Why Every Teacher Can Benefit From Instructional School Rounds

By Gary Bennett


Change is the only thing that is constant to the point that this statement has been overused time and again. But if there was one thing that has not see a significant change in the course of centuries, it would be the educational system. There is a dire need to evolve the methods of teaching just as how society and culture has evolved.

Students are not the only ones that needs to learn new things. In every industry there is always great value in constantly learning new things. Instructional school rounds is a way of observation among teachers and school staff used to observe the different methods and approaches of each faculty member when it comes to teaching their classes. The idea was based on medical rounds and how medical professionals gather and discuss the condition of a patient.

This is how this works. An group of three to five instructors go inside the class of another teacher to observe and take down notes. What they write depend on standard questions that answer the different aspects of class instruction. They do not grade or use a rubric for against their observations and they are merely just stating what they see.

For each round or cycle, there is one concern that is being examined. This gives the observers and the one being observed a main focus to address. Some of the questions are framed after the parts and steps of how a student learns. The basic steps of teaching involves the introduction of a lesson, the ways a teacher gives out modules to make sure the knowledge is retained and then evaluation.

Doing this can improve different aspects of how the educator handles his classes. The questions that are set in guidebooks regarding instructional rounds focus on all facets that involve being in the classroom and building good relationships with the class. As an effect the group discusses their strengths and weaknesses.

The concept of instructional rounds does not limit within the school or institution. Some have practiced doing rounds among different schools within the district. This addresses different the education of a whole community and the quality of education being offered to them by the system.

The stagnation of skill is prevented on the side of instruction. This lets the system properly adjust to how the current generation learns which is something that the educational system has failed to do for a long time. This also makes it easier to get numbers and statistics that can give clear quantification and may reflect underlying causes to community wide issues.

The needs in terms of facilities and equipment can also be clearly seen especially in cross school rounds. This becomes easier to identify since there are other people from a different environment that gets to observe the same institution in a foreign perspective. This also assures that there is shared responsibility of the learning quality in one community.

A certain issue is always the focus for each cycle. This is especially useful when there are difficulties that need to be solved. Since this method is an in depth observation of learning environments, pointing out causes to problems become more accurate. This gives the instructors and others who are concerned to create solutions that can properly address the issue without risking a huge backlash of consequences on the students.




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