Instructional Rounds

“A commitment to professional learning is important, not because teaching is of poor quality and must be ‘fixed,’ but rather because teaching is so hard that we can always improve it. No matter how good a lesson is, we can always make it better. Every professional teacher has a responsibility to be involved in a career-long quest to improve practice.” C. Danielson

Artice: What are Instructional Rounds?

I believe peer observation, reflective practice, and group debriefs are among the most powerful forms of professional learning available to professional educators today. Instructional rounds provides all of these and more. Currently, we are in our 3rd year of practicing IR in Middle School with over 600 observations recorded. This year, we are grouping our networks in vertical teams and including teachers in the observation portion. It has proven to be beneficial as teams are connecting and sharing with each other more directly. Teachers are definitely being given praise and tough constructive feedback. I have seen some serious reflection and some tough moments – they are all worth it if teacher growth occurs and students reap the benefits.

I am looking forward to presenting at the NAIS Annual Conference #NAIS16 with esteemed colleagues Shelley Clifford and Bo Adams in February in San Francisco, CA.

The original IR Network with Middle School Heads of Grade Fall 2013 — Mount Vernon’s first IR Network with Middle School Heads of Grade – Fall 2013 (L to R – Amy, Bo, Mary, Stephanie, Katie, Alex, not in photo Chip, Maggie)

Previous Blog Posts…
Chatting About Instructional Rounds (11/4/15)
Implementing Instructional Rounds (9/24/15)
Traditional Observation v Instructional Rounds (8/26/15)
Another Round of Instructional Rounds (7/23/15)
Connecting the Dots: The Intersection of the MV Continuum, Instructional Rounds, and Design Thinking (1/29/15)
Feedback from Instructional Rounds: New Network (2/28/14)
Read the Twitter Chat on Instructional Rounds
P.E.A.K Professional Learning – Peer Observation Teacher Feedback – Old School (3/26/14)

Resources:
Edutopia’s 40 Reflection Questions
Being a Student of Your Own School: Learning Walks, Instructional Rounds, Pedagography by Bo Adams
Learning Walks with Parents by Shelley Clifford
Learning Walks and Instructional Rounds, MVPS/MVIFI
Everyone Needs a Coach

We all have blindspots. Instructional Rounds provides multiple mirrors to help us see what we cannot see on our own.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17