Domain 1

Teachers have strong content knowledge and understand the pedagogical methods that work best in their content areas. They provide support that makes the knowledge accessible to students, and they facilitate connections between subjects and disciplines.

Teachers implement knowledge of child development while creating instruction. They scaffold lessons to engage students on their level. Teachers address misconceptions and provide differentiated instruction for students' learning differences. Above all, teachers respect students' unique identities and lived experiences.

Purposeful teachers have intent behind every activity. Setting Instructional Outcomes means identifying specifically what students should have learned when the lesson is complete. Teachers will begin the process of creating lessons with state or district standards. Non- academic goals like participation or social and emotional growth can also be included. Then, the teacher designs the lessons to accomplish the goals. 

Teachers are aware of resources that are available to enrich their students' learning, and implement them in lessons. Teachers use high- quality instructional materials, including resources provided by the school or district. 

Teachers pull together content knowledge, resources, and their knowledge of the students to create a coherent lesson that the students will be able to understand. Teachers make connections between prerequisite material and new material. Teachers adapt curriculum when necessary to engage learners in their Zone of Proximal Development. The goal is that students engage with the content.

Teachers create assessments that are congruent with the Instructional Outcomes. Analyzing the assessment should answer the question: Did students learn what I intended for them to learn? Teachers utilize frequent informal assessment to determine whether their instruction is having the intended effect.