Frameworks for Learning
Enjoy the collated resources in Frameworks for Learning. If you have suggestions, please submit suggestions using the form on the right.
Both the Universal Design for Learning framework (UDL) and the Danielson Framework for Teaching (FfT) offer guidance to educators on how to support ALL their students in becoming expert learners. The Crosswalk between the UDL and Danielson FfT frameworks grew out of a need among UDL experts in the field. As teachers strengthen their practices by infusing the principles of UDL in their work, their performance within the Danielson FfT will improve. The purpose of this Crosswalk, therefore, is to offer an instrument that explicitly provides teachers with the critical connections they need to enhance their planning, instruction, and professional practice.
Access: Crosswalk between Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Danielson Framework for Teaching (FfT)
Developed from multiyear research efforts at the University of Washington, the 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning instructional framework is a comprehensive reflection of the core elements of effective teaching.
Drs. Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey share a toolkit of instructional practices that improves teacher effectiveness and impacts student achievement, addressing culture of achievement, establishment of academic purpose, the gradual release of responsibility, and formative assessment.
They also have a PowerPoint addressing the elements of highly effective teachers: plan with a purpose, cultivate a learning climate, instruct with intention, assess with a system, and impact student learning.
Access: The Framework for Intentional and Targets (FIT) Teaching
Charlotte Danielson provides this framework for teaching based on four domains: planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities.
Access: Framework for Teaching
P21's Framework for 21st Century Learning was developed with input from teachers, education experts, and business leaders to define and illustrate the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in work, life and citizenship, as well as the support systems necessary for 21st century learning outcomes. It has been used by thousands of educators and hundreds of schools in the U.S. and abroad to put 21st century skills at the center of learning.
Badrul H. Khan shares a global e-learning framework.
Access: Framework for Web-Based Learning
Designed to represent the continuum of learning for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, this Framework replaces the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework for 3–5 year olds, issued in 2010.
The neurodevelopmental framework was developed by the All Kinds of Minds Institute in collaboration with Dr. Mel Levine and the University of North Carolina's Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning.
Dr. Robert J. Marzano presents a model for ensuring quality teaching that balances the necessity of research-based data with the equally vital need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual students. He articulates his framework in the form of 10 questions that represent a logical planning sequence for successful instructional design.
- What will I do to establish and communicate learning goals, track student progress, and celebrate success?
- What will I do to help students effectively interact with new knowledge?
- What will I do to help students practice and deepen their understanding of new knowledge?
- What will I do to help students generate and test hypotheses about new knowledge?
- What will I do to engage students?
- What will I do to establish or maintain classroom rules and procedures?
- What will I do to recognize and acknowledge adherence and lack of adherence to classroom rules and procedures?
- What will I do to establish and maintain effective relationships with students?
- What will I do to communicate high expectations for all students?
- What will I do to develop effective lessons organized into a cohesive unit?
Access: The New Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction
The NTC Effective Schools Framework helps leaders bring coherence to school practices that make the most difference for student achievement. The framework is especially useful in supporting implementation of rigorous standards and focuses attention on critical academic, social, and emotional learning conditions.
It provides common language and clarity about the characteristics and practices of effective schools that will substantially improve the learning environment and school community as a whole.
Access: New Teacher Center Framework
This article shares the use and impact of the instructional framework in Iowa.
Access: NIET (National Institute for Excellence in Teaching) Instructional Framework
Exemplary schools overwhelmingly use one specific framework that defines how they will achieve their objectives and goals. All other frameworks integrate into one – allowing the focus to remain clear on how they will achieve their goals.
The universal constructs were identified following an analysis of the competencies and habits of mind needed for future successes in careers, college and citizenry. A team of educators and business representatives conducted a literature review of multiple sources that included the P21’s “Framework for 21st Century Learning,” the “Definition and Selection of Key Competencies” by NCREL/Metiri Group, the cross disciplinary proficiencies in the “American Diploma Project” by Achieve, “The Global Achievement Gap” by Tony Wagner, “Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives” by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, and Discovering the Habits of Mind by Arthur Costa. The universal constructs apply all aspects of an individual's life across all curricular areas.
Access: Universal Constructs - Iowa Core