FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING (L.

Danielson)

DOMAIN 1 – PLANNING AND PREPARATION

 Transforming the curriculum so it’s accessible to students.
 Transforming content into meaningful learning experiences.
 Designing instruction that is appropriate to the diverse learners.

A. DEMONSTRATING KNOWLEDGE OF CONTENT AND PEDAGOGY

Understand the content to be learned, the structure of the discipline of which that content is a part, and
the methods of inquiry specific to that discipline.

Teachers demonstrate knowledge of content and pedagogy

 Through their performance in classroom.
 Clear explanation of concepts.
 How they answer student’s questions
 How they engage students in learning
 How they develop instructional plans (every discipline has its own approaches to instruction).

B. DEMONSTRATING KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS

Teachers must know
 The developmental, intellectual, social and emotional characteristics of their students. Student’s
stage of developmental understanding.
 How prior knowledge impact each student’s learning and understanding (or misconceptions
affect their learning).

Teachers demonstrate knowledge of students

 They can describe their students when asked about details about them (can describe their
understanding of them orally and in writing).
 What those students bring to the classroom.
 In their interactions in the classroom.

C. SETTING INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES –

Teachers must determine the appropriate learning for a given class.
Instructional outcomes should be clear and relate to what it is that the students are intended to learn as
a consequence of instruction.

To demonstrate their skills in setting instructional outcomes teachers:

Should be able to describe how the outcomes relate to the curriculum.
Understand how the outcomes are appropriate for their students, and
How they fit within a sequence of learning
*this is best observed during a classroom visit

D. DEMONSTRATING KNOWLEDGE OF RESOURCES

Resources assist teachers in their teaching and students in their lerning.
Teachers should know the resources available before they can use them.
Teachers demonstrate knowledge of resources when they can articulate all resources available and can
address their student’s instructional needs.
 E. DESIGNING COHERENT INSTRUCTION
Teacher translates instructional outcomes into learning experiences for students, through the design of
instruction.
Here is where teacher’s knowledge of content, knowledge of students, clarity of instructional outcomes
and knowledge of resources come together to result in a plan of action.

Coherent instruction is demonstrated in organizing and sequencing learning activities that engage
students in a coherent structure.

F. DESIGNING STUDENT ASSESSMENT

Assessment in learning has a central role.

Assessment of learning- to determine that students have achieved the instructional outcomes
established through the planning process. Here teachers must ensure that each instructional outcome
can be assessed in some way.

Assessment for learning – that provides both, teachers and their students with valuable information to
guide future learning.

A well designed approach is clear about how students work will be evaluated. Determine a scoring
system or a rubric for evaluating student work. The criteria that defines the characteristics of a
successful response, establishes the standards of performance.
DOMAIN 2: THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
Critical aspect of teacher’s skill in promoting learning.
Mastering this domain make teacher’s exercise of instructional skills possible.

A CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT OF RESPECT AND RAPPORT

To manage relationships with students and ensuring that students are positive and supportive among
them.
Teachers demonstrate this skill through their words and actions in the classroom, by creating a safe
environment where everyone feels valued.
This can be done establishing rules of interaction, standard of conduct and routines for activities.

B ESTABLISHING A CULTURE FOR LEARNING

Describes the norms that govern the interactions among individuals about the activities and
assignments, the look of the classroom, and the general “tone” of the class.
Evidence of this component is found in the classroom itself, by student’s work if displayed or not, visual
resources, nature of the interactions and the tone of conversations. How activities and learning
outcomes are displayed in plans and also the conversations with students.

C MANAGING CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

To establish routines before embarking on the teaching. A smoothly functioning classroom is a
prerequisite to good instruction. Teachers must develop procedures and use time efficiently before
focusing on instructional techniques, students can be involved in their creation and maintenance.
Evidence of how teachers manage classroom procedures is obtained through classroom observation.
Expert teachers take time at the outset of the school year to establish their routines and procedures.

D MANAGING STUDENT BEHAVIOR

Learning occur when student behavior is in control.
When students are engaged deeply with content, they are less likely to pick fights, defy a teacher, or run
around classroom.
A key to efficient and respectful management of student behavior lies in agreed-upon standards of
conduct and clear consequences for overstepping the bounds.

A teacher’s skill in managing student’s behavior can only be observed in the classroom. Student
behavior indicates that a teacher has established standards at the beginning of the year and has
maintained them consistently.

E ORGANIZING PHYSICAL SPACE

Use of physical space is important in a total learning environment; the physical surroundings can have a
material effect on interactions or the structure of activities.
Teacher’s use of the physical environment can be observed or illustrated on a sketch of the classroom.
Teachers may be able to explain how they enhance the physical environment and use it as a resource for
learning, but implementation is essential.
DOMAIN 3: INSTRUCTION
This domain is the heart of the framework. All the other aspects play an important supporting role in
promoting learning.

A- COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS

Clarity and accuracy in communication is primarily observed through classroom performance.
Because teachers communicate with students largely through language, that language must be audible
and legible (written directions, offer explanations, vivid and expressive language). Watching the
students’ reactions provides the best indication of whether that goal has been achieved.
A fundamental assumption of the framework is that teaching should be purposeful, and this purpose
should be clear to students.
 Principles in this domain:
- Teaching is purposeful, and purpose should be clear to teacher and students.
- What the students will be learning.
- Why it is important.
- What the students will be doing to achieve the goal.
- Clarity of directions and procedures
- Support (help) students need to understand new content (concepts, skills, relationships).
- Teacher’s language should reflect correct usage and contain expressive vocabulary.
- Language and concepts are appropriate to the age and backgrounds of the students, and words
– vocabulary- is suitable to the discipline.

B- USING QUESTIONING AND DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES

Initial questions to frame discussions should be carefully planned. Teachers demonstrate skills in
questioning and discussion techniques almost exclusively in classroom observation.
Careful framed questions enable students to reflect on their understanding and consider new
possibilities, make connections or challenge previously held views.
Teachers make good use of questioning and discussion as an instructional skill by teaching their students
how to frame good questions.
Discussion is a technique to extend knowledge, teacher is not the center but encourage students to
comment on one another’s answers.

C ENGAGING STUDENTS IN LEARNING

The quality of student’s engagement is the result of careful planning of learning experiences
(component 1e).

When a lesson is carefully designed and the instructional methods and students activities are structured
to maximize student learning the result is evident in the classroom.

Activities should represent new learning. What is required for student’s engagement is intellectual
involvement with the content or active construction of understanding.

Activities and assignments including homework should challenge students to think broadly and deeply,
to solve a problem or to engage in a nonroutine thinking. The cognitive challenge should be
appropriately high.
A technique to determine the level of student’s engagement in the activities and assignments in a class
is to examine not only the directions but the quality of student work in response to the directions.

Grouping of students – should be in different ways, to enhance their level of engagement. In different
configurations according to teacher considerations, what a teacher is trying to accomplish and should
serve that purpose.

Instructional material and resources- items that help students engage with content. Instructional
materials and resources are not in themselves engaging or unengaging. It’s the teacher’s and student’s
use of the materials that is determinant, they should be suitable for the students and applicable to the
instructional outcomes.

Structure and pacing- lesson should be well designed. Beginning, middle and end, with clear
introduction and closure. Created by the teacher’s design. Pacing should be appropriate to the students
and to the content. Students do not feel rushed in their work.

D USING ASSESSMENT IN INSTRUCTION

Assessment has been used to determine the extent to which students have mastered important content
(certify individuals for promotion, program improvement and accountability of institutions.

Rather than signaling the end of instruction teachers have incorporated assessment as an integral part
of instruction implementing formative assessment, It helps teachers with essential information about
the learning process of students (obtain diagnostic information) so they can make midcourse
corrections.

Providing feedback to students is an important aspect of using assessment as part of instruction.

The process of feedback individualizes instruction. It ensures that each student knows the extent to
which her performance meets the required standards.
E DEMONSTRATING FLEXIBILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS
Decisions about adjusting a lesson plan to improve student’s experience.
Flexibility and responsiveness is mainly demonstrated in three types of situations:
If an instructional activity is not working (change or modify activities, pacing).
Taking advantage of unexpected “teachable moments”- spontaneous events that provides opportunity
for valuable learning.
Teacher’s sense of efficacy and commitment to the learning of all students – looking for alternative
approaches to help students who are experiencing difficulty in learning (instead of blaming students,
home environment or larger culture for the deficiency).
This skills are observed when they occur in the classroom and the teacher should be able to describe the
event.