THE ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING: Professional learning moves vision, framework, and performance standards into action.
By Joellen Killion and Stephanie Hirsh

Effective teaching emerges from a vision for teaching and learning, an instructional framework, standards for student learning, and performance expectations for educators coupled with a convergence of policy, planning, and goals at the state, school system, and school levels. Professional learning is the single most powerful pathway to promote continuous improvement in teaching.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER?

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation digs for answers with its Measures of Effective Teaching project.
By Stephanie Hirsh

Vicki Phillips, director of education,
for the college ready program at the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, talks with Stephanie Hirsh, Learning Forward’s executive director, about the foundation’s investment in effective teaching, and in particular about the role of professional learning.

THE VIEW FROM THE SEATS:

Student input provides a clearer picture of what works in schools.
By Tracy Crow

A new voice — student perceptions — has emerged as a valuable source of information for districts to identify, monitor, and assess teacher effectiveness. A framework called
the Seven C’s is delivering data on student engagement, opening the door to improved professional learning.

MEASUREMENT MAKEOVER:

Florida district revamps teacher evaluation to focus on student achievement.
By Valerie von Frank

Hillsborough County (Fla.) Public Schools’ new teacher evaluation system
uses multiple measures, including peer
and mentor observations and student learning data. The makeover gives teachers a clearer understanding of what the district’s expectations are and what strategies can help teachers improve their practice.

LESSONS FROM D.C.’S EVALUATION SYSTEM:
Teachers give IMPACT low marks on support and professional development.

By Susan Headden and Elena Silva

D.C.’s controversial evaluation system
sets clear expectations for instruction and holds teachers to well-defined standards of performance. But the program has earned criticism from teachers who say it is rigid and punitive and forces them to teach in an overly prescriptive way. More important, teachers say that in its rush to strengthen accountability, IMPACT misses what they say they need most — greater support and more meaningful professional development.

RISING ABOVE THE FLOODWATERS:

TAP helps Louisiana school rebuild professional learning program.
By Anthony Armstrong

Hurricane Katrina destroyed the St. Bernard Parish Public Schools district in 2005. The only middle school building to return
to operation was N.P. Trist Middle School, which was recently recognized by the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement for its gains in student and teacher learning.