Instructional rounds as professional development for teachers

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20003017

Instructional rounds for educators can create a system and structure in which teachers enter into professional dialogue reflecting on their individual and collective work within their schools. The critical reflection and data analysis inherent in the instructional rounds process fosters collaboration among the participants and creates a culture in which the relationship between the adult learning that exists within the organization is directly proportionate to the student learning. The theory of action purports that if educators observe, analyze and predict what students will learn from the instruction they observe then a clear understanding of the cause and effect relationship between teaching and learning will emerge. This participatory evaluation study investigates the effectiveness of utilizing instructional rounds as professional development for teachers. The participants consist of high school department heads from a rural regional school district in north central Massachusetts during the spring of 2012. The findings of this study suggest that Instructional Rounds as a process support teachers' ability to collaborate with their colleagues and develop specific skills that foster professional development. In order to understand the Instructional Rounds process and determine its potential, the department heads opened their classrooms to their colleagues and participated in the rounds process so that they would have direct experience with the process and be in a better position to analyze its effectiveness as professional development. The perceptions of the participants focused on the direct benefits of conversations with their colleagues about teaching, the ability to increase their own teacher toolkits, and the enhancement of observation and reflection skills.