What Makes Beyond Our Own Walls Unique

These rounds are framed as an opportunity for the observing teachers to be selfish, to focus on their own practice, and to look for what they can take away to continue to refine their practice. This invitation to be critical consumers creates a level playing field where everyone’s professionalism is valued.

The philosophy of appreciative inquiry and focus on developing social capital create a learning environment where teachers feel safe to be innovative and take risks in their pursuit of excellence.

Beyond Our Own Walls is constructed around a belief that if we are all professionals, if we have exposure to experts and professional text, then we can gain knowledge and expertise from watching and dialoging about any colleague’s lesson, not just a master lesson unique to the master teacher teaching it.

As teachers became critical consumers of the possibilities of instructional rounds, their investment increased, and we became a learning community committed to improvement with the self-efficacy to know we have what it takes to bring about positive change that impacts student achievement.