An Asset-Based Evidence Walk is an empowering Impact Team protocol designed to recognize and amplify existing strengths within a school’s instructional and learning environment. It is based on the Instructional Round approach by City, Elmore, Fiarman, and Teitel. Similar to Instructional Rounds, this protocol shifts the focus specifically toward advancing learner agency and student voice through a collaborative, strengths-focused lens.
An Asset-Based Evidence Walk embodies democratic principles by empowering school teams to collaboratively observe and reflect on classroom practices that amplify student voice and learner agency. This protocol champions inclusivity, collective participation, and shared responsibility, allowing each team member to meaningfully contribute to the school’s continuous growth and improvement.
Agency in Action
Observable democratic practices that enhance learner agency include students actively engaging in self-assessment and peer assessment, collaboratively setting and reflecting on personalized learning goals, participating in Socratic seminars and structured debates, and driving classroom discussions through student-generated questions and inquiries (and more). These practices not only foster student independence but also cultivate a democratic classroom culture where all voices are valued and heard.
The Danielson Framework for Teaching provides a valuable lens to identify instructional practices that cultivate and enhance student agency. By aligning Asset-Based Evidence Walks to specific Danielson components, teams can clearly recognize and amplify instructional practices that foster learner independence, ownership, and authentic student voice. Key Danielson components that explicitly support student agency include:
Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
- 1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes (involving students in setting their own learning goals
- 1e: Designing Coherent Instruction (incorporating student choice and voice in instructional planning)
Domain 2: The Classroom Environment
- 2b: Establishing a Culture for Learning (encouraging high expectations and student ownership of learning)
- 2c: Managing Classroom Procedures (students taking responsibility for routines and procedures)
- 2d: Managing Student Behavior (students helping set norms and holding each other accountable)
Domain 3: Instruction
- 3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques (student-generated questions and meaningful participation in discussions)
- 3c: Engaging Students in Learning (activities that involve student choice, inquiry, and self-directed learning)
- 3d: Using Assessment in Instruction (students engaging in self-assessment and peer-assessment processes)
- 3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness (teacher responsiveness to student feedback and interests)
Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities
- 4c: Communicating with Families (engaging students in communicating their learning progress and goals to families)
Evidence Walks in Action
The Impact Team Asset-Based Evidence Walk Protocol consists of three distinct stages designed to systematically capture, analyze, and act upon the strengths observed within classroom environments. These stages encourage collaborative inquiry, collective learning, and deliberate planning to further enhance and scale effective practices across the school.
Stage 1: Evidence Gathering
The first stage involves gathering objective, low-inference evidence during classroom observations. Observers carefully document what they see and hear, capturing direct quotes, clear actions, student interactions, and visible classroom artifacts without subjective interpretation.
Example Questions for Gathering Evidence:
- What are students saying about their learning and thinking?
- What visible signs indicate students are owning their learning process?
- What teacher moves explicitly support student voice and agency?
Stage 2: Asset-Based Analysis
Next, the team analyzes their collected evidence collaboratively, emphasizing positive outliers and bright spots aligned to the school’s focus. Teams actively look for patterns, strengths, and promising practices that already exist and are enhancing learner agency.
Example Questions for Asset-Based Analysis:
- Where do we see strong evidence of student voice driving the learning?
- What specific actions or strategies are teachers using to promote learner independence?
- What led to the success we observed?
- What role did students play in advancing the strengths observed?
- How are students demonstrating agency through self-assessment, goal-setting, or reflection?
Stage 3: Collective Action Planning
Finally, the team determines collective actions that will deepen and broaden the identified bright spots. Actions should be explicit, collaborative, and aimed at scaling successful practices school-wide.
Example Questions for Determining Collective Actions:
- How can we replicate or scale these bright spots across more classrooms?
- What professional learning or collaborative opportunities could expand these effective practices?
- What supports do teachers need to enhance and sustain student agency and voice further?
- How do these actions support students and families that have experienced the most systemic harm?
- How can we communicate this to families and students so they can support our next steps or come up with other innovative approaches?
Advancing Democracy in Our Schools
Asset-Based Evidence Walks embody democratic principles by fostering inclusivity, shared decision-making, and collective responsibility. By centering student voice and agency, this protocol encourages schools to operate democratically, ensuring every student’s perspective contributes meaningfully to the learning community. Schools can cultivate empowered learners who actively participate in and shape their learning journey through structured evidence gathering, analysis grounded in strengths, and intentional collective action.
