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What is QTR?
Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR)
Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) is high impact professional development that makes a significant difference for teachers and students. Designed by Laureate Professor Jenny Gore and Dr Julie Bowe from the University of Newcastle, it is the flagship program of the Quality Teaching Academy.
QTR empowers teachers to enrich student learning through collaborative, teacher-driven analysis and refinement of practice. Research has shown QTR improves student outcomes by up to 25%, lifts teacher morale and positively impacts school culture.
Teachers love the chance to work with colleagues from different stages, subject areas and career levels during QTR. This collaborative process of observing, analysing and refining classroom practice engages and inspires teachers, simultaneously building their capacity for quality teaching. The Quality Teaching Model structures extensive discussion, focusing on teaching holistically and providing valuable insights for teachers about their practice and teaching more broadly.
Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) begins with a two-day foundational workshop delivered by the Academy, either in person or online. Participants learn about the Quality Teaching Model and QTR processes which are essential for ensuring maximum impact. The workshops are highly interactive, providing teachers with the opportunity to apply their learning in practice.
Note: A minimum of two teachers from participating schools should attend the workshop. These teachers will return to school with the necessary information to facilitate implementation of QTR.
After completing a workshop, teachers work collaboratively with colleagues in professional learning communities (PLCs) to undertake QTR in their school setting or digitally.
A Rounds day is comprised of four key sessions which support teachers through the process of analysing and refining practice. Each session is carefully structured to allow teachers the opportunity to build community and engage in rigorous discussion about teaching practice. The process is designed to be non-hierarchical and non-judgmental and brings together teachers who may not ordinarily have the opportunity to work together.
A set of Rounds involves all teachers in the PLC having their lesson observed and discussed with their colleagues.
There are many ways to grow or ‘ripple’ QTR across your school. Suggestions are discussed in our foundational workshop and our QTR Advisers are available to assist with strategies to suit your school context.
The Academy, through its work with the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, has extensive expertise in evaluation. The Academy can collect data, support schools in analysis of their existing data, and assist schools with their reporting processes.
Find out about targeted support for your school here.
Teacher accreditation
For teachers in NSW and the ACT, the foundational Quality Teaching Rounds workshop is accredited for 10 hours of registered professional learning with NESA and TQI, respectively. Participation in Quality Teaching Rounds at school can be logged as Elective Professional Development for the purposes of maintaining accreditation.
For teachers in other states and jurisdictions, participation in Quality Teaching Rounds can be used as self-directed professional learning hours.
If you’re a school leader looking to implement professional development in your school that makes demonstrable impact, read our information for school leaders.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
Participation in QTR helps teachers to identify and demonstrate their accomplishment of the Standards and reflect on areas where they can enhance their professional knowledge or practice.
Standard 1 – Know students and how they learn
Standard 2 – Know the content and how to teach it
The in-situ nature of QTR means teachers analyse and develop their understanding of how students learn within their own context. The collaborative nature of PLCs means all teachers contribute to the collective knowledge of teachers in their school by analysing the intellectual quality of observed lessons.
Standard 3 – Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
Standard 4 – Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
In QTR, teachers use the Quality Teaching Model as the basis for developing a shared understanding of what constitutes quality teaching practice during lesson analysis.
Teachers explicitly discuss elements such as social support and students’ self-regulation to create and maintain quality learning environments, enhancing student participation and opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning. After participating in QTR, teachers can use knowledge from professional discussions to plan and evaluate their teaching and learning activities, and programs.
Standard 6 – Engage in professional learning
In QTR, teachers work in PLCs to develop both individual and collective capacity. All participants in Rounds have their teaching practice observed and analysed in structured collegial discussions. The turn-taking process ensures all teachers in the PLC are heard. After participating in QTR, teachers can use knowledge from their PLC discussions and individual reflections to identify and plan professional learning needs using both the Quality Teaching Model and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
QTR has a demonstrated positive impact on teacher morale, self-efficacy and collegiality, as well as statistically significant impacts on student outcomes. When teachers participate in QTR, they are involved in collegial and collaborative professional learning that is focused on pedagogy using a common understanding about what constitutes quality teaching practice.
