THE ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING: Professional learning moves vision, framework, and performance standards into action. By Joellen Killion and Stephanie Hirsh Effective teaching emerges from a vision for teaching and learning, an instructional framework, standards for student learning, and performance expectations for educators coupled with a convergence of policy, planning, and goals at the state, school system, and school levels. Professional learning is the single most powerful pathway to promote continuous improvement in teaching. WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER? The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation digs for answers with its Measures of Effective Teaching project. By Stephanie Hirsh Vicki Phillips, director of education, for the college ready program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, talks with Stephanie Hirsh, Learning Forward’s executive director, about the foundation’s