Why Learners, Educators And Schools All Benefit From Instructional Rounds

By Joshua Morgan


Teachers are often given the short end of the stick. They have to prepare lessons, teach, be involved with all school activities, mark papers and perform numerous administrative tasks. There is very little opportunity for professional or personal growth and the educational authorities recognize this fact. Instructional rounds, however, have started to play a bigger role in not only helping teachers to grow professionally, but also to improve the standard of education.

This is by no means a complicated or expensive system. All it is is that a small group of teachers get together for the purpose of observing a senior, more experienced or even well known educator in his classroom while he is teaching. These observed teachers need to agree to be observed, however. The purpose is for less experienced teachers to learn and to find ways in which to improve their own teaching methods.

The observers meet before the visit in order to formulate specific objectives for the observation session. These objectives normally focus on the known strong points of the observed colleague. He may, for example, have a reputation for enhancing his lesson with the effective use of multimedia, or he may be very successful in maintaining discipline in the classroom. The observers aim to find out how he does it.

Observers never evaluate the colleague that is observed. That will negate the entire idea behind these sessions. They have only one goal and that is to learn from the observed colleague. This is why the learners are informed about the reason for the visit and that is also why no feedback is ever given. The observers do not participate in the classroom activities and they do not interact with learners.

Directly after the observation session the observers have another meeting. They compare notes but their discussions always focus on what it was that the learned. They are not permitted to criticise at all. They also debate ways in which they can improve their own classroom performances based on what they learned during the observation session. All their discussions are confidential and they do not submit a report.

The popularity of this system has soared. It is easy to plan and to implement and teachers are keen to participate. These sessions allow them to get to know their colleagues a little better and they are given the opportunity to develop professionally. Many participants have professed that they have learned much during these sessions and that their own results have improved as a consequence. The benefits of the system are enjoyed by all the role players in education.

There are, of course, critics. They say that the sessions are too short to be of any value. They also accuse observed teachers of taking extra trouble for these sessions instead of teaching the way they normally do. Supporters nevertheless refute these arguments by saying that they learn a lot, that they improve as educators and that the learners ultimately benefit from the system.

There should really be no opposition to a system that cost almost nothing, that is supported by the majority of teachers and that have proven to have positive results. If the educational system is going to improve innovative and creative systems have to be put into place. These sessions are of benefit to everyone involved in education.




About the Author: