Evaluating online educators with the Danielson Framework

An online educator has no physical classroom, so the classroom environment domain cannot be applied literally. The work is course design in the LMS, asynchronous feedback, virtual engagement and keeping students present who could quietly disappear.

Districts that grew online programs quickly often never revisited the rubric, and end up evaluating virtual teachers on a room they do not have.

What we provide

A rubric written for this role on the same four-domain structure your administrators already use, in both the 2013 and 2022 editions.

• Classroom environment is reframed as the virtual learning environment
• Course design and materials in the LMS count as planning evidence
• Engagement and response time are observable rather than assumed
• Observation does not require a scheduled live session

The rubric derives from Danielson consulting work published by state education agencies. The 2022 edition is our own.

The 2022 rubric at a glance

26 components across 5 domains, written for this role rather than borrowed from the classroom teacher rubric.

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

Learning Environment

• 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

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

Principled Practice

• 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

Student Performance

• 5a Constructs Appropriate Assessments
• 5b Demonstrates Appropriate Student Achievement
• 5c Demonstrates Measurable and Significant Academic Growth
• 5d Uses Data to Modify Instruction and Assessment

Each component carries level-of-performance descriptors in all four levels, written in first, second and third person so self-assessments and evaluations read correctly from the same source. Ask us for the full rubric and we will walk you through it.

More than the rubric

Evidence can come from the LMS and from asynchronous feedback, without requiring a scheduled live session. The rubric is not a document you print and fill in. It is built into software that runs the whole cycle: observations scheduled and recorded, rubric language inserted into the evaluation for you, self assessments and professional development plans running against the same rubric, and district reporting at the end of the year.

Plenty of districts already have the right rubric sitting in a filing cabinet. The work is in running the cycle with it. See how the software works → See the other 13 roles

Evaluating online educators this year?

Tell us how your virtual program is set up, and we will show you what it looks like to evaluate course design and engagement instead of a classroom that does not exist. If we are not the right fit for your district, we will tell you that too. Talk with us about online educator evaluation →