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Focusing on Teaching
A New Perspective to Drive Teaching Quality
 California is in the position to take the next step to strengthen its public schools. The creation of a broader, coherent, and consistent teacher development system will ensure every teaching professional has the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skill to be effective in the classroom.
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Teaching Quality in California
 Teaching Quality in California: A New Perspective to Guide Policy was developed by a distinguished panel of education and policy experts brought together to explore the issue of teaching quality in California. The panel’s work, based on research conducted by SRI International, represents a professional consensus regarding the dimensions of teaching quality and a system of teacher development that supports it. Key elements of such a system would feature:
- Improved conditions for teaching.
- Recognition of teachers as professionals.
- Available supports all along the teacher development continuum.
- Systematic addressing of inconsistencies in education policies.
The panel also sets forth a working definition for consideration by policymakers, educators and others:
High-quality teaching occurs when teachers come to the classroom with a rich toolkit of craft, knowledge and skills that they utilize following a set of effective practices, and which lead, over time, to student learning. High quality teaching occurs in a supportive environment where teachers work as part of a professional community within a workplace that fosters continuous learning on the part of children and adults.
Click here to download policy brief
To see what excellent teaching looks like, please visit the following site produced by the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media and the Cotsen Family Foundation: http://cotsen.org/cotsen-hechinger/ |
The Status of the Teaching Profession 2007 examines how quality is measured across key points in a teacher’s career - teacher preparation, hiring, and evaluation - and concludes that California currently does not have a coherent teacher development system that builds knowledge and skill. 