Mapping Professional Practice

Shared expectations are essential, but challenging to develop. Surface-level descriptions of what a practice looks like to an observer, rather than what it feels like to the professional enacting it, miss the heart of the matter and frustrate teachers.

Too often, teachers struggling with a practice can't envision how to make the leap from their current reality to the seemingly effortless proficiency of their more skilled colleagues. Instructional frameworks provide detailed roadmaps for mastering more timely, integrated, and proactive approaches.

For teachers who are already proficient, it can be even harder to identify next steps for continued growth. The instructional framework development process helps teachers implement truly exemplary state-of-the-art practice from across the profession.

In Mapping Professional Practice, you'll discover how to accelerate teacher growth by taking the "insider's view" of practice, articulating key dimensions of professional judgment to create clear growth pathways for teachers at every level of fluency.

Put into action, instructional frameworks help teachers locate their current level of fluency, focus on the key dimensions of professional judgment, and take their practice to the next level. In contrast to one-size-fits-all approaches covering every grade and subject area, instructional frameworks allow individual departments and teams to make specific applications of broader shared expectations.

At the organizational level, instructional frameworks can help senior leaders understand the nuances of exemplary teacher practice in specific grades and subject areas. Leaders will learn how to plan improvement initiatives using the lean change approach, building momentum and minimizing resistance.

Filled with dozens of sample frameworks at different stages of development, Mapping Professional Practice will help you articulate more specific shared expectations and accelerate teacher and organizational growth like never before.

Teacher leaders, administrators, and instructional coaches will gain a replicable process for:

1. Identifying the most promising areas of focus
2. Drafting and piloting an initial framework
3. Getting input and feedback from teachers
4. Articulating a vision for exemplary practice
5. Building momentum and overcoming resistance to change