Intentional and Targeted Teaching: A Framework for Teacher Growth and Leadership

by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Stefani Arzonetti Hite

What is FIT Teaching? What is a FIT Teacher? The Framework for Intentional and Targeted Teaching®—or FIT Teaching®—is a research-based, field-tested, and experience-honed process that captures the essentials of the best educational environments. In contrast to restrictive pedagogical prescriptions or formulas, FIT Teaching empowers teachers to adapt the most effective planning, instructional, and assessment practices to their particular context in order to move their students' learning from where it is now to where it should be. To be a FIT Teacher is to make a heroic commitment to learning—not just to the learning of every student in the classroom, but to the professional learning necessary to grow, inspire, and lead. This book introduces the powerful FIT Teaching Tool, which harnesses the FIT Teaching approach and presents a detailed continuum of growth and leadership. It's a close-up look at what intentional and targeting teaching is and what successful teachers do to Designed to foster discussion among educators about what they are doing in the classroom, the FIT Teaching Tool can be used by teachers for self-assessment; by teacher peers for collegial feedback in professional learning communities; by instructional coaches to focus on the skills teachers need both onstage and off; and by school leaders to highlight their teachers' strengths and value. Join authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Stefani Arzonetti Hite for an examination of what makes great teachers great, and see how educators at all grade levels and all levels of experience are taking intentional steps toward enhanced professional practice.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Professional Development

136 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2016

About the author

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is an educator and Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College.

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Reviews

[Rick Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rubric for teacher evaluation, expanded into book form through the inclusion of lots of anecdotes, designed to give the reader a sense of what a teacher's work looks like at the "not yet apparent", "developing", "teaching", and "leading" stages of growth in various standards.

The anecdotes feel sanitized, pulling back from the real challenges that most teachers face, although a lot of that is intentional, since very specific aspects of teaching are the focus of the FIT Teaching Tool.

Unfortunately, this also makes the book feel repetitive, and something of a slog in spite of it not being that long a book.

The FIT tool itself could be useful (either as a self-evaluation tool or an administrative one; the authors recommend it for both uses), and I plan to give myself some time to mull it and then try it as a self-evaluation around midway through the school year.

For teachers looking to get the most out of this, I'd suggest reading the rubric in the appendix, and then a sampling of the anecdotes, rather than the whole book cover-to-cover.

[Jessyca505 · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIT Teaching. My philosophy. I love this book. Period. The end.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really clear path to what quality teaching looks like and how teachers can use a qualitative evaluation framework to have collegial discussions about professional growth and next steps. Great book for teachers and education leaders with very practical applications.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little wordy but the examples and scenarios were great! I am excited to implement this next year.