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INSTRUCTIONALROUNDS
Connie Tate, DirectorSan Joaquin County Office of Education
Jill Hatanaka, CoordinatorSan Joaquin County Office of Education
Rich Merlo, SuperintendentCorcoran Unified School District
Transforming the practice that directly impacts student learning.
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Instructional Rounds• The rounds process is an explicit practice that is
designed to bring discussions of instruction directly in the process of school improvement.• Teaching matters most• An effective theory of action connects the central office and
the classroom• Systemic improvement is not linear• Districts need to continuously measure progress• Solutions must be adapted to local contexts• Modeling alone is not sufficient; accountability counts• Communities of practice accelerate learning• External assistance is helpful
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Instructional Rounds
What Rounds Is…
• Professional• Accelerates large-scale
instructional improvement• Focuses on the
instructional core• Complements current
improvement strategy• Collegial and inclusive• Shared practices and
understandings
What Rounds Isn’t…
• Punitive• Isolated pockets of good
teaching• Evaluative• Implementation check list• Absolute and isolating• Independent teacher
practitioners
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Seven Principles of the Instructional Core• Provides a framework for understanding the
interactions between the teacher, students, and content.
• Develops clarity and builds a common language about instructional practice.
• Creates the foundation for Instructional Rounds.
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Seven Principles of the Instructional Core1. Increases in student learning occur only as a consequence of
improvements in the level of content, teacher’s knowledge and skill, and student engagement.
2. If you change any single element of the instructional core, you have to change the other two.
3. If you can’t see it in the core, it’s not there.4. Task predicts performance.5. The real accountability system is in the tasks that students are asked to do.6. We learn the work by doing the work, not by telling other people to do the
work, not by having done the work at some time in the past, and not by hiring experts who can act as proxies for our knowledge about how to do the work.
7. Description before analysis, analysis before prediction, prediction before evaluation.
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The Rounds Process1. Problem of Practice2. Observation of Practice3. Observation Debrief4. Next Level of Work
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1. Problem of Practice• Focuses on the instructional core• Directly observable• Actionable• Connects to a strategy of improvement• High-leverage
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2. Observation of Practice
Collect data that is:• Descriptive, not evaluative• Specific• Related to the instructional core• Connected to the problem of
practice
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2. Observation of Practice
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2. Observation of Practice
Descriptive,just the facts.
What’s your evidence?
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3. Observation DebriefObservation teams discuss the data:
• Describe what you saw• Analyze the descriptive evidence• Predict what students are learning
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4. Next Level of WorkBrainstorm the next level of work:
• Share district context, including resources, professional development, and current initiatives
• Brainstorm the next level of work for this week, next month, by the end of the year
• Brainstorm suggestions for school level and for district level
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Harvard University - December 2010California Rural Network
• California Department of Education• San Joaquin County Office of Education• Butte County Office of Education• Corcoran Union School District• Corning Union Elementary School District• Keyes Union Elementary• Livingston Union School District• Pleasant View School District
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Harvard University - April 2011SETPD Network
• California Department of Education• San Joaquin County Office of Education• CSULA – Diane Haager, Ph.D.• Butte County Office of Education• Atwater Elementary School District• Bakersfield City School District• Durham Unified School District• Lewiston Elementary School District• Santa Ana Unified School District• Stockton Unified School District
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Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute• Burrel Union Elementary School District• Caruthers Unified School District• Coalinga-Huron Unified School District• Corcoran Unified School District• Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District• Kerman Unified School District• Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District• Kingsburg Joint Union High School District• Lakeside Union Elementary School District• Monroe Elementary School District• Orange Center Elementary School District• Planada Elementary School District• Reef Sunset Unified School District• Riverdale Unified School District• Washington Colony Elementary School District
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Stockton Unified School DistrictSecondary Education Network
• Cesar Chavez High School• Edison High School• Franklin High School• Jane Frederick Continuation• Merlo Institute of Environmental Technology• Pacific Law Academy• Stagg High School• Stockton Alternative High School• Stockton Health Careers Academy• Weber Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology
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Corcoran Unified
School District
•Rich Merlo, Superintendent• K-12 District, 3300 enrollment, 85%
Latino, 90% Free and Reduced Lunch• 3rd Grade English Language Arts
(Reading First)
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
0
20
40
60
Proficient or Above
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Corcoran USD - Theory of ActionIF
we create an environment of collaboration focused on developing clearly articulated common definitions of high quality teaching/ learning, and accept shared responsibility and accountability for cultivating such expertise,
THENteaching will be more effective, the instructional task will be relevant to core curriculum and student achievement will increase.
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Corcoran USD - Problem of Practice• Teachers are expected to use focused effective strategies
including technology tools to actively engage students in rigorous standards based tasks.
• Are students actively engaged in tasks that are standards based?
• Are students actively engaged in tasks that focus on a continuum of complexity by increasing the depth of thinking required?
• Are students completing tasks that require higher levels of understanding and depth of knowledge?
• Are teachers checking for understanding frequently and providing appropriate corrective feedback to students?
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Instructional Rounds and Corcoran USD Technology Integration
• The student task predicts performance.• To improve learning, we need to change the task the
students are engaged in.• The use of tech devices (laptops/iPads/iPods etc.) increases
student engagement, changes the role of the student, and changes the relationship between student and teacher.
• Changing the task through the use of technology devices requires the teacher to provide high quality instruction.
• After performing the task the teacher has given the student to complete using the tech device, we need to constantly ask the question: What will the student know how to do?
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ImplementationEvent Staff Time
Background/Preparation Superintendent November 2010
Harvard Institute Superintendent December 2010
Debriefing with Board and Staff District Leadership Team January 2011
Mock Rounds Visit Fremont School
District Leadership Team, CDE Representative
January 2011
Rounds Training San Joaquin COE
Principals and DO Staff February 2011
Reciprocal Rounds Pleasant View, Rural Network, Internal Staff
March 2011
Rounds Training 100 teachers, administrative staff
August 2011
CVELI Training at Bret Harte 40 to 50 inside and outside staff September 2011
Internal & District Rounds 20 to 40 teachers and admin. September – May 2011
Reciprocal Rounds Pleasant View, Rural Network, Internal Staff
January 2011
Rounds Training (Harvard visit) Principals, key administrators March 2011
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Shifting Thinking• New Perspective on Instructional Core• Look at Student Desk• With Teachers; Not to Teachers• Teacher Reflection & Buy In• Technology
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Elizabeth A. City, Richard F. Elmore, Sarah E. Fiarman, and Lee Teitel
ISBN: 978-1-934742-16-7
Connie Tate Ed.D.San Joaquin County Office of [email protected]
Jill HatanakaSan Joaquin County Office of [email protected]
Rich Merlo, SuperintendentCorcoran Unified School [email protected]
