Round About the District: Instructional Rounds as a Tool for Developing Infrastructures for Learning

• In Event: School Improvement and Teacher Effectiveness

Abstract

This mixed methods study explores how one district’s use of rounds may have helped to build shared understandings of instruction across central and site-based administrators. Drawing on three years of data from social network surveys and in-depth interviews, this study examines administrators’ participation in instructional rounds, interactions around instruction, and reflections on the impact of rounds on their learning as well as on the district’s practice. Findings show that participation has increased over time and administrators find the process valuable, but that there has been limited impact on interactions between administrators. This study can inform the work of administrators in developing rounds models to support specific district goals, while extending the empirical research on rounds, an innovative but under-researched practice.

Authors

• Rachel Roegman, Purdue University

• Thomas C. Hatch, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Kathryn Hill, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Victoria S. Kniewel, Edgemont School District