Professional Excellence

Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation

The Albion College Teacher Preparation Program uses the Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
as a guide to its prospective teacher to help evaluate their teaching. Created by Charlotte Danielson, this
thorough, research-based framework lists the domains in which teachers need to be proficient as well as
maps out and explains the specific qualities within each domain. The four domains are as follows:

I.
II.
III.
IV.

Planning and Preparation

The Classroom Environment
Instruction
Professional Responsibilities

Every component from each domain is listed in the following pages with a description of how I have
demonstrated that quality in my teaching practice. I have also included a picture or artifact for each
component to provide further understanding for the quality I am describing.

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
I.

Planning and Preparation

1a. Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and

Pedagogy
The first lesson in my unit on the Industrial
Revolution was on the causes of the Industrial
Revolution, and why it started in Britain. There was
not one single factor that triggered the increase of
industry in Britain, but rather multiple factors which
worked together to set a chain of events in motion
that lasted over a 100 years, and arguably is still in
motion today. The diagram that I made on the
board during that lesson demonstrated my
knowledge of content as well as how to teach it in
an effective way.
1b. Demonstrating Knowledge of Students
In addition to getting to know all of my students through student surveys on the first day of school (see
example on following page) I also made an effort to get to know my seven foreign exchange students
who were in my two sections of Government. I printed out maps of their home countriesGermany,
Serbia, Georgia, and Boliviaand asked them to show me on the map where they were from. I also
asked about what their life was like in their countries, and they were excited to share with me. A few
weeks later, when we were learning about the different forms of government, I asked them if they
would like to present to their classmates on their home countrys particular form of government and
how it works. They all eagerly agreed, and the presentations were wonderful exchanges of questions
and answers between my American students and my foreign students.
1c. Setting Instructional Outcomes
As seen in my lesson for the Age of Exploration unit on the following page, my instructional outcomes
are clear, challenging, fundamental to the discipline as well as related to essential questions of the
discipline, such as What is ethnocentrism, and how do we identify it and experience it? Setting quality
instructional outcomes is essential for many other parts of assisting student learning, such as designing
effective assessments.
1d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources
By taking my students on a field trip and bringing in
a guest speakerboth of which assisted my students
in achieving the learning outcomes for this unitI
demonstrated my knowledge of resources and
skillfully used them to enhance student learning.

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
To assist my students in understanding the
significance of the Industrial Revolution, I took my
students to tour Decker Manufacturing
Corporation in Albion, MI, a modern
manufacturing facility. There, they saw the
process of making industrial fasteners from start
to finish. They watched a shipment of steel wire
come in, observed the wire thickness being
adjusted according to the fastener being created,
and witnessed the wire transform into a number
of different sizes and shapes of industrial fasteners which would be used in the automotive, agriculture,
and construction industries. We compared the working conditions of that plant to the working
conditions of the 19th century, and were able to see how the modern day manufacturing plant is made
possible only by the technological gains of the Industrial Revolution.

Likewise, I brought in a very knowledgeable guest speaker to share with my students about the
improvements in transportation over the course of the Industrial Revolution, as well as his personal
knowledge of trains from working as a yardmaster across Michigan. This helped the students
understand the importance of the transportation improvements such as the steam-powered
locomotive, as well as communication improvements such as the telegraph and morse code.
1e. Designing Coherent Instruction
Designing coherent instruction is essential for successful student learning. One example of my coherent
instruction is in my World History unit on the Age of Exploration. We read from Christopher Columbuss
Journal together as a class, and I used this reading to introduce the concept of annotating the text to my
9th grade students. Columbuss Journal helped my students visualize what it was like for both the
indigenous people of North and South America as well as the Europeans of Columbuss crew to meet
one another for the first time. Since the text was from Columbuss personal diary, my students were
able to observe his assumptions and perceptions about the indigenous people, which built on the units
concept of ethnocentrism. This is an example of how I design my instruction to build on itself in a
coherent and logical way. (see the annotated journal in the following pages)

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
1f. Designing Student Assessments
A teacher must be able to design quality assessments of
her students learning in order to evaluate what they
have learned and understand how to increase their
learning further. One example of my ability to design
quality student assessments is the summative
assessment essay for a government unit on political
historical philosophers and forms of government. The
expectations were clear, reflected the learning
objectives of the unit, and asked the students to
participate in their evaluation, as they had to first grade
themselves before they turned in their essay to be
graded by me.
II.

The Classroom Environment

2a. Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

Students want to know who their teacher is as a person, and teachers should want to know who their
students are as people. Whether my students are getting As or Cs, it important for me to get to know
who they are non-academically, as this will assist me in challenging them in academics. On the first day I
was their full-time teacher, I gave my students an expanded introduction of myself, allowed them to ask
questions of me, and then asked them to tell me more about themselves on a questionnaire (as seen
above and below). I asked them to tell me: their name; gave them space to tell me anything at all they
want me to know about them; their three favorite things about where they live; and if they had any
questions for me. I read all of their responses that night so that if there was anything urgent they
wanted me to know about them I would see it right away. Starting the first day like this helped my
students know that I respected them, that I wanted to have a relationship with them, and that I cared
about them as a person, not just another student.
2b. Establishing a Culture for Learning
Learning can be pursued most
efficiently and effectively when
the classroom is not just a room
with desks, but a community in
which everyone feels
comfortable and secure to
pursue ideas together. The
pursuit of ideas requires
students to be engaged with
the teacher as well as those

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
they are learning withtheir
classmates. Sometimes, it
seems that only a few
students are engaged in the
lesson, and the majority of
students are allowing just
the few who are willing to
volunteer to be responsible
for the learning of everyone.
On such an occasion, I
refused to allow this to
continue. I told the class I
would not just take the
answer from the first and only hand that went up, but rather, in order to move on with our quiz review, I
needed to see more people volunteering their knowledge to help their classmates. It worked. When
they were pushed to do so, many hands went up, and it was established that in my classroom, learning
is for everyone, not just for a few.
2c. Managing Classroom Procedures
In my World History class, I established the routine of a Bellringer to begin each class period. The
Bellringer was projected onto the board, and many students took the initiative to start the Bellringer
activity even before the bell rang. This was a part of my classroom routine that students became
accustomed to and looked for to start each class period. They also came to expect to fill out an Exit
Ticket for the last period of class each day. An example Bellringer can found in the following pages.
2d. Managing Student Behavior

1. Respect for Self

a. Best work at all times
2. Respect for Others
a. Affirming and supporting others in
the learning community

Managing student behavior starts with having clear

and consistent expectations for students. To the
right, youll find the basic two rules for my
classroom. I establish from the beginning the
expectations for our community of learners, and
my students know that these are the rules of engagement when they step into my classroom. If there is
a student behavior problem, the student knows that they are breaking one of
these rules, and knows how to fix his or her behavior. Additionally, since I am a
member of the community of learners, I follow these same rules as well.
2e. Organizing Physical Space
In addition to my classroom being physically safe, welcoming, and arranged to
support learning activities, my students know that they can take advantage of
the amenities of the classroom for their learning needs. For example, one of my

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
World History students asked if he could draw a bird on a cactus with a snake in its mouth as part of his
groups skit about the Aztec civilization.
III.

Instruction

3a. Communicating with Students

Effective communication with students is essential to student
learning. The picture on the right is an example of my
communication with students of their instructions for the
class period. Having it written on the board ensures that all
students have access to the reminder of their instructions
throughout the period.
3b. Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
Students ability to ask good questions is partially a reflection of the encouragement to do so they
receive from their teachers. My goal is to have a classroom full of curiosity. At times, I require my
students to come up with questions about the topic we are studying as part of their Exit Tickets or
Bellringers, as seen in the following pages, but even when they are not required, questions are always
encouraged. The better questions I and my students ask, the more deeply we will learn together.
3c. Engaging Students in Learning
Engaging students in learning could be said to sum up the entire purpose of being a teacher. Students
who are not engaged in learning most likely are not learning at all, or at least not learning in a quality
and lasting way. A student may listen to a teachers presentation, but not fully learn the information
she heard until she applies the knowledge herself.
In this picture, my students are engaged and in full control of their learning process. They are writing a
historical fiction story in which they can choose the plot, but it must take place in one of the three
revolutions they have studied, and reference historical figures, events, conflicting sides, and the causes
of their chosen revolution. Therefore, they are fully engaged in their own learning by applying the
concepts and information in their own original plotline. (See the showcase unit student work for
complete examples of their stories.)

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
3d. Using Assessment in Instruction
Assessment should be used in
instruction in multiple ways. One way is
by monitoring student learning and
student activity on assignments. In the
picture to the right, I was circulating the
computer lab checking student progress
on their stories when I came to a
student who was struggling to begin
writing his story. I offered the
suggestion to start typing what he
wanted the middle or end of his story to
look like, even if he couldnt
find the perfect way to
describe the beginning just
yet. I was able to assess his
progress of the assignment,
and come up with a
suggestion to help further
his progress to make sure
he finished on time.
Another example of how
using assessment in
instruction is important is
to let students know how
they can expect their work
to be assessed. For their
final unit assessment, I gave
them the rubric that I
would use to grade their
work. Additionally, before
they turned in their final
product, they used the
rubric to self-assess their
own project. This gives
them the opportunity to
evaluate their work before
it is evaluated by me.

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
3e. Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness
Part of teaching flexibly and responsively is differentiating and accommodating my teaching in order to
better serve my students. In the following pages is a sample accommodated Government test. The
students taking this test still had to know the same information as the non-accommodated students, but
they were given assistance because of their learning differences. Accommodating student needs
doesnt have to come with an IEP; if a student needs extra help, I am eager to assist and try a different
strategy to reach that student. Furthermore, below is an example of how I differentiated my teaching
according to my students preferences in how to accomplish a learning activity.
Sometimes my students have good ideas that I had not previously thought of, or they turn out to be
excited about something that I thought they wouldnt like. For example, I asked my Government
students to complete an activity about the causes and effects of British rule, the Articles of
Confederation, and the Constitution. I had assumed that my 11th and 12th graders wouldnt want to
actually cut out the causes and effects and paste them into the correct place on the chart, so I was
surprised when they asked if instead of writing all the information in the chart, they could cut out and
paste/tape/staple the information into the chart. I momentarily agreed to their suggestion, and
fortunately, I did have supplies on hand for them to actually cut and paste. It worked out wonderfully to
use my students idea. Nearly everyone that class period wanted to cut and paste, and they seemed to
enjoy working with their hands to cut out the pieces.
IV.

Professional Responsibilities

4a. Reflecting on Teaching

Teachers should always strive to
improve their teaching in order to
improve student learning. This
starts with reflecting on their
teaching and its effectiveness.
One way to reflect on my teaching
is through journaling. I consider
how the lesson went in terms of
how it workedor didnt work
for the students, and how I can
adjust that lesson in the future to
improve student learning.
Inserted here is an example from
one of my journal entries where I
reflect on how a lesson went, and
then how I changed it for the next
class section.

11/4/15 Journal entry: Government did not go very well 1st hour. I gave the
class their quizzes back from yesterday, and told them they could gain back
half credit for fixing their wrong questions. Well, then I gave them a ppt
with the right answers, and wanted them to participate and tell me what
the right answers were as we went along. For a different class, that might
have been an good idea. This class, it wasnt because the whole class is so
dang chatty and only about 3-4 people participate without me calling on
them. So that did not go well, and I ended up moving a student for the first
time after a lot of chances, and then yelling at a student from the same
group (back corner group of boys), and it came out a little more harshly
than I had intended, so I dont know if thats a good or bad thing. But the
talking still continued. So it was just not an good class period.
So, I changed my plan for Govt 6th hour. Instead of giving them the answers
on my ppt, I told them they could fix their answers for half credit, and that
all of the answers were on their notes, and if they have any questions ask
me. This way, they were taking responsibility for correcting their quiz and
finding the correct answers, instead of having me spoonfeed it to them.
That went better, accept the really struggling kids who did really poorly on
the quiz didnt try too hard to find the right answers, which still doesnt
really help them learn. They are supposed to take responsibility for their
own learning, but even when they dont, I still have to try to teach them and
improve their understanding. So it is hard to find that middle ground. I will
still show 6th hr the ppt when we review for the test.

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
4b. Maintaining Accurate Records
One aspect of being a teacher is maintaining
accurate records of students achievement and
other relevant information about students. An
obvious example is recording student grades. In this
picture I am checking the online gradebook to see if
a student had turned in a particular assignment that
I just handed back. If I had not kept a record of the
graded assignments, I would not be able to tell him if
he did indeed turn in the assignment or not.
4c. Communicating with Families
A teacher conveys care for students by making sure
their parents and families are kept informed about the students progress and learning activities. In the
parent letter I sent home to my students families, I informed them of what their students would be
learning about in the coming unit on the Industrial Revolution. Additionally, I asked for their consent to
take their student out of school for a short field trip. Many of the students had already given their
permission for school field trips at the beginning of the school year, and even in these cases I wanted to
keep the parents informed that their children would be someplace other than school that day. (See
parent letter in the following pages)
4d. Participating in the Professional Community
I have taken the opportunity to participate in multiple
professional community gatherings. For example, in
March 2015 I attended the MACUL conference: the
Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning. This
was an all-day event in Detroit, Michigan. I attended
multiple helpful workshops including ones on projectbased learning and using blogs in the classroom. I intend
to continue developing myself professionally in the future.
Besides attending professional conferences such as
MACUL and Ed Camps, I also welcome and initiate
collaboration with my colleagues to better our practice as teachers. I invite my principal to observe and
give me feedback on my teaching, in addition to the feedback I already receive from my field supervisor.
The written observational notes and comments from both my principal and field supervisor are in the
following pages.
4e. Growing and Developing Professionally (scholarly teacher research project slides)

Professional Excellence
Danielson Framework for Teaching Evaluation
In order to continue my professional growth as an educator, I have conducted action research titled:
What Did I Do Over the Weekend? Grade Essays!: How to Effectively and Efficiently Give Feedback on
Student Writing in Social Studies. The research involved collecting three rounds of data regarding my
students essays, the feedback I gave them and how long it took me to give it, how they improved, and
their perceptions about the feedback they received. I presented this research to my colleagues as well
as college professors in a public presentation at Albion College. The slides of the research presentation
are in the following pages, and a picture of the presentation is in the Personal Distinction section of the
Portfolio.
4f. Showing Professionalism
Being a teacher is not just about teaching your students; its also about participating with them in
activities outside of the regular classroom in order to support them as a whole person. I had the
opportunity to support my students in their participation of Quizbowl and Quizbusters. I attended and
participated in all their practices at lunch, as well as attended the Quizbowl tournament with them on a
Saturday. It was a lot of fun to get to know the students in this other capacity, and to continue to
support their learning through it.