s the challenge: Principals see behaviors they want to change, but traditional methods of evaluation often create defensiveness rather than shared ownership. I advocate for shifting from individual deficits to collective patterns—moving from uncomfortable individual conversations about what’s not working to team-based exploration of instructional patterns that the entire group owns and improves together.

A More Strategic Approach to Learning Walks

Learning walks are brief, focused classroom observations (typically five to 15 minutes) designed to gather data about specific aspects of teaching and learning across multiple classrooms. The most effective learning walks I’ve facilitated follow a focused, grade-level approach that builds team ownership from the start. Choose one area that aligns with your school improvement goals—student engagement, questioning strategies, or differentiation—and visit several classrooms teaching similar content within a 60-minute window.

Before conducting learning walks, involve your teams in identifying what to look for. During a PLC meeting, ask, “If we’re focusing on student questioning this month, what specific behaviors should I be watching for?” Let teachers help create the observable indicators. This collaborative approach immediately builds shared ownership—teachers become partners in defining excellence, not just subjects of observation.

Strategic Questions That Build Team Ownership

Here’s how curious principals transform observation data into powerful team inquiries.

Focus: Student participation. Instead of “Some teachers need to call on more students,” ask the team, “We noticed that participation varied significantly across rooms. What conditions help quiet students feel safe to share their thinking?”

Focus: Pacing and processing time. Instead of “Lessons are moving too quickly for some students,” ask the team, “We observed different pacing approaches. What have you noticed about how processing time affects student understanding?”

Focus: Response to student questions. Instead of “Teachers should encourage more student questions,” ask the team, “We saw fascinating moments when students asked unexpected questions. What strategies help you feel confident when students take learning in unexpected directions?”

Notice how each question shifts ownership from individual deficits to collective exploration. The team becomes invested in solving challenges together rather than feeling evaluated individually.

Putting learning walks into action

Last spring, I worked with a high school principal concerned about student participation in several English classrooms. Instead of individual conversations, we focused learning walks on conditions that support student voice across the ninth-grade team. We noticed that in classrooms where students spoke confidently, teachers had established clear discussion protocols and processing strategies.

During the department meeting, instead of pointing out struggling teachers, we asked, “What creates an environment where students feel comfortable taking intellectual risks?” The discussion led the team to collaborate on shared discussion protocols that supported all learners. The entire team took ownership of improving student participation.

Opening (5 minutes): “This morning we focused on student engagement. I’m excited to explore what we can learn together.”

Pattern sharing (10 minutes): Present observations as collective data:

• “In every classroom, students were most animated when they processed with partners first.”
• “Participation increased significantly with nonverbal response strategies.”

Curious questioning (15 minutes): “What is it about partner processing that supports student confidence? How might nonverbal responses help different learners participate?”

Collaborative exploration (15 minutes): Let the team investigate together based on their classroom expertise. This is where shared ownership truly develops.

Action inquiry (5 minutes): “What’s one experiment we might try across our classrooms?” This ensures that the team owns both problems and solutions.

This question sparked an animated discussion about student comfort levels and strategies that support reluctant speakers—leading to collective problem-solving rather than individual defensiveness. More important, it created shared ownership of the challenge across the entire team.

Your Next Learning Walk

Tomorrow’s learning walks are an opportunity to practice leadership that builds shared ownership. During your next team meeting, resist addressing individual performance. Instead, ask, “What questions does this data raise for our collective practice?” This simple shift from individual evaluation to collective inquiry transforms how teachers view observations and their professional growth.

The most powerful shift isn’t implementing new observation tools—it’s embracing curiosity to build shared ownership of teaching and learning patterns. When we explore patterns together, when we wonder as a team instead of evaluating individuals, we build a culture where everyone is invested in continuous improvement.

Your next learning walk is waiting. What focus will serve your school’s goals? What patterns will you discover? Most important, how will you build shared ownership of the answers?