Best Practices for Following Up

[MUSIC PLAYING] So these are not liked very well, but one is not scheduling follow-ups. So when possible, and I know that there are issues with interrupting classroom visits, but if you let them know ahead of time a range of time-- when people don't-- people adjust, right, we know this research, to being watched and observed. So if they are less aware of when you're coming, they're more likely to maintain some of those-- the behaviors that you've put in place. I mean the behaviors, the teacher behaviors, the practices. So not scheduling those, letting them know, when at all possible, again, not making it a scary thing, say I can come on one of these three days. Is it OK with you if I just pick a day and come out? And this is why. And most teachers, I mean, it's pretty common sense. I think that people really understand, when you explain it to them, that their behavior is going to change. They're going to prepare for when they know you're coming. I'm not aware of the hard data, but I would suggest that when you're doing follow-ups you would start more frequently, and then fade that out, because that is analogous to what we do with every other fading procedure. I think that if you were working with the teacher intensely for a couple of weeks, you're there regularly, you give them a lot of feedback, and then you don't come back for a long period of time, you're more likely-- basically, what we know of reinforcement schedules-- that teacher behavior is going to drop off. So fading out your follow-up is really important. And the third thing is follow-up. I think that it's important. I mean, I think we often, as district level consultants, we get jerked around from-- OK, we had a plan to be somewhere, and then somebody above us tells us, there's a due process, or wipe your schedule, for two weeks, you have to be over here and we don't get back. So when that happens, find a way to follow-up. Ask somebody, can I see your data? I can't make it out there. Can you send a quick clip of this procedure you're doing, so I can check it out, and I'll let you know, but I'll do that immediately. Find any way possible to make sure that follow-up happens. People have to know that you're connected. What's happened is, that a lot of our folks have had a history of people coming in and out, dropping some advice, and then leaving, dropping some advice, and leaving. As a result, folks are conditioned not to find what you do valuable. They just know this is a passing bump in the road, somebody is gong to be in their classroom for a little while, telling them what they do. And often, there may be no buy in and no follow through. So be that person that does follow-up with them, that keeps that connection with them. And certainly, there are all sorts of issues with resources and time, but even if you can't go back for those three hour chunks, or whatever, go back. Send a message. Ask for 15 minutes of video tape. If you have to fade that connection, gradually fade it out.