1. Learning Through Instructional Rounds
Richard F. Elmore
Harvard University
Iowa Leadership Academy
April 2012

2. Instructional Rounds is a Learning Practice

3. Why Rounds? Build Professional Community
Develop a Common Language for Understanding and Analyzing Instructional Practice
Develop a Culture of Shared Practice
Develop Collective Efficacy Around Improvements in Student Learning
Build Common Understanding of System-, School-Level Improvement Strategies

4. THE INSTRUCTIONAL CORE
Principle #1: Increases in student learning occur only as a consequence of improvements in the level of content, teachers’ knowledge and skill, and student engagement.
Principle #2: If you change one element of the instructional core, you have to change the other two.
Principle #3: If you can’t see it in the core, it’s not there.
Principle #4: Task predicts performance.
Principle #5: The real accountability system is in the tasks that students are asked to do.
Principle #6: We learn to do the work by doing the work.
Principle #7: Description before analysis, analysis before prediction, prediction before evaluation.
CONTENT
TASK
STUDENT
TEACHER

5. THE ROUNDS PROCESS PROBLEM OF PRACTICE PRESCRIPTION PREDICTION
OBSERVATION T S
ANALYSIS

6. Using Descriptive Language
Specificity
Specific
General
“The choice of Huckleberry Finn as text was inappropriate for this age group”
“The teacher did a fabulous job of holding the students’ attention”
“At about three minutes into the lesson, the teacher asked two students to respond to the question, “Why did Huck decide to leave?”
“The teacher introduced a writing prompt”
Judgmental
Objectivity
Descriptive

7. COMPARISON OF ROUNDS AND WALK-THROUGHS
ADDRESS A PROBLEM OF PRACTICE
DESCRIPTIVE-ANALYTIC MODE
DEVELOP COMMON NORMS OF PRACTICE
DIAGNOSTIC-INFERENTIAL-PREDICTIVE
CHECK FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF DISTRICT PRIORITIES
NORMATIVE MODE
ASSESS PRESENCE-ABSENCE OF PRACTICES
EVALUATIVE

8. Who Should Play? It Depends. . .
Leadership Networks– Build Competency Around Instructional Practice
Vertical, Cross-Role Networks– Build Common Culture of Instruction Across Levels
Within-School Networks– Build Common Practice, Commitments
Cross-School, Cross-System Networks– Share Practices Among Professionals in Different Settings

9. IMPROVEMENT PROCESSES
P/Q T

10. PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS BUILD COMMITMENT AND LATERAL ACCOUNTABILITY

11. Conditions for Effective Rounds Practice
A Clear and Explicit Instructional Improvement Strategy: What, Why, How?
Clear Norms of Confidentiality and Trust
NO Use of Rounds for Evaluation
Commitments/Lateral Accountability
Willingness to Challenge Existing Beliefs and Practices
Practice, Practice, Practice