Working On Improving The Education System Using Instructional Rounds

By Janine Hughes


Education leaders are frequently exercising this method to help improve the performance of the school. Instructional rounds is network approach that helps improve teaching and learning. An environment where teachers work together for the benefit of their students is developed. The teachers normally acquire skills from each other.

Each teacher ought to participate in this activity once a semester. Rounds ought to be made possible by a lead teacher. This is basically someone who is respected and considered exceptional in the way they teach. The administrator of an institution may also decide to lead this activity. It should be noted that this rounds are not meant to evaluate teachers being observed.

The teachers who are observed may choose to volunteer. Others are usually asked to avail themselves for this process. Ideally, those who are selected are considered masters of their skill in a particular area such as a district or a school. This means that students who attend their classes have shown improvement and achieved good results at the end of an academic year.

When doing this, it is important to work with a small group. This refers to at least five teachers. The lead teacher is not included in this count. The institution normally plans for a particular day that this will take place. This information should be communicated to the students. They can also be told the purpose for teachers to pick beneficial skills from each other.

When observing teachers come in, they ought to knock at the door then slowly walk towards the back of the classroom. They should position themselves at a place that does not disrupt flow of instructions. They are expected to observe as well as take notes of the use of particular instructional strategies of a teacher. Teachers can choose to take note of strategies that are of particular attention to them.

There could be specific problem areas that an institution may work on. A lot of focus can be put in these areas. This observation activity will note take the whole day. It can involve a short period of less than half an hour. One is not allowed to give points to their partners in a manner which you could be grading them. They will eventually orderly move out when their time is up.

After the activity is over the teachers meet up to discuss about what they have observed. Each teacher is free to say what they want to- an activity called debriefing. The information discussed here should not be given to other individuals outside the group. Teachers being observed do not expect any corrective suggestions because they were not being evaluated.

This is an amazing opportunity for teachers to observe and interact with their colleagues in a non-evaluative way. The teachers who do the observing benefit a lot. They are able to borrow skills from those who are employing them effectively. They will also be able to look at their own teaching practices in light of what they will have observed thus helping the student. Children are the future hence they should be given the best education.




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