6 Steps to Maximize Instructional Visits

In a recent blog post in NAESP’s Assistant Principal Resource Hub, an experienced AP discusses how she maximizes instructional visits and builds her identity as an instructional leader.

1. Identify your goals for the visit.
   1. WHOM do you need to prioritize (grade level, subject area, or teachers)?
   2. Upon WHAT do you need to focus (questioning techniques, classroom management, application of feedback, instructional strategies, etc.)?
   3. WHY is the visit important? (to provide support, improve instruction, assess student engagement, monitor student behavior, etc.)
2. Schedule visits and lock them in on your calendar. Let teachers know if these visits will be formal or informal.
3. Review relevant resources (lesson plans, standards, curriculum guides, scope and sequence, professional learning agendas).
4. Take notes.
5. Provide feedback and identify next steps.
6. Follow up.

Your commitment to this cycle communicates to teachers the priority you have for building everyone’s instructional capacity and the value you hold for the work of staff. Knowing what’s happening in classrooms also positions you well for conversations with parents and students when issues arise.

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