RICHARD F.

ELMORE
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
LEARNING THROUGH
INSTRUCTIONAL ROUNDS
What to expect
Brief description of what Instructional Rounds is.
The purpose of Instructional Rounds.
Principals of Instructional Rounds/ instructional
core.
What IR looks like?
Process
How it will affect you in the classroom.



Back ground- Instructional Rounds
A group of superintendents shared a common interest in making
improvements in the quality of instruction and student learning in
schools.
Richard Elmore from Harvard was recruited to develop a leadership
program focusing on improving education in schools.
A time-honoured tradition borrowed from the medical practice is
helping school leaders gain new insights into teachers work.

The Purpose of Instructional Rounds is
Improve student outcomes
To foster dialogue linking theory to practice
To promote reflective and productive dialogue on
teaching practice
To build a professional learning community based
on shared practice
To improve teacher capacity not to meter out
rewards and punishments.


Using Rounds to Bridge the Gap

Instructional Rounds in schools is about bridging the
knowledge gap between educators and their practice.
The rounds process is an explicit practice that is
designed to bring discussions of instruction directly
into the process of improvement.

It is a set of protocols and processes for observing,
analysing, discussing, and understanding instruction
that can be used to improve student learning. The
practice works because it creates a common discipline
and focus among practitioners with a common purpose
and set of problems.

Instructional Core
TEACHER
STUDENT
CONTENT
TASK
Instructional Corethe
essential interaction
between teacher,
student, and content
that creates the basis
of learning is the first
place that schools
should look to improve
student learning.



Instructional Core
Seven Guiding Principles
Principle 1 : Increases in student learning come only as a
result of changes in the level of content, changes in 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 cant see it in the core, its 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

What does Instructional Rounds look like?
1. The process begins with the formation of a network of
schools whose members commit to helping schools address
problems of student learning.
2. A school identifies problem of student learning, called a
problem of practice (PoP) and this serves as the focus for
each network visit to a school. (School Executive)
3. The network members are enter multiple classrooms in
small groups, use expert and precise observation
techniques, and take notes.
4. After observing in the classrooms, the network reconvenes
and uses IR protocols to agree upon and analyse what was
observed. This stage of the process, called debriefing,
keeps the analysis on specific and factual descriptions,
screening out personal judgments.

Behind close doors
1. School-wide patterns are then used to predict what students
would know and be able to do as a result of being educated in this
school.
2. The members conclude their work by taking on the central
question of what would need to happen in this school to address
the POP and improve learning at scale.
Feedback
1. Recommendations are made to the executive team in
the form of next week, next month, next year.
2. Executive present findings to staff.
3. Executive work together with staff to implement
suggestions.
4. Invite - Instructional Rounds team back at later time
in the year to give feedback on PoP or choose a new
aspect to focus on.
5. Fits the context of the school.
6. Explicitly acknowledges the schools profile.
7. Draws on the expertise of the people in the school.


Feedback to staff
What you will see in your classroom
Network visiting team
Continue to follow through with your roles. Do not
interrupt your lesson.
Do not acknowledge IR teacher- warn students prior - they
will knock and enter.
Spend 10-15 minutes in each classroom.
Looking for evidence that supports (or not) the POP
(student work, student talk)
Record the evidence objectively detailed, nonjudgmental
observations
Debrief after all observations completed. No discussion
will occur as they make their way around the school.
Confidentiality- Do no harm
Not related to TARs.




Quality Instruction
There is little doubt that childrens success
is ultimately tied to the quality of instruction
Graham, Harris and Larsen (2001)

How Big of a Difference do Teachers Make?
Take an average student: 50th percentile
After 3 years with a high performing teacher:
90th percentile
After 3 years with a low performing teacher:
37th percentile





Testimonials
Thought I knew what I was looking at - but the focus was not on student learning
e.g. what they were actually doing. I was focused on the 'general class' atmosphere,
behaviours, and teacher delivery (in a superficial way). Now it is fine grained and
focused on what I actually see the students doing/teacher doing and
saying. Amazing!!!

I think I now know what to look for

My realization is that real accountability is
in the tasks students are asked to do Rigor of instruction is the real
accountability

Im more focused on what children are learning and why. I know now how to dig
deeper than surface activity or apparent engagement.

If its not observable, its not occurring.