A Proper Framework Inspires Better Teaching Practices
by Yuridia Peña
Charlotte Danielson addressed hundreds of educators at Food and Finance High School in Manhattan to discuss her book Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching; her insight provided a context about teacher professional development.
During the talk, Ms. Danielson emphasized the “rounds” approach as a useful tool for conducting classroom visits. “I’m a big fan of a short observation,” she said. Five to 10 minute unannounced, informal classroom visits can help create a support system for the teacher when performed with an eye to improving instruction. While formal write-ups are unnecessary, a follow-up meeting is appropriate.
The idea of informal visits suited Vanessa Thomas, ELA Instructional Support Specialist, who said after the presentation, “This allows a conversation to develop between administrators and teachers [and] builds a learning community.”
Ms. Danielson’s book identifies aspects of a teacher's responsibilities that have been documented through empirical studies and theoretical research as promoting improved student learning. These responsibilities seek to define what teachers should know and do in their profession. In this framework, the complex activity of teaching is clustered into four domains: planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Each component defines a distinct aspect of a domain.
“Both teacher practices and results of teaching are important indicators of teacher effectiveness,” Ms. Danielson told the audience. “There are challenges in having good teacher evaluations,” she added. Effective teaching evaluation encompasses two basic approaches. The first is an understanding of teacher practices and how well a teaching professional performs the art of teaching. The second is results-oriented, that is, what teachers accomplish – how well their students learn. Ms. Danielson stressed challenges in implementing an effective evaluation system because school cultures are not homogeneous systems. “Big schools get students who are deficient academically. Kids are lethargic and slow to respond … Its about energizing them intellectually.” She suggested using general evaluation procedures such as reviewing samples of student work because that can help determine if students comprehend the material; the analysis of teacher artifacts such as planning documents are also good for evaluations.
Ms. Danielson specializes in teacher evaluation and curriculum planning. Her framework stemmed from an assignment at the Educational Testing Service where she was commissioned to prepare and validate the criteria for PRAXIS III: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers® which are used in measuring teaching skills and classroom performance. This system joined the first two PRAXIS systems – Computer-Based Academic Skills Assessment and Subject Assessments to Grant an Initial Teaching License, which are designed for use by education schools and program assessors to assure that teachers-in-training become proficient in this framework.Today, the system is used beyond the licensing of beginning and novice teachers for seasoned educators and administrators. Ms. Danielson later based her book on these structures.
For more information on Ms. Danielson’s work visit http://charlottedanielson.com/.
