Instructional Rounds: Our
School’s Approach to Improving
Our Teaching Practices
Harmony Elementary
Session Norms
•
•
•
•
•
Observe confidentiality
Speak and listen with respect
Monitor air time
Be here 100%
Be open, welcoming, and receptive to new
ideas
• Believe all is possible
Jigsaw: Learning From Instructional
Rounds
• Form six-member groups
• Count off 1 – 6
• Read your numbered section in article
(±5 minutes)
• Summarize and share your section with
the group
(±5 minutes)
Our Pre-work
Define the problem of practice
– Looked at the data
– Developed hypothesis
– Planned for the transition from TAKS to
STAAR
– Planned for increased rigor
– Book study: Instructional Rounds in
Education: A Network Approach to
Improving Teaching and Learning
Our Discovery/Focus: Round 1
The use of higher order questions.
After Round 1:
Refined Statement
After our last instructional round, we have
discovered we are asking many questions;
however, most of the questions we ask students
are at the knowledge and comprehension level.
In order for our students to develop and use
reasoning skills to be successful in learning, we
must understand and deliver rigorous units of
study. At Harmony Elementary, we are looking at
ways to increase the use of higher order
questions and reasoning skills from our teachers
and students.
Doing the Work
Choosing the staff for Instructional
Round groups
• Volunteers vs Volun-TOLDS
• Which classrooms will you observe?
• Who’s going to go on the first round?
Who are your most positive people?
Who is willing to grow and learn?
Who will recommend their friends?
Provide Research Material: Options
• Do We Understand the STAAR Definition of
Rigor and Depth? – Holly Duncan
• Learning from Instructional Rounds – Elizabeth
A. City
• Classroom Questioning – Kathleen Cotton
• Bloom’s Taxonomy – Alice Wellington Rollins
• Instructional Rounds in Education – Elizabeth A.
City, Richard F. Elmore, Sarah E. Fiarman & Lee Teitel
• Teach Like a Champion – Doug Lemov
Getting Ready: Set the Norms
Harmony’s example:
•
•
•
•
•
Use descriptive voice
Separate the person from the practice
Honor differences and accept where people are at
Reward openness
Focus on building the next level of work NOT
judging the current level of work
• EVERYONE CAN IMPROVE
Getting Ready Part II:
Set the Schedule
Harmony’s Example
7:45 – 8:30
8:30 – 10:30
10:30 – 11:20
11:30 – 12:00
12:00 – 1:30
1:30 – 2:00
2:00 – 2:45
Teams going on the IR will meet in the
conference room to review the day’s
procedure
Rotations of 15** minutes in each
classroom w/built in break
Teams meet back in the conference
room and begin to organize their data
on chart tablets
LUNCH
Large group data organization
Make inferences based on data
Share out strategies/next steps for
Harmony
Getting Set:
Set the Expectations During
Observations
Harmony’s example:
• Team members observe and may ask a few
students some questions about their learning.
• Team members may not talk about observations
until back in the conference room
• All observation notes stay with Mrs. Grams.
• Use a descriptive voice.
GO!
Collect the Data
Harmony’s data collection instrument:
Time observed: ___________________
Grade level observed: ______________
Subject observed: _________________
The students were:
The teacher was:
The task was:
Independent Data Analysis
• Each participant reviews their notes and
generates 10 post-its of evidence to share
with the group (teacher, student, task)
• Evidence is written to capture data collected
across all visits (ex: 3/5 classrooms….)
The Work Post Observations
This is where it gets tough…
• Independent data analysis:
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
Teams then
compare
post-its
and
select/writ
e 10 postits that
capture
evidence of
the full
team.
The work continues
• Group Data Analysis: Affinity Diagramming
10
Patterns of Data:
Trends
&
Outliers
10
Teachers
Students
Tasks
10
Still the work…
• Inferences and Next Steps
– Use the data to make inferences
– When, where, and how can you share
information with the faculty?
– How can the results of the Instructional
Rounds be purposefully be acted upon so that
school improvement is realized?
Trends After 2nd Round
• Harmony’s Trends:
– Station work is mostly at a
knowledge/comprehension level and some
students could not explain their learning in
stations
– Classroom procedures were apparent and in
place as evidenced by time management and
smooth transitions between whole group, small
group, and stations.
– Observed higher order questions/activities in
math and only identifiable in ELAR during
comprehension as evidenced in making
predictions/connections
– Evidence of joint planning (vertical/horizontal)
– Sporadic real-life connections from teacher and
students
– Varied methods of instruction: whole group, small
group, stations, technology, and cooperative
groups
– Few students asked their own questions. They
mostly answered teacher-generated questions
and when they did answer questions, they didn’t
use complete sentences or academic vocabulary
(except dual language), which created missed
opportunities for extension of lessons
Post work: ACTION!
• Take action
• Assess Growth
– What?
• Celebrate
– How?
• Start Again
• Monitor/Supervise
Take Action:
Commitment Forms (data meeting)
• Individual
– The trend I know I do well is:
– The trend I want to work on is:
– I plan to:
• Team
– The trend we want to work on is
– We plan to:
Take Action:
Staff Meeting
• Accountability Partners
• Shared commitments
• Jigsaw Teach Like a Champion (Lemov),
chapter 1
• Observed each other over a period of a
month – 6 weeks
Trends: Round 3
• Without Apology (Teaching Like a
Champion) technique was used in most
(90%-95%) of classrooms
• In 21 out of 24 classrooms, a variety of
graphic organizers are being used
• Real-life connections are evident in 11 out
of 24 (46%) of classrooms
• Questions still remain in the mid to lower
ranges of Blooms.
• 13 out of 24 classroom teachers (54%) used
a variety of strategies when calling on
students. *The popcorn method was
predominately used. (We, as a campus, need
to define what the popcorn method looks
like.)
• Students responded in complete sentences
using academic and content vocabulary in 9
out of 24 classrooms (38%)
Post work: ACTION!
• Take action
• Assess Growth
– What?
• Celebrate
– How?
• Start Again
• Monitor/Supervise
Take Action:
Developed after Round 3
• Question Walk-through Form:
The Teacher…
1. Uses an appropriate mixture of questions (Bloom’s
Taxonomy)
2. Phrases questions carefully, concisely, and clearly
3. Addresses questions to the group then the individual
4. Pauses to give students wait time
5. Uses a variety of strategies when calling on students
(popsicle, choral, echo, individual/hands, popcorn,
volunteer, think-pair-share, etc.)
6. Allows students to answer questions rather than the
teacher answering her/his own questions
• Question Walk-through Form:
The students…
1. Uses graphic organizers (First I would, Next
I would, Then I would, Thinking Maps, word
banks, academic organizers)
2. Can explain their learning
(stations/independent work)
3. Make real-life connections
4. Use complete sentences when answering
questions (using academic and content
vocabulary)
Take Action After 4th Round: CO Team
Added
The teacher uses the following strategies as listed in
Teach Like a Champion (Lemov)
1. No opt out
2. Right is right
3. Stretch it
4. Format matters
5. Without apology
6. There is evidence of using preplanned questions
**Comments: Student Work (level of rigor)
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create (synthesis)
What’s next for Harmony:
2012-2013 School Year
• Two formal rounds this
year
• Added 2 curriculum
coaches (who are
classroom teachers)
• Identified curricular
areas to focus on in
addition to higher order
questioning
• Continued professional
development in content
areas
• Continuing growth in
small group instruction
• Continuing developing
highly engaging &
differentiated
environments
Questions