The Danielson Framework for Teaching is a description of effective teaching practice, created by Charlotte Danielson and maintained by The Danielson Group. It organizes teaching into four domains and 22 components, and describes each component at four levels of performance: Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, and Distinguished. The 2022 update kept that structure. It renamed several domains and components, and it moved the language toward what students are doing, with more attention to social and emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching, and high-quality instructional materials.
As a coach, I've always thought of the Framework less as an evaluation form and more as a shared language for what good teaching looks and sounds like. This guide walks through how it is organized, what changed in 2022, and how to use it so teachers grow from it.
What is the Danielson Framework for Teaching?
The Danielson Group's Framework for Teaching™ (often shortened to FFT) is a detailed description of teaching practice. Many states and districts build their teacher evaluation systems on it, and many schools use it for coaching, self-assessment, and professional learning as well.
The Framework is a research-based picture of the work of teaching, broken into parts specific enough to observe, discuss, and practice. It is not a checklist or a script, and a lesson isn't expected to show every component at once.
The four Danielson Framework domains and 22 components
The 2022 Framework has four domains. Domains 2 and 3 describe what happens in the classroom and are the ones an observer can see during a lesson. Domains 1 and 4 cover the work before and beyond the lesson, and are usually evidenced through planning documents, conversations, and other artifacts.
Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
- 1a: Applying Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
- 1b: Knowing and Valuing Students
- 1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes
- 1d: Using Resources Effectively
- 1e: Planning Coherent Instruction
- 1f: Designing and Analyzing Assessments
Domain 2: Learning Environments
- 2a: Cultivating Respectful and Affirming Environments
- 2b: Fostering a Culture for Learning
- 2c: Maintaining Purposeful Environments
- 2d: Supporting Positive Student Behavior
- 2e: Organizing Spaces for Learning
Domain 3: Learning Experiences
- 3a: Communicating About Purpose and Content
- 3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
- 3c: Engaging Students in Learning
- 3d: Using Assessment for Learning
- 3e: Responding Flexibly to Student Needs
Domain 4: Principled Teaching
- 4a: Engaging in Reflective Practice
- 4b: Documenting Student Progress
- 4c: Engaging Families and Communities
- 4d: Contributing to School Community and Culture
- 4e: Growing and Developing Professionally
- 4f: Acting in Service of Students
Each component is broken down further into elements. Component 3b, for example, covers critical thinking and deeper learning, reasoning and reflection, and student participation.
The Danielson rubric: four levels of performance
When educators talk about “the Danielson rubric,” they usually mean the descriptions of each component at four levels: Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, and Distinguished. In the 2022 version, the language shifts from teacher-driven to student-driven as you move up the levels. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's guide for administrators gives a clear example from 3b. At Proficient, “the teacher successfully engages students in discussion; students actively participate and ask questions of one another.” At Distinguished, “students formulate questions, initiate discussion, and assume responsibility for ensuring that all voices are heard.”
Proficient is strong, effective teaching. Distinguished describes a classroom where students have taken over much of the work of learning, and the same guide notes that the 2022 language treats it as exceptional and hard to sustain. Paraphrasing Charlotte Danielson, it says “Distinguished is a nice place to visit, but no one lives there.” Teachers who were rated Distinguished under the 2013 version may find that their practice no longer meets the new description, and that deserves a careful conversation.
What changed from 2013 to 2022
According to Wisconsin DPI, the 2022 Framework is “very similar” to 2013 in content and structure: four domains, four levels of performance, and 22 components. The main changes:
Three domains have new names
Domain 2 went from Classroom Environment to Learning Environments. Domain 3 went from Instruction to Learning Experiences. Domain 4 went from Professional Responsibilities to Principled Teaching. Domain 1 kept its name, Planning and Preparation.
Many components were renamed or reframed
Some names stayed the same, such as 1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes and 3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques. Others changed in ways that show the new emphasis. 1b went from Demonstrating Knowledge of Students to Knowing and Valuing Students. 2d went from Managing Student Behavior to Supporting Positive Student Behavior. 3d went from Using Assessment in Instruction to Using Assessment for Learning. A side-by-side comparison published on the Illinois State Board of Education's site lists every component and element in both versions.
The language centers students
The 2022 version incorporates social and emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching practices, and the use of high-quality instructional materials. New elements include a sense of belonging, student agency, and co-creation of learning spaces with students.
Using the Framework to help teachers grow
The Framework is most useful when teachers and leaders use it as a common vocabulary all year, not only when an evaluation is due. I wrote about this in using the evaluation rubric as a tool for professional growth: when everyone shares the rubric's language, a conversation can move from “I think that lesson went well” to specific evidence of what students were doing.
A few practices help:
Start with evidence, then the component
Write down what the teacher and students said and did, as neutrally as you can, before deciding which component it belongs to.
Focus on a few components at a time
No single visit shows all 22 components. Choosing two or three that matter for this teacher right now makes feedback clearer and more useful.
Talk about the next level up
Because the 2022 rubric describes increasing student ownership at each level, the description of the next level up is often the best coaching prompt you have.
Invite self-assessment
Ask the teacher to place their own practice on the rubric before you share yours. The conversation that follows is usually more honest and more productive.
How Elevate supports the Framework
Tandem is a partner of The Danielson Group, and our observation platform, Elevate, supports the 2022 Framework. During an observation, Elevate transcribes the lesson. Afterward, it suggests evidence for the components in Domains 2 and 3 that the evaluator can accept, edit, or dismiss. Evaluators add evidence for Domains 1 and 4 themselves. In observation reports, Elevate links evidence to components and leaves performance levels to the evaluator.
If you're moving your district to the 2022 Framework and want to see how that can work in practice, get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
What are the four domains of the Danielson Framework for Teaching?
In the 2022 Framework, the four domains are Planning and Preparation (Domain 1), Learning Environments (Domain 2), Learning Experiences (Domain 3), and Principled Teaching (Domain 4). In the 2013 version, Domains 2, 3, and 4 were called Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities.
How many components are in the Danielson Framework?
Both the 2013 and 2022 versions have 22 components: six in Domain 1, five in Domain 2, five in Domain 3, and six in Domain 4. Each component is broken down further into elements.
What are the Danielson performance levels?
Each component is described at four levels of performance: Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, and Distinguished. In the 2022 version, the language shifts from teacher-driven to student-driven as the levels rise.
What changed in the 2022 Danielson Framework?
The structure stayed the same: four domains, 22 components, and four performance levels. Three domains and many components were renamed, and the language now centers students more, incorporating social and emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching, and high-quality instructional materials.
What is the Danielson rubric?
The Danielson rubric is the set of descriptions of each of the Framework's 22 components at four levels of performance: Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, and Distinguished. Evaluators and teachers use it to place observed evidence at a level and to describe what the next level up looks like.
Where can I find the Danielson Framework PDF?
The Danielson Group publishes the Framework for Teaching. Its website offers an interactive resource on the 2022 updates and component rubrics, and some state education agencies publish transition materials for districts moving from the 2013 version.