Transforming Education and Changing School Culture

Authors

Gary Houchens, Western Kentucky UniversityFollow
Ric Keaster, Western Kentucky UniversityFollow

Abstract

An increasing number of schools and districts are building a common language of instruction and collaborative structures for instructional problem solving through the use of instructional rounds. Pioneered by Richard Elmore and colleagues at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, instructional rounds build on the model of medical rounds used in teaching hospitals and engage teachers and administrators in data collection and analysis around a school-wide problem of practice. This case study examines the experiences of the Simpson County Schools in Franklin, Kentucky, where one of the authors formerly served as a district administrator. In 2009, the district initiated a multi-school effort to implement instructional rounds. Many districts adopting instructional rounds initially involve only administrators, but the Simpson County Schools invited classroom teachers to participate and play key leadership roles in the process. The case study describes the instructional rounds process, the decisions made by district leaders to involve a wide array of stakeholders in their instructional rounds initiative, and the overall effects. Teachers in the district readily embraced the instructional rounds protocol, and administration and facilitation of the rounds process has now evolved into having classroom teachers serving as primary leaders. Implications for school culture and change leadership are discussed.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Leadership | Educational Methods

Recommended Citation

Houchens, G. W., & Keaster, R. D. (2015). Enhancing teacher leadership through instructional rounds: A district case study. In Warrick, D., & Mueller, J. (Eds.), Lessons in changing cultures: Learning from real world cases (pages 345-357). Oxford, UK: Rossi Smith.