PEBC’s Teaching Framework represents over three decades of research and practice in classrooms across the country in pursuit of teaching each and every student for agency and understanding. Reflective, humble, and striving teachers have led the way in pioneering the instructional approaches described here. It’s not magic, and it’s not secret: the strands of this Framework are powerful tools for actualizing phenomenal instruction every day.
The Framework is not designed as a teacher evaluation rubric but rather as a tool for professional growth. Please use it as such: be honest and gentle with your own self-assessment. Study this Framework to consider next steps in your own development; seek ideas from this text, the recommended resource lists, other sources, the insights of your colleagues, and your own good judgment as you strive forward.
In terms of its structure, this Framework, like the other rubrics in this book, is designed additively. That is, the column to the left (below) starts by identifying first steps a teacher might take in implementing that particular element. The next column builds on with next steps, and so forth. The far right column answers the question, “To what end for students?” and describes observable behaviors and dispositions that will result from effective implementation of this element. These descriptions have been honed across classrooms, grade levels, and content areas and seek to describe what is possible for every learner.
Know that this tool was created by teachers for teachers, and that it is, as are we all, a work in progress.
PEBC’s Teaching Framework addresses six important elements of teaching for agency and understanding: Plan, Community, Workshop, Thinking Strategies, Discourse and Assessment.
Here is a taste:
| Workshop | ||||
| ELEMENTS | Level of Proficiency | |||
| First Steps (1) | Next Steps (2)
(all of 1, plus . . .) |
Advancing (3)
(all of 2, plus . . .) |
Peak Performance (4)
(all of 3, plus . . .) |
|
| Independence | Create daily opportunities for learners’ independence and collaboration. | Match resources, supports, and time to work with complexity of task(s) and individual needs. | Engage learners in authentic work of the discipline for the majority of learning time. | Learners lead meaning making throughout learning time. |
| Rituals and routines | Experiment with routine and structure. | Enact a daily routine to guide workshop.
Prioritize learner work time. |
Learners understand and independently follow rituals to efficiently transition through workshop.
Workshop elements are sequenced effectively and flexibly. |
Learners own and operate the workshop in the absence of their teacher. |
Excerpted from Phenomenal Teaching, just out from Heinemann.
Experience the PEBC Teaching Framework in action at our Thinking Strategies Institute! Find an upcoming session here.
