Enhancing Professional Practice

Presenting the latest iteration of the Framework for Teaching—the most comprehensive tool yet for teacher self-assessment and reflection, observation and feedback, and collaborative inquiry.

Since 1996, hundreds of teacher preparation programs and thousands of schools, school districts, and government agencies have turned to the Framework for Teaching for a better understanding of excellent instruction. The Framework's four domains, 22 components, and 78 key elements provide an expansive, holistic definition of what teachers across the K–12 spectrum should know and be able to do in the exercise of their profession. Critically, it gives practitioners a common language for visualizing, talking about, and reflecting on their work as they chart their ongoing progress toward instructional excellence.

This streamlined third edition of Enhancing Professional Practice presents the latest evolution of the Framework for Teaching—one that is true to its constructivist roots, shaped by ongoing research, and informed by the experiences of educators in the field. Here you'll find …

• An updated exploration of a teacher's essential responsibilities, organized into the Framework's four domains—Planning and Preparation, Learning Environments, Learning Experiences, and Principled Teaching.

• Detailed discussions of the 22 teaching competencies (or components) shown to improve student learning, with rubrics clarifying the critical attributes of each and how they manifest at various levels of professional proficiency—Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, and Distinguished.

• A more explicit emphasis on the Framework's philosophical foundation along with additional attention to what teachers can do to achieve equity, honor students' identities, foster social-emotional development, and promote both joyful inquiry and intellectual rigor.

• A more expansive view of family and community engagement and a look at the importance of high-quality instructional materials.

• Increased emphasis on the Framework as a tool for ongoing professional learning—a way to transform what for teachers is too often a meaningless ritual of supervisory evaluation into a powerful process for thinking about and pursuing instructional excellence.

• A summary of the research base and a full set of reproducible domain and component rubrics.

If you or your school are not already using the Framework for Teaching to enhance professional practice, there's never been a better time to join the movement.