This document provides an overview of instructional rounds for administrators and teachers. It explains that instructional rounds are a research-based process modeled after clinical rounds in medicine where teams of educators briefly visit classrooms to observe and collect data around an identified problem of practice in order to accelerate instructional improvement. The document outlines the four steps of instructional rounds: defining a problem of practice, observation of practice, observation debrief, and identifying next steps. It emphasizes that rounds are descriptive, not evaluative, and focus on patterns of practice rather than individual teachers. The overall goal is collective learning to continuously improve teaching and learning.

1. Teacher Overview Module

2. Intended Results:
➢ Develop a foundational understanding
of instructional rounds
▪ What, why, how, and when?
➢ So that, administrators and teachers
feel prepared for and comfortable
with the process, and eager to
participate.

3. What are Instructional Rounds?
➢ Reading Response Activity:
▪ 4 colored cards designate a role:
leader, reader, “amen-er,”
questioner/clarifier
▪ Read card 1 – time for responses,
change roles
▪ Read card 2 – time for responses,
change roles
▪ So on

4. The rounds process is an explicit
practice that is designed to bring
discussions of instruction
directly into the process of
school improvement.

5. During rounds, teams of educators
briefly visit classrooms to
observe and collect data around
a question of practice.

6. ➢ Instructional Rounds process is
research-based and is modeled after
clinical rounds in the medical field.
Are about
learning,
growing,
improving
Result in a plan
of action (next
level of work)
Seek to improve
through
challenging one
another’s
thinking &
practice.
Involve
communication
and collaboration
about how to
respond to a
problem
Require trust and
mutual respect
Deal with complex
work that has life
impacting
outcomes

7. The Instructional Rounds process views
educators as highly-skilled professionals,
like heart surgeons, . . .
continuously learning, reflecting on, and
improving their practice.

8. The rounds process
was created by
researchers at
Harvard and is
described in depth in
the book Instructional
Rounds in Education
(Elmore, City, Fiarman,
and Teitel)

9. Scripting Activity
Take notes on what
you see/hear
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
ugcR1535Yhw

10. Rounds are descriptive and
analytic, not evaluative.
At no point in rounds do we
declare what we see to be “good”
or “bad” or something we “like” or
“don’t like.” Elmore

11. What Instructional Rounds ARE NOT?
✓Rounds are descriptive, analytic,
inferential inquiry –
NOT walkthrough observations.
✓Rounds focus on the practice –
NOT a teacher evaluation tool that
focuses on the person.

12. ✓Rounds focus on patterns of practice –
NOT compliance with directives
NOT an implementation checklist.
✓Rounds focus on collective learning –
NOT individual supervisory practice for
an individual’s learning.

13. ✓Rounds are a practice designed to
support an existing improvement
strategy at the school or system level
NOT a program or project or an add-on
NOT an initiative

14. Instructional Rounds and
Walkthroughs Sorting Activity

15. Instructional Rounds Walkthroughs
Conducted by a community of
practitioners
Usually conducted by 1 administrator
For the observers’ learning and
systemic instructional improvement
For teacher evaluation and
improvement
Focused on a common problem or
question of practice
Focused on one teacher, one classroom
Requires observers to suspend
judgment and gather descriptive, non-
evaluative data
Observer gathers evaluation data
Teachers are not identified or referred to
by name or room number. Data that is
gathered is organized cumulatively in order
to consider and analyze patterns of
practice.
Teachers being evaluated are identified by
name and provided with focused, teacher-
specific observation feedback
The observers ask, “What is our next level
of work based on the cumulative data?”
Teachers are give individual improvement
goals and/or strategies.

16. Why do Instructional Rounds?
Acceleration of Instructional
Improvement
“…to help schools and districts develop
effective and powerful
teaching and learning on
a large scale.”

17. How Not To “Rounds”

18. How do you do Instructional Rounds?
A 4-Step Process
1. Define a Problem of Practice
2. Observation of Practice
3. Observation Debrief
4. Identify the Next Level of Work

19. Step 1: Define the Problem of
Practice
An instructional problem or question
that the school and/or the school
system wants to solve in order to
improve student learning.
PoP comes from data, dialogue, and
current work.

20. The Problem of Practice should be:
➢ Directly observable.
➢ Actionable within a school’s control in real
time.
➢ Connected to a broader strategy of
improvement.
➢ High-leverage (would make a significant
difference for student learning).
➢ Focused on the Instructional Core
(Student – Teacher -Content).

21. The Instructional Core is defined as the
relationship between the teacher and the
student in the presence of content
TEACHER STUDENT
CONTENT
Learning
Task
Super important!
This is where school
improvement
happens!!
• Not interventions
• Not tutoring
• Not assessment or
accountability
• Not initiatives or
programs
• Not technology
• Not schedules

22. TEACHER STUDENT
CONTENT
Learning
Task
The Learning Task is the
actual work students are
doing.
What predicts
performance is what
students are
actually doing.
The task
predicts the
performance!

23. Problem of Practice Example
Students struggle with articulating a
clearly defined learning goal and
interacting at high cognitive levels with
that goal and the aligned learning task.

24. Theory of Action Example
If students can articulate the learning
goal, interact at high cognitive levels
with learning tasks that are aligned to
the goal, and track their progress
toward the learning goal, then …
…student achievement will improve.

25. Students struggle with articulating a
clearly defined learning goal and
interacting at high cognitive levels with
that goal and the aligned learning task.
If students can articulate the learning
goal, interact at high cognitive levels
with learning tasks that are aligned to
the goal, and track their progress
toward the learning goal, then …
Unpacking the Problem of Practice

26. Unpacking the Problem of Practice
1. Think about the key word or phrase, expand upon it.
What are all the different classroom implications and
applications of the word?
2. Based on that expanded thinking – what are the
essential inquiry questions that come to mind about the
instructional core and student learning as it relates to
that key word or phrase and the PoP? See the example
question.
3. At the most effective level, what might this key word or
phrase look like in the classroom?
4. What “next level of work” might you recommend to
support instructional improvement related to this key
component of the PoP and T of A?

27. When are the Instructional Rounds?
Instructional Rounds are not a single,
isolated “event.”
They are an ongoing improvement
process to move instructional
practices toward effective responses
to the PoP.

28. 4 Learning Modules:
1. Learning Goals
2. Using the New Bloom’s to Align
Instructional Tasks with Learning Goals
3. Creating and Using Scales and Rubrics
4. Using Formative Assessment to Help
Students Track Progress

29. • Collaborative
• Non-evaluative
• Focused on collective practices
• Respect teachers as highly-skilled
professionals