For many educators, classroom visits carry emotional weight. Too often, being observed has meant being evaluated, corrected, or quietly judged. Walkthroughs have been experienced as punitive rather than as opportunities to learn together on behalf of students, but we know from decades-long work in the field that schools improve most when teaching and learning are not done in isolation.
Research on collective efficacy (Bandura; Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy) shows that when educators believe their colleagues are capable and share responsibility for student success, student outcomes improve. Similarly, studies on professional learning communities (DuFour & Eaker) and instructional rounds (City, Elmore, Fiarman, & Teitel) reinforce that improvement happens when practice is visible, feedback is routine, and learning is shared.
The question is not whether to open classroom doors; it is about how to build a culture where educators feel safe, supported, and excited about it. From our partnership work with schools like Madrona Elementary, here are eight essential conditions for creating a culture where teachers and leaders embrace learning in public.
8 Conditions for Deprivatizing Practice
1. Be Explicit About What is Being Observed and Why
Teachers are far more open to classroom visits when they are clear about the focus. Observations should be grounded in shared priorities for teaching and learning. Clarity builds trust and shifts visits from evaluation to inquiry.
2. Invite Teachers Into the Feedback Process
Observation feedback should not be something done to teachers. When educators are invited to review, reflect on, and make sense of feedback together, it becomes a tool for growth rather than compliance. Adult learning research consistently shows that agency matters.
3. Share Strength-Based Feedback Publicly
Highlighting effective practices across classrooms reinforces that strong teaching is happening and that there is something for others to learn from it. Publicly naming what is working helps normalize vulnerability and signals that growth is collective.
4. Create Structured Opportunities to Observe One Another
Having new teachers observe model classrooms or participate in intentional observation days accelerates learning and reduces isolation. Seeing effective practice in real time helps translate vision into concrete moves that teachers can immediately apply.
5. Anchor Everything in a Clear, Consistent Vision
Culture does not shift through one-off walkthroughs. Leaders must consistently communicate where the school is going, why it matters, and how they will get there together. This steady messaging keeps classroom visits aligned to purpose rather than perceived as personal scrutiny.
6. Use Physical Space to Make Learning Visible
Posting learning standards and related student work in hallways is another powerful way to deprivatize practice. It sends the message that learning belongs to the whole community and invites collective reflection on student thinking.
7. Leaders Must Be Seen as Learners Too
When principals and instructional leaders actively seek feedback, participate in learning, and name what they are working on, it lowers the stakes for everyone else. Modeling vulnerability is one of the strongest trust-building moves a leader can make.
8. Reinforce the “Why”: Getting Better for Students
At the heart of open classrooms is a shared belief: we are all responsible for every student’s learning. When walkthroughs are framed as a way to collectively improve outcomes—rather than to sort or rank educators a sense of purpose replaces fears.
