What’s the next step when the results on a service excellence survey suggest “needs for improvement”? While the solution to this question seems as simple as a call to action to do something, employees often find it difficult to identify and then execute a solution. What if the call to action is at the instructional level – teachers responding to their coaches’ question, “What can we do to better assist you meet your instructional goals?”
Below is an example how instructional coaches at one school engaged their teachers using an online survey tool. “Rounding” on the teachers in this way encouraged teachers to provide feedback so that the instructional coaches could better assist them.
Free online survey tools (like Survey Monkey) can be used to create a questionnaire where teachers can anonymously provide feedback to instructional coaches at their school. Survey results are then communicated to the teachers by the coaches in grade-level meetings. Prior to the grade-level meetings, coaches send an email to teachers providing a brief overview of the results; here’s a portion of a sample email that may preclude the meeting:
We appreciate your survey feedback and have pinpointed four areas that the coaching team may assist you with in professional development as needing most improvement. The areas suggested by you are:
Modeling for teachers
Rewarding and recognizing good work
Planning for productive and efficiently run meetings
Being more transparent in communicating the whys behind decisions made that affect your teaching
We will work diligently with you over the next 90 days on modeling effective ways to [choose 1 area]. When you have a chance, please take a look at the survey results and provide further input. We want to serve you the best we possibly can and we value your opinions! We look forward to talking with you more about the survey results at our grade-level meeting on April 3.
Rounding on teachers (and all employees) provides an opportunity for coaches and leaders to hear “what’s working well,” “what needs improvement,” and whether there are any colleagues that have been supportive and need recognized. It helps us as leaders move to the question, “Is there anything I may do that would better assist you?” and begins truly connecting us with colleagues.
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Learn more about rounding on teachers in How to Lead Teachers to Become Great. It’s a book that will help school leaders create a results-driven culture, guide teachers on what they can expect from leaders, and help school leaders recruit and retain highly effective teachers. Learn more about the book here and read Chapter 1!
Our mission at Studer Education is to provide students with a great place to learn, teachers with a great place to teach, and parents with confidence that their children are getting a great education. To do this we work with school boards, leaders, and teachers to apply Evidence-Based continuous improvement processes and the principles from How to Lead Teachers to Become Great in their districts to get the best student learning results and create results-oriented school cultures. Visit us online at http://studereducation.com. Studer Education is a division of Studer Group, ranked for the seventh straight year on the Best Small and Medium Workplaces by Great Place to Work® and a recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Filed under: How to Lead… Tagged: Continuous Improvement, HowToLead, Instructional Rounding, Rounding 
