Transcript Document

Instructional Rounds
14 April 2010
INSTRUCTIONAL ROUNDS
Rounds are a special kind of “walkthrough” and an
“improvement strategy” integrated into one practice.
Four elements of Rounds:
1. Identifying a problem of practice
2. Observation of practice
3. Observation debrief
4. Focusing on the next level of work
What Works Best?
• “Instead of asking ‘What works?’ we should be asking ‘What
works best?’ as the answers are quite different….. the answer
to the first question is “Almost everything” whereas the
answer to the second is more circumscribed – some things
work better and some work worse relative to the many
possible alternatives.”
(Hattie, J, 2009, p.18)
What Research Tells Us:
Instructional Leadership: Towards a Learning Definition
“The more leaders focus their influence, their learning, and their
relationships with teachers on the core business of teaching
and learning, the greater their likely influence on student
outcomes”
Robinson et al 2008. The impact of educational leadership on student
outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 44 (5).
Why do rounds?
• A question you have to answer for yourself . . .
• Equity—To ensure that ALL children have access to powerful
learning no matter which classroom they’re in
• Knowledge—To understand what kind of learning is happening in
your system
• Group capacity—To build a shared language and understanding of
powerful learning and teaching
What it is and isn’t . . .
NOT “walkthroughs” or “drive-bys”
 Rounds is descriptive, analytic, inferential
NOT a teacher evaluation tool or assessment of individual teachers
 Separate the person from the practice; focus on the
 practice
NOT an implementation check
 Rounds focuses on patterns of practice and predicted
 results, not compliance with directives
NOT training for supervision
 Rounds focuses on collective learning rather than
 individual supervisory practice
NOT a “program” or a “project”
 Rounds is a practice, designed to support an existing
 improvement strategy at the school or system level
The Instructional Core
CONTENT
The culture is present in
the academic tasks that
students are asked to do.
TEACHER
STUDENT
Overview of a Rounds Visit
• Framing the Visit … Problem of Practice
• Observation of Practice
• Observation Debrief
– Describe
– Analyze
– Predict
• Next Level of Work …
• Reflection
The Rounds Process
Investigate Practice
1.

Identify Problem of Practice and Collect
Data:
School identifies a problem of practice

Observation teams collect data related to
problem of practice

Observation teams discuss the data: What
are students doing/saying? What are
teachers doing/saying?

Identify possible patterns

If you were a student in this school, what
would you know how to do?
2.
Describe Optimal Teaching and Learning
in Relation to this Problem of Practice:


What would students be doing/saying?
What would teachers be doing/saying?
Identify Next Level of Work
Implement & Support Next
Level of Work
3.
Prepare for the Next
Level of Work
Brainstorm
What do teachers need to
know to be able to support
optimal learning
(described in Step 2)?
5.
What does the
school/district need to
know to support optimal
learning (described in Step
2)?
•
4.
Brainstorm the Next
Level of Work:
•

Brainstorm the next level
of work for “this
week/next month/by the
end of the year.”



What support will school
leaders and the district
provide to support optimal
learning?

What additional data
might we need to address
the p.o.p.?

•
•
6.


Share Data and Next
Level of Work with
School:
Seek whole school input:
Does this match the
understanding we have of
our school?
If not, how can we collect
more useful data?
If yes, which of the next
level of work will we
pursue?
How will we measure our
progress?
Implement and Assess:
Are the recommendations
for the next level of work
helping? How do we know?
What other support is
needed (either at the
classroom level or the
school level)?
Developing the Discipline of Seeing
•
Seeing is a discipline
•
It’s like a muscle—it gets stronger with repetition
•
Foundation of our practice:
Specific description
Non-evaluative, non-judgmental description
10
Evidence
What do you see?
 Just the facts please, Ma’am!
11
Just the facts…?
 She did a great job of transitioning from the
whole class lesson to independent work time.
12
Just the facts…?
 She did a great job of transitioning from the whole
class lesson to independent work time.
 At the end of the lesson, the teacher asked students
what materials they needed to get for their upcoming
independent work. She took a few responses and
released students to go to their desks four at a time.
13
Just the facts…?
 During a period of 20 minutes, the teacher
asked 1 question.
14
Just the facts…?
 The teacher used a very interactive teaching
style.
15
Exercise
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
Read the following observations from classroom visits. Indicate whether you would characterize each as “more fine-grained” or “less finegrained”.
Fast paced.
Teacher questions students about the passage they just read.
Students working individually even though they were in groups. Not a lot of discussion going on.
“Boys and girls, today’s number is 30. Who can give me a string of numbers that go up to 30?”
Teachers encouraging students to think for themselves, to go deeper. High expectations for student work and student verbal responses.
Teacher asks, “How did you know this?” Student explains.
T: “How are volcanoes and earthquakes similar and different?”
Students practicing higher order thinking skills.
Lesson on the main causes of the Civil War.
Students made up their own questions for the read aloud book: “Which is your favourite character?” “What do you think Gilly should do with the
money?” “What do you predict will happen to Arthur?”
Teacher asked what clues in the story indicated impatience.
Too much time on discussion, not enough time on individual work.
Task: find different ways to create a total of 31.
Student 1 wrote in math journal:
5+5+5+5+5+5+1 = 31
S2: 10+10+10+1=31
S3: 41-10=31
2+3x3+16=31
Excellent classroom management.
Teacher introduced the concept of fractions and had students apply the concept in a hands-on activity.
Sample Data (or “Evidence”) Collected from
Observation
Detailed, Non-judgemental Description
C.
D.
F.
G.
J.
K.
M.
Students working individually even though they were in groups. Not a lot of
discussion going on.
“Boys and girls, today’s number is 30. Who can give me a string of numbers
that go up to 30?”
Teacher asks, “How did you know this?” Student explains.
T: “How are volcanoes and earthquakes similar and different?”
Students made up their own questions for the read aloud book: “Which is
your favourite character?” “What do you think Gilly should do with the
money?” “What do you predict will happen to Arthur?”
Teacher asked what clues in the story indicated impatience.
Task: find different ways to create a total of 31.
Student 1 wrote in math journal.
5+5+5+5+5+5+1 = 31
S2: 10+10+10+1=31
S3: 41-10=31
2+3x3+16=31
Sample Data (or “Evidence”) Collected from
Observation
General or Judgmental Description
Fast paced.
Teacher questions students about the passage they just read.
Teachers encouraging students to think for themselves, to go deeper.
High expectations for student work and student verbal responses.
Students practicing higher order thinking skills.
Lesson on the main causes of the Civil War.
Too much time on discussion, not enough time on individual work.
Excellent classroom management.
Teacher introduced the concept of fractions and had students apply
the concept in a hands-on activity.
Definitions of a Problem
• A question raised for inquiry, consideration or solution
• An intricate unsettled question
A Rich Problem of Practice
•
•
•
•
•
Focuses on Instructional Core
Is Directly observable
Is Actionable
Connects to Broader Strategy
Is High Leverage
DVD Problem of Practice
Are students engaging in higher order thinking skills
(applying, analysing, evaluating, creating) as evidenced
by the nature of student responses, participation and
products/work?
New Version of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Creating
Evaluating
Analysing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy
The Three Little Pigs
A. Explain the wolf’s point of view.
B. Plan several ways the pigs could get from one house to another
undetected?
C. What kind of house might you build to protect against hot days?
D. Was the third house completely safe from the wolf? Why or why not?
E. List the types of homes built by each pig.
F. Compare the events in this story with the events in Goldilocks.
Bloom’s Taxonomy Response Sheet
Lesson Title/Content: The Three Little Pigs
Taxonomy Level
Creating
Evaluating
Question/Task
Actual/Notes
B
D
Analyzing
A
Applying
C
Understanding
F
E
Remembering
Prediction
• If you were a student in this school and you did everything
the teacher told you to do, what would you know and be
able to do?
From Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning, 2009