Instructional Rounds: Our School’s Approach to Improving Our Teaching Practices

1. Instructional Rounds: Our School’s Approach to Improving Our Teaching Practices

2. Harmony Elementary

3. Session Norms • Observe confidentiality • Speak and listen with respect • Monitor air time • Be here 100% • Be open, welcoming, and receptive to new ideas • Believe all is possible

4. Jigsaw: Learning From Instructional Rounds • Form six-member groups • Count off 1 – 6 • Read your numbered section in article (±5 minutes) • Summarize and share your section with the group (±5 minutes)

5. Our Pre-work Define the problem of practice • Looked at the data • Developed hypothesis • Planned for the transition from TAKS to STAAR • Planned for increased rigor • Book study: Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning

6. Our Discovery/Focus: Round 1 The use of higher order questions.

7. After Round 1:Refined Statement After our last instructional round, we have discovered we are asking many questions; however, most of the questions we ask students are at the knowledge and comprehension level. In order for our students to develop and use reasoning skills to be successful in learning, we must understand and deliver rigorous units of study. At Harmony Elementary, we are looking at ways to increase the use of higher order questions and reasoning skills from our teachers and students.

8. Doing the Work

9. Choosing the staff for Instructional Round groups • Volunteers vsVolun-TOLDS • Which classrooms will you observe? • Who’s going to go on the first round? Who areyour most positive people? Who iswilling to grow and learn? Who will recommend their friends?

10. Provide Research Material: Options • Do We Understand the STAAR Definition of Rigor and Depth? – Holly Duncan • Learning from Instructional Rounds – Elizabeth A. City • Classroom Questioning – Kathleen Cotton • Bloom’s Taxonomy – Alice Wellington Rollins • Instructional Rounds in Education – Elizabeth A. City, Richard F. Elmore, Sarah E. Fiarman & Lee Teitel • Teach Like a Champion – Doug Lemov

11. Getting Ready: Set the Norms Harmony’s example: • Use descriptive voice • Separate the person from the practice • Honor differences and accept where people are at • Reward openness • Focus on building the next level of work NOT judging the current level of work • EVERYONE CAN IMPROVE

12. Getting Ready Part II: Set the Schedule Harmony’s Example 7:45 – 8:30 Teams going on the IR will meet in the conference room to review the day’s procedure 8:30 – 10:30 Rotations of 15** minutes in each classroom w/built in break 10:30 – 11:20 Teams meet back in the conference room and begin to organize their data on chart tablets 11:30 – 12:00 LUNCH 12:00 – 1:30 Large group data organization 1:30 – 2:00 Make inferences based on data 2:00 – 2:45 Share out strategies/next steps for Harmony

13. Getting Set: Set the Expectations During Observations Harmony’s example: • Team members observe and may ask a few students some questions about their learning. • Team members may not talk about observations until back in the conference room • All observation notes stay with Mrs. Grams. • Use a descriptive voice.

14. GO! Collect the Data Harmony’s data collection instrument: Time observed: ___________________ Grade level observed: ______________ Subject observed: _________________ The students were: The teacher was: The task was:

15. Independent Data Analysis • Each participant reviews their notes and generates 10 post-its of evidence to share with the group (teacher, student, task) • Evidence is written to capture data collected across all visits (ex: 3/5 classrooms….)

16. The Work Post ObservationsThis is where it gets tough… • Independent data analysis: Teams then compare post-its and select/write 10 post-its that capture evidence of the full team. 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

17. The work continues • Group Data Analysis: Affinity Diagramming Patterns of Data: Trends & Outliers TeachersStudents Tasks 10 10 10

18. Still the work… • Inferences and Next Steps • Use the data to make inferences • When, where, and how can you share information with the faculty? • How can the results of the Instructional Rounds be purposefully be acted upon so that school improvement is realized?

19. Trends After 2nd Round • Harmony’s Trends: • Station work is mostly at a knowledge/comprehension level and some students could not explain their learning in stations • Classroom procedures were apparent and in place as evidenced by time management and smooth transitions between whole group, small group, and stations. • Observed higher order questions/activities in math and only identifiable in ELAR during comprehension as evidenced in making predictions/connections

20. Evidence of joint planning (vertical/horizontal) • Sporadic real-life connections from teacher and students • Varied methods of instruction: whole group, small group, stations, technology, and cooperative groups • Few students asked their own questions. They mostly answered teacher-generated questions and when they did answer questions, they didn’t use complete sentences or academic vocabulary (except dual language), which created missed opportunities for extension of lessons

21. Post work: ACTION! • Take action • What? • How? • Monitor/Supervise • Assess Growth • Celebrate • Start Again

22. Take Action:Commitment Forms (data meeting) • Individual • The trend I know I do well is: • The trend I want to work on is: • I plan to: • Team • The trend we want to work on is • We plan to:

23. Take Action:Staff Meeting • Accountability Partners • Shared commitments • Jigsaw Teach Like a Champion (Lemov), chapter 1 • Observed each other over a period of a month – 6 weeks

24. Trends: Round 3 • Without Apology (Teaching Like a Champion) technique was used in most (90%-95%) of classrooms • In 21 out of 24 classrooms, a variety of graphic organizers are being used • Real-life connections are evident in 11 out of 24 (46%) of classrooms • Questions still remain in the mid to lower ranges of Blooms.

25. 13 out of 24 classroom teachers (54%) used a variety of strategies when calling on students. *The popcorn method was predominately used. (We, as a campus, need to define what the popcorn method looks like.) • Students responded in complete sentences using academic and content vocabulary in 9 out of 24 classrooms (38%)

26. Post work: ACTION! • Take action • What? • How? • Monitor/Supervise • Assess Growth • Celebrate • Start Again

27. Take Action:Developed after Round 3 • Question Walk-through Form: The Teacher… • Uses an appropriate mixture of questions (Bloom’s Taxonomy) • Phrases questions carefully, concisely, and clearly • Addresses questions to the group then the individual • Pauses to give students wait time • Uses a variety of strategies when calling on students (popsicle, choral, echo, individual/hands, popcorn, volunteer, think-pair-share, etc.) • Allows students to answer questions rather than the teacher answering her/his own questions

28. Question Walk-through Form: The students… • Uses graphic organizers (First I would, Next I would, Then I would, Thinking Maps, word banks, academic organizers) • Can explain their learning (stations/independent work) • Make real-life connections • Use complete sentences when answering questions (using academic and content vocabulary)

29. Take Action After 4th Round: CO TeamAdded The teacher uses the following strategies as listed in Teach Like a Champion (Lemov) • No opt out • Right is right • Stretch it • Format matters • Without apology • There is evidence of using preplanned questions **Comments: Student Work (level of rigor) Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create (synthesis)

30. What’s next for Harmony:2012-2013 School Year • Two formal rounds this year • Added 2 curriculum coaches (who are classroom teachers) • Identified curricular areas to focus on in addition to higher order questioning • Continued professional development in content areas • Continuing growth in small group instruction • Continuing developing highly engaging & differentiated environments

31. Questions