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Teacher Standards

California Standards for the Teaching Profession

Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students

Responsive planning aligns standards, learning goals, evidence, instruction, supports, resources, and time while remaining adaptable to students.

California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) • Practical guide for planning, coaching, reflection, and professional growth

Use this as a professional-learning companion. It does not replace the complete CSTP, California content standards and frameworks, local policy, collective bargaining agreements, credential requirements, legal advice, or the individualized requirements in a student’s IEP or Section 504 plan.

Explore the elements of Standard 4

What Effective Practice Looks Like

  • Begin with standards, student assets and needs, a clear learning goal, and evidence that would demonstrate success.
  • Plan backward from authentic transfer and assessment, then sequence modeling, guided practice, collaboration, independent application, and review.
  • Anticipate misconceptions, language demands, prerequisite knowledge, accessibility barriers, and moments for formative checking.
  • Build planned options for representation, engagement, action, and expression while honoring IEPs, Section 504 plans, and designated ELD needs.
  • Use assessment evidence and student response to revise plans rather than treating a pacing guide as fixed.

Focus Points for This Standard

Plan intentionally

Separate the learning target from avoidable barriers and preserve grade-level thinking.

Teach responsively

Implement IEP and Section 504 accommodations as written and collaborate with specialists.

Study the impact

Use accessibility features and assistive technology based on individual need, not diagnosis-based assumptions.

Teacher Inquiry Cycle

  1. Identify: Name a specific student-learning opportunity, barrier, or question connected to this standard.
  2. Learn: Gather student, family, curriculum, assessment, and contextual information while protecting privacy.
  3. Design: Choose an evidence-informed strategy, success criteria, access supports, and a feasible way to gather evidence.
  4. Enact: Teach, observe, confer, and make in-the-moment adjustments without losing the intended learning.
  5. Study: Examine student work, participation, explanation, transfer, and student perspective—not implementation alone.
  6. Respond: Keep, adapt, intensify, replace, or discontinue the practice and record the reasoning.

Possible Evidence for Reflection or Coaching

  • backward-designed unit and lesson plans
  • student-data summaries that protect confidentiality
  • learning goals, success criteria, exemplars, and aligned assessments
  • UDL, differentiation, language-support, and accommodation annotations
  • post-lesson revisions linked to evidence of student learning

Evidence caution: No single artifact proves accomplished teaching. Interpret evidence in context, center student learning, use multiple sources, and avoid collecting identifiable student information that is not necessary.

Technology and Software: Purpose Before Product

PurposePossible toolsProfessional-use guidance
Create and collaboratecurriculum-mapping and learning-management systemsUse version history, comments, exemplars, and clear roles; explicitly teach digital collaboration.
Elicit and assessGoogle Workspace or Microsoft 365 planning templatesKeep checks low stakes when formative; inspect item quality and pair scores with student work and conversation.
Model and investigateaccessibility checkers and readability information used with professional judgmentRequire prediction, observation, explanation, and transfer so the tool supports—not replaces—disciplinary thinking.
Access and communicatecalendar, pacing, and collaborative planning toolsFollow student plans, provide captions and accessible formats, and use human-reviewed interpretation or translation.
Manage and reflectAI-assisted planning only under district policy, with human verification for standards, bias, accuracy, privacy, and accessibilityMinimize collected data, restrict sharing, use approved accounts, and periodically remove records according to policy.

Software is illustrative, not endorsed. Availability and features change. Before use, follow district approval processes and review accessibility, age restrictions, privacy, security, advertising, data ownership and retention, interoperability, copyright, AI features, and the need for family notice or consent. Never enter confidential student information into an unapproved service.

Questions for Collaborative Reflection

  • What do students say, do, create, explain, or transfer when this practice is working?
  • Whose participation or success has changed, and whose has not? What barriers or unintended effects remain?
  • Does the evidence reflect the intended learning, or might language, disability, technology, background knowledge, or task design be obscuring it?
  • What is the smallest high-leverage adjustment to test next, and what evidence will show whether it helped?
  • How will student and family perspectives inform the next decision?

CSTP Reflection Questions

Teachers use knowledge of students' academic readiness, language proficiency, cultural background, and individual development to plan instruction. They establish and articulate goals for student learning. They develop and sequence long-term and short-term instructional plans to support student learning. Teachers plan instruction that incorporates appropriate strategies to meet the diverse learning needs of all students. They modify and adapt instructional plans to meet the assessed learning needs of all students.

As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”

  • incorporate students' prior knowledge and experience in my curriculum and instructional planning?
  • use knowledge of my students' lives, their families, and their communities to inform my planning of curriculum and instruction?
  • use knowledge of my students' individual cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
  • development to plan instruction and make appropriate adaptations to meet students’ unique needs?
  • plan lessons and units that promote access to academic content standards for all students?
  • use knowledge of my English learners’ levels of language proficiency to plan instruction that supports their subject matter learning and academic language development?
  • use knowledge of my students’ diverse learning needs to plan instruction that supports their learning?

4.2 - Establishing and articulating goals for student learning

As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”

  • build on the strengths, interests, and needs of all students to establish high expectations for learning?
  • establish long-term and short-term goals that are based on academic content standards and reflect students’ strengths, interests, and needs?
  • determine learning goals that address all students' language abilities and diverse learning needs?
  • establish learning goals that address school, district, and community expectations?
  • work with students and families to establish learning goals?
  • develop goals that prepare students for successful transition to their next learning environment?
  • communicate clear, challenging, and achievable expectations for students?

4.3 - Developing and sequencing long-term and short-term instructional plans to support student learning

As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”

  • design an instructional program that considers the long-term and the short-term?
  • use assessment results for long-term and short-term planning?
  • incorporate diverse subject matter perspectives in my planning?
  • select and sequence instructional strategies appropriate to the complexity of the lesson content and to student learning needs?
  • plan an instructional program that supports students' second language learning and diverse learning needs?
  • incorporate my professional expertise and knowledge of my students into a prescribed curriculum, pace, and district assessment calendar?
  • collaborate with colleagues to make instructional decisions?
  • design instruction so that students participate in setting and achieving their individual learning goals?

4.4 - Planning instruction that incorporates appropriate strategies to meet the learning needs of all students

As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”

  • develop unit and lesson plans that build on and extend students' understanding of subject matter?
  • ensure that each instructional strategy is related to learning goals?
  • plan instruction to allow enough time for student learning, review, and assessment?
  • use my knowledge of subject matter and my students to plan and appropriately pace instructional activities within a lesson and over time?
  • check for understanding, prepare for adjustments, remediate or accelerate instruction, and individualize when appropriate?
  • address the ELD standards appropriately, based on my English learners’ levels of language acquisition?
  • address the IEP goals and objectives of my students with special needs?
  • select materials, resources, and technologies to support the learning needs of English learners and students with special needs?

4.5 - Adapting instructional plans and curricular materials to meet the assessed learning needs of all students

As teachers develop, they may ask, “How do I…” or “Why do I…”

  • interact with my colleagues to identify typically difficult concepts or skills for students in order to re-examine and strengthen plans for future lessons?
  • proactively prepare for appropriate adjustments based on my assessment of student learning while teaching?
  • strengthen existing plans for students at identified levels of English proficiency?
  • strengthen existing plans for students with special needs?
  • reflect on my successes and struggles and apply what I have learned about effective and ineffective strategies to existing plans for future lessons?
  • reflect on my successes and struggles with the use of curriculum and apply what I have learned to existing plans for future lessons?
  • capture what I have learned during a particular lesson so that I can revisit my plans in advance of teaching the lesson again?

Authoritative Starting Points

Last reviewed and extended July 31, 2026. Product names are examples only and do not constitute endorsement.