Benefits That Instructional School Rounds Give Educators

By Gary Bennett


It has always been said that children and students are the future of mankind. Sooner or later those who have been at the work force the longest will retire and will be replaced. This is a cycle that has been going on for so long.

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.

The observing panel goes inside the class of another faculty member. This makes the group limited from three to five. No scoring happens and mere just observation. Those that observe are to stay somewhere that does not disrupt the flow of the class. Each member of the panel then takes down notes about the teaching methods that appeals to them or otherwise.

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.

Individually, instructors are in the perfect avenue for introspection with regards to their methods. The observing panel are also able to evaluate and compare themselves with their colleagues in a systematic way that avoids any conflict among each other. Different processes of learning are being observed such as introduction to new topics, how well the class digests it, testing and knowledge evaluation. The group is then lead to discuss what they have seen as good and bad points.

The concept is basically made up of questions that encourage self reflection when in discussion with other educators. While this is usually at a scale limited within the school, there are some that have made it a district wide activity. This gives a broader sense and a bigger pot of knowledge that teachers can get from. They are allowing professionals from the same field to essentially help them get better at what they do. There then is a shared accountability for the effectiveness of learning is across the community.

This makes tracking the progress of students more quantifiable. Statistics and number can be gathered from the rounds and may prove useful in identifying what causes schools to perform excellently or otherwise. Once the data is gathered interpretations are more accurate. The numbers never lie.

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.

For each round, A certain problem or issue is being examined. There is no point to assuming the cause of an issue inside the school and throwing a solution that may not work. Then the academic professionals can create a solution that benefits the students that has the least likelihood of backlash since it has been discussed with different perspectives in mind.




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