From ASCD & The Danielson Group
First updated edition in over 15 years to reflect new and shifting landscapes of research, the teaching profession, and the education field worldwide
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, ASCD announced the release of the third edition of Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching, the latest edition of the most-used framework for teacher evaluation and professional learning in the country. The book’s Framework for Teaching is either mandated or approved for use in 34 states, making it a seminal guide designed to empower and support educators throughout their entire professional journey.
This third edition of Enhancing Professional Practice builds upon the strengths of its predecessors, with features that include simplified descriptions that support clarity, understanding, and busy schedules; attention to the psychology of classroom success; increased emphasis on social-emotional learning and student identity; and a stronger focus on equity, to name just a few.
Six crucial themes run through the updated Framework for Teaching:
- Equity: A commitment to serving all students in a welcoming and affirming environment
- Cultural Competence: Fostering a sense of belonging by embracing and giving power to different points of view
- High Expectations: Holding themselves and their students to top-level performance
- Developmental Appropriateness: Aligning what’s known about students and child development to instruction
- Attention to Individual Students: Challenging students based on their own levels and needs
- Student Assumption of Responsibility: Encouraging student agency and voice through a variety of approaches
“We are incredibly excited to release the third edition of ‘Enhancing Professional Practice,'” said Anthony Rebora, ASCD+ISTE’s Chief Content Officer. “For more than two decades, the Danielson Group‘s work has had a significant impact on educators’ practice and ability to improve student learning experiences, and this new edition provides valuable new insights and practical guidance that makes the work all the more applicable and empowering.”
The updated edition provides the most comprehensive tool yet for teacher self-assessment and reflection, observation and feedback, and collaborative inquiry. It is currently available for pre-order and will be published on October 31, 2024. Visit ascd.org/books to learn more.
About the Authors
Charlotte Danielson is the founder and a board member of The Danielson Group. She began her career over 50 years ago as a first and second-grade teacher in Washington, DC. After 25 years as a teacher, curriculum director, staff development director, and assessment designer, she wrote the first edition of Enhancing Professional Practice. She has published widely on the use of the Framework for Teaching and related aspects of the teaching profession and instructional practice.
Jim S. Furman began his career as a middle school English teacher in New Orleans, later teaching high school English in Denver, and working as a professor of education in Delaware and New Orleans. He has coached future, novice, and veteran K–12 teachers in literacy, social studies, math, and science instruction; supported school leaders in urban schools to build and improve systems of teacher professional development; redesigned teacher preparation programs, field experiences, and assessments; and conducted research focused on teacher preparation and adolescent literacy. He served as executive director of the Danielson Group from 2018 to 2024.
Lee Kappes is the chief executive officer of the Danielson Group, having previously served as the organization’s founding director of program development, growth and impact. She taught kindergarten and grades 2–6, serving six years as a union president. She continued her career in public education as a staff developer, school leader, coach, mentor, and senior academic leader in an urban school district. She later served as an external partner to schools, districts, and state education agencies, providing instructional leadership and strategy guidance, instructional coaching, and developmental support for teacher-centered professional learning systems.
ASCD is where educators come to learn about new instructional strategies, grow as individuals and thrive as professionals. We are the preeminent global leader of professional learning resources for all classroom teachers, instructional leaders, principals, and superintendents. For over 80 years, educators and instructional leaders have used ASCD’s educator-generated, evidence-based resources, digital tools, and solutions to build teaching and learning environments to elevate education and boost student achievement. In 2023, ASCD merged with ISTE, combining expertise in technology and innovation with research-based professional learning for educators and education leaders, to advance student outcomes.
The Danielson Group works with school systems across the country and around the world to empower teachers to be their best by creating professional learning programs and policies that provide the right levels of support and opportunities for growth and development all along a teacher’s career path. Since its founding in 2003, the Danielson Group has worked with thousands of schools and tens of thousands of educators to advance the teaching profession in service of student learning and development.