Instructional Rounds

Toby BossESU 6

Agenda

• Develop Common Understanding of Rounds• Focus on Details– What do we do to prepare?– What do we do during rounds?– What do we do after rounds?

• Experience Rounds • Debrief Experience

Instructional Rounds

• Purpose: to learn from colleagues, reflect on our own teaching practices, and ultimately, apply effective strategies in our own classrooms

Reflective Questions

• Affirmations: How did this experience validate what I do?

• Questions: What questions did this experience generate about what I’m doing in my own classroom?

• Applications: What’s one thing I might try in my classroom?

Preparing for Rounds

• Determine school norms– ground rules– forms/notes– feedback to observed teacher– self-reflection logistics

• Build common instructional language• Clarify purpose

Ground Rules• Rounds are not for evaluation.• Rounds are for the collaboration and professional reflection of the

observers.• Observe, reflect, and consider teacher behaviors with emphasis on

effectiveness.• “Mutual respect, sensitivity, and kindness are always honored!” (Kevin

Feldman)• Nothing observed within a lesson should be shared with anyone.• Comments made during the debriefing should not be shared outside of the

debriefing session.• Do not offer suggestions to the observed teachers unless they explicitly ask

for feedback.• Observed teachers should be thanked and acknowledged for their

willingness to open their classrooms to others.

Conducting Rounds

• Review purpose, ground rules, protocol with observing team briefly.

• Enter classroom unobtrusively• Observe and take reflective notes quietly for

10-15 minutes• Thank the teacher; leave quietly

Conducting RoundsDebriefing

• Gather your group (hall, or empty classroom)• Remind team of ground rules• Ask group to share affirmations– How did this experience validate what I do?– Each person share one. Pass option allowed

Conducting RoundsDebriefing

• Ask group to share questions/wonderings.– What questions did this experience generate

about what’s happening in my classroom?– Compare/contrast my practice with what I saw.– Each person share one. Pass option allowed.

• Ask group to share applications.– What’s one thing I might try in my classroom as a

result of this experience?– Each person share one.

Conducting RoundsDebriefing

• Record significant affirmations/applications to share with the observed teacher if requested.

• Monitor time• Keep the conversation positive and focused on

the observers.

Practice

• Find a group of three• Designate A, B, C

• Take turns facilitating the conversation.

Effective Feedback

• Name it• Describe it• Tell why it’s good• Value statement

Sample Comments of feedback to model teachers

At their requests feedback was provided via email from the rounds leader

• Here are some amazing practices we saw in your….. classroom, which we want to incorporate into our own teaching:

• Very clear speech using academic and high level vocabulary. Your answers to student questions were clear, focused and easy to understand.

• Thank you so much for allowing us to learn from you!

• Constant assessment of student progress – you rotated continuously among the student tables, checking for understanding and correcting misconceptions.

• Peer teaching – we heard students teaching each other and engaging in “math talk”.

• A warm and inviting classroom – this is a math class we all would like to take!!

• We learned so many things from observing you during the instructional rounds yesterday.

Template for Giving Feedback to Observed Teacher

• Introduction: Here are some of the great practices we saw in your ___ classroom that we want to incorporate into our own teaching:

• Name it, describe it, tell why it’s good.• Value statement: Your techniques effectively:• Thank you for letting us learn from you!