Professional Learning

Professional Development Day


PD Resources: Strengthening Student Work and Strengthening Teacher Practice 

Below are several relevant, high-leverage activities that tie directly to the Citywide Instructional Expectations for 2011-12 . Feel free to adapt any or all of these activities to meet your school community's needs. Network team members have engaged in versions of these activities in their own professional learning sessions so please reach out to your Network for support in using these activities. You can find more PD activities in ARIS Connect.




Activity Name

Activity Description

Linked Resources

Implementing the Citywide Instructional Expectations: Task/Unit Selection Case StudyIn this 90-minute activity, participants will:

  • read and analyze a case study in which a teacher team makes decisions about Common Core-aligned, curriculum-embedded task implementation 
  • discuss action steps to strengthen the teacher team's practice 
  • reflect upon how the case study may inform their own team's practice.

Although the task and the teacher team are at the 7th grade level, a deep analysis of this team's practice can serve as a valuable learning tool for teachers at the high school level as well. 
Using Danielson's Framework for Teaching to Norm on Classroom Practice - 12th Grade Social StudiesIn this 60-minute activity, participants will: 

  • watch a video of 12th grade social studies classroom practice, record low-inference observations, and use Danielson's Framework for Teaching to rate the teacher's effectiveness in competency 3c based on evidence from their observations 
  • engage in a norming activity in order to develop shared understanding and expectations for evidence of effective teacher practice in this competency 

It is important to note that ratings are used in this activity for formative and norming purposes only, and apply only to the observed practice in this lesson, not to the teacher's effectiveness overall. 

Introducing Staff to Danielson's Framework for Teaching In this 60-minute activity, participants will:

  • brainstorm aspects of effective teaching 
  • be introduced to Danielson's Framework for Teaching as a tool to support improved practice
Using Danielson's Framework for Teaching to Norm on Classroom Practice - 7th Grade MathIn this 90-minute activity, participants will:

  • watch a video of a 7th grade math classroom practice, record low-inference observations, and use Danielson's Framework for Teaching to rate the teacher's effectiveness in key competencies based on evidence from their observations
  • engage in a norming activity in order to develop shared understanding and expectations for evidence of effective teacher practice in key competencies.

It is important to note that ratings are used in this activity for formative and norming purposes only, and apply only to the observed practice in this lesson, not to the teacher's overall effectiveness.  

Looking at Students' Current Thinking and Surfacing Gaps


 In this 90-minute activity, participants will:

  • use a protocol to examine what various pieces of student work reveal about current student thinking
  • examine the relevant Common Core standards to identify areas of alignment and to surface gaps
  • discuss the implications for teacher planning and preparation

Implementing the Citywide Instructional Expectations

In this 90-minute activity, participants will:

  • examine how one school community makes connections among the components of the citywide instruction expectations: strengthening student work and strengthening teacher practice.   
Using a case study, participants will:
  • discuss how the school community approaches the work and identify strong practices and challenges
  • discuss implications and considerations for this work within their own school community

Examining Common Core-aligned BundlesIn this 90-minute activity, participants will:

  • examine a Common Core-aligned Bundle provided by central to support schools in their implementation of the Citywide Instructional Expectations for 2011-12
  • evaluate the student work that resulted from the bundle
  • compare their evaluations to those offered by "expert" evaluators
  • discuss how they might adapt the bundle to meet the needs of their own students