Instructional Rounds with the #CCDOLPHINS

hepg.org

hepg.org

If it were not for my PLN, as I have said many times, I don’t know where I would be as a school leader. Today, I got the chance to meet up with a good friend, fellow principal, and active member of my PLN Douglas Timm. Doug, and his team of dedicated coaches and teachers, have recently implemented Instructional Rounds in their school. As a side note, you have to visit their active hashtag on Twitter (#ccdolphins) to see the amazing things going at the school.

 

The purpose of our (I was joined by Dr. Pamm Moore, Asst. Superintendent) visit was to experience the Instructional Rounds at Carrie Downe Elementary School. We were given a tour of the school by Doug. It was interesting to see the pace Doug has as he walks the hall. I know that pace. It is the early morning Principal pace 🙂 We then met our team that we would be working with: Jessica Hoban, Stephanie Jones, and Tara Amsterdam who are all instructional coaches.

 

Prior to visiting the classes, we reviewed their model. It was clear that they have done a lot of work to establish a model (Modern Teacher) that complements their instructional mission. After we prepped, we headed into the classroom with our mission of finding evidence to improve instruction. Yes, that is it. At their core, Instructional Rounds are designed to provide evidence in a non-evaluative manner to teachers to improve instruction.

 

After the “round” we went back and debriefed as a group. We sequenced the lesson, and then went through the activities to determine if we were providing evidence or inference and at what level on Blooms the instruction was taking place. At one point, Doug commented,”This process of providing evidence to teachers has helped me with my formal observations, conversations, and feedback. It has made me a better instructional leader.” Sign me up for that!

 

So, what is it going to take? The models are out there. The research is clear. In my humble opinion, it is time for teachers to build collaboration and collegiality to improve classroom instruction with meaningful, non-judgmental feedback.  I am excited for the possibilities!