Instructional Rounds In Education

Instructional Rounds in Education is intended to help education leaders and practitioners develop a shared understanding of what high-quality instruction looks like and what schools and districts need to do to support it. Walk into any school in America and you will see adults who care deeply about their students and are doing the best they can every day to help students learn. But you will also see a high degree of variability among classrooms--much higher than in most other industrialized countries. Today we are asking schools to do something they have never done before--educate all students to high levels--yet we don't know how to do that in every classroom for every child. Inspired by the medical-rounds model used by physicians, the authors have pioneered a new form of professional learning known as instructional rounds networks. Through this process, educators develop a shared practice of observing, discussing, and analyzing learning and teaching.

Presents a model for ensuring quality teaching that balances the necessity of research-based data with the equally vital need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual students.

Instructional Rounds in Action is an invaluable guide for those involved in implementing instructional rounds as the foundation and framework for systemic improvement in schools. Over the past few years, districts across the United States, Canada, and Australia have begun implementing "instructional rounds," a set of ideas and practices for advancing systemic, district-wide improvement. But as they do so, practical and theoretical questions arise. Roberts offers a powerful analysis of how instructional rounds can work "on the ground." His book weaves together the voices of stakeholders at all levels--teachers, principals, and district personnel--and presents a number of protocols to support instructional rounds.

Teacher Rounds: Powerful peer-to-peer teacher professional development! Teachers are ready to be in the driver’s seat as leaders of their own learning—and their best professional development resources may be their own classrooms and colleagues. With Teacher Rounds methodology, teachers learn with and from each other through classroom observation and inquiry and develop a trusted community of practice. Scholar-teacher Thomas Del Prete outlines every aspect of this ongoing, collaborative approach: Step-by-step guidance and tools for implementing Teacher Rounds Insights on creating a positive environment for honest feedback A wealth of examples from a high-performing school and across all grade levels and disciplines

Because equity and instruction are inextricably bound Why are equity visits such a critical first step to increasing opportunity and access for our under-served students? Because they take instructional rounds to a new level, providing a powerful lens for investigating the intersections of equity and instruction. After all, how can we possibly deliver equitable learning experiences, opportunities, and outcomes for our students, without first pinpointing problems of practice? That’s where Equity Visits will prove absolutely indispensable to district and school administrators. It details how to combine a strong focus on instruction with explicit, intentional efforts to address systemic inequities. Inside you’ll find A range of data collection activities and tools to target central issues of equity in your school Clear guidelines on how to investigate the ways instructional practices, structures, and beliefs lead to inequitable educational experiences—and how these are often masked in the day-to-day life of schools and districts A frank discussion of how to make race and racism an explicit part of investigating and addressing educational inequities Voices of school and district leaders who have taken crucial first steps to become "equity warriors" Recommendations on how to develop policies, initiatives, and practices to confront those inequities Few dispute that instructional improvement must be a central focus of educational leadership, but for too long achieving educational equity has been absent from the conversation. Here is your opportunity to ensure equity occupy a central spot in data collection and analysis, and be explicitly discussed at all levels of your school or district organization. In short, essential reading and doing for all administrators!

A practical guide to instructional rounds for educators Isolation is a pervasive characteristic of life for a teacher in a modern school. Teachers meet in professional learning communities, attend trainings, and are even observed by administrators while they teach, but they rarely get the chance to see what other teachers do in the classroom. When the bell rings, they find themselves alone with their students. Instructional rounds can counter that isolation. The idea itself--centered around teachers observing and providing feedback on each others' teaching--is relatively simple, but as Vicki Wilson shows, the effects are profound: Observing educators pick up new ideas. Observed teachers experience a confidence boost. New school-wide instructional initiatives can be adopted more quickly. And broader school-improvement goals can be supported with concrete examples. Most important of all, instructional rounds rescue teachers from isolation by fostering a shared sense of mission and growing trust between fellow educators, who realize they have a team that supports and values them. Wilson's willingness to be honest about the process she implemented in her own school--the moments of doubt, the ups and downs, the mistakes and successes--transforms this practical book into something inspiring. "A powerhouse guide for all educators. Wilson fills a gap in the field with this brilliant, practical godsend of a book that can be implemented at your school starting right now." --Rick Jetter, PhD, author, keynote speaker, and cofounder of Pushing Boundaries "Lead with Instructional Rounds offers the what, why, and how to bring teachers within a building together to learn from one another in a safe and positive environment." --Connie Hamilton, author of Hacking Questions and curriculum director in Saranac Community Schools "In Lead with Instructional Rounds, Vicki Wilson eloquently shares her vast experiences and provides a blueprint for getting educators into each others' classrooms, all while being intentional and hyperfocused on high-quality instruction throughout the process." --Thomas C. Murray, author of Personal & Authentic: Designing Learning Experiences that Impact a Lifetime and director of innovation for Future Ready Schools

In School-Based Instructional Rounds, Teitel offers detailed case studies of five different models of school-based rounds and investigates critical learning from each. Instructional rounds—one of the most innovative and powerful approaches to improving teaching and learning—has been taken up by districts across the country and around the world. Now Lee Teitel, an originator of this transformative practice, explores one of the most promising ways in which it is being adapted in the field: implementing instructional rounds networks within, rather than across, K–12 schools. In School-Based Instructional Rounds, Teitel offers detailed case studies of five different models of school-based rounds and investigates critical learning from each. Expanding rounds to include teachers, for instance, offers opportunities for a more direct connection to instructional improvement. Other areas of experimentation include increasing the frequency of visits, engaging participants across diverse roles, and modifying the structure or focus of rounds work. School-Based Instructional Rounds represents an invaluable resource for educators involved in instructional rounds. It marks a significant addition to the literature on this evolving practice."

Instructional rounds is a powerful form of professional learning aimed at helping schools and systems develop the capacity to educate all children to high levels. In this practical book, Thomas Fowler-Finn, an experienced consultant who has worked closely with the Harvard team that pioneered instructional rounds, discusses how facilitators can skillfully guide a network of educators through the rounds process. He shows how to scaffold participant learning, model effective teaching practices, and gradually transfer agency to the network. Leading Instructional Rounds is an invaluable resource for advancing the work of all facilitators, whether novice or experienced.