Taking Instructional Rounds to the Next Level

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Isolation is a pervasive characteristic of life for a teacher in a modern school. Teachers meet in professional learning communities, attend trainings, and are even observed by administrators while they teach, but they rarely get the chance to see what other teachers do in the classroom. When the bell rings, they find themselves alone with their students.

Instructional rounds can counter that isolation. The idea itself—centered around teachers observing and providing feedback on each other’s teaching—is relatively simple, but as Vicki Wilson shows, the effects are profound: Observing educators pick up new ideas. Observed teachers experience a confidence boost. New school-wide instructional initiatives can be adopted more quickly. And broader school-improvement goals can be supported with concrete examples. Most important of all, instructional rounds rescue teachers from isolation by fostering a shared sense of mission and growing trust between fellow educators, who realize they have a team that supports and values them.

Wilson’s willingness to be honest about the process she implemented in her own school—the moments of doubt, the ups and downs, the mistakes, and successes—transforms this practical book into something inspiring.