Task 3: What are the requirements of the edTPA and what does an edTPA lesson plan look like? (Essential Questions C)
Pre-Posting – In preparation for your edTPA completion DURING YOUR STUDENT TEACHING EXPERIENCE we will be conducting a mini-edTPA for this course. First, print a hard copy of your edTPA handbook to refer to when watching the edTPA Overview Part II video (if you printed a hard copy for Dr. Chapman’s class you can use that one). Next watch the edTPA Overview Part II video (This video is 15 minutes long).
Posting – Post
your interpretation of the key points/aspects of edTPA gathered from the video. What information do you see
cutting across all of the resources you have read/seen on this topic so
far? What are the cautions needed or
“hints provided” for making this a quality product?
Fri.
November 8, Initial posting
Response Postings –
Everyone should respond at least 1-2 times to each group member with a
question, clarification, or addition to the thoughts on their postings. You might consider other information,
questions you still have as a future teacher, etc.
Response Postings:
By Sunday, November 10: 11:59 PM. Response postings
First, I went back in my edTPA and highlighted what was the essential question in the rubric to guide me through the rest of the Task. I also highlighted key words, in the what to think about section. Finally, I highlighted key words in each task, for example, describe, explain, analyze, identify. I thought these were key words/hints to recognize when writing in each of the commentary sections.
ReplyDeleteEach task builds onto the other. So I think the most important task is task one. If you follow task one, then you should be able to complete task two and three. I had a quick question. Do other students have a task 4? The video talked about a task 4. I do not have one… unless the video meant the context for learning? Thoughts?
I think some of the cautions are following the guidelines. Stick to the guidelines, for example how many pages your lesson can be, how many pages the commentaries can be. I will have a hard time making my lessons fit the criteria of only being 4 pages. I feel this will be impossible! Especially since I am supposed to write these lessons as if I was giving them to a substitute teacher. Any suggestions about condensing lesson plans? Also, there has been talk that the TPA is changing, and we no longer have to fill in the knowledge to inform student learning… because we are already doing so in the context for learning. This would condense my lesson; does anybody know if this is true?
Also, I am wondering for the “practice run”, why we are only doing task one and two and not the task three … the assessment? I feel that assessment is one of the hardest tasks to complete and we are supposed to be assessing our students during every lesson. So, why not do all three parts before we student teach? So, I am hoping we at least discuss it before we apply it.
Overall, to make this edTPA a quality assignment, we need to follow the prompts, look for key words to make sure we are answering the questions for the commentary, and look through the rubrics to guide us to what the evaluation criteria is and how we can meet the criteria.
Kaitlin,
DeleteI think that you did a great job of summarizing everything for the edTPA. You said it perfectly about the importance of following the guidelines. It is all pretty clearly laid out what to do and the rubrics are also a very important aspect to pay attention to. When I watched the videos yesterday I didn't have my edTPA printed off and campus wasn't open to print so I followed along with it open on my computer. However, since you pointed out how helpful it was to highlight the key points, I plan on going in tomorrow to print various things, this being one, and going back in to do this!
I think you pointed out how helpful it is to break the steps down one by one to fully understand what they mean/what we need to do. At first glance I think the TPA can be really intimidating , but by breaking things down (even by highlighting single words or tasks) it becomes much more manageable. I definitely agree with you that the tasks build on one another.
DeleteI have not heard anything about the TPA switching? That's something we should bring up tomorrow in class so we know exactly what is expected of us to fill out!
Your commentary on following directions is on point. Too often we get off task and keeps us from accomplishing what we need to for concise lesson planning. I do agree that we should be using this opportunity to practice all stages of the lesson plan, but we are by definition hamstrung in the types of assessment we can successfully perform.
DeleteThe biggest thing I got from the video and our past discussions regarding the edTPA was to consult the rubric on what teachers will be expected to do in the classroom. Not only is it important that as educators we know what we will be doing with our students everyday, but also be able to explain WHY we are doing the activity. What will students be gaining? What should they know how to do by the end of the lesson? And how are we going to help get them to that point?
ReplyDeleteThe edTPA is broken down into 3 tasks (mine is only 3 as well Kaitlin) which really helps structure unit and lesson plans. If you are able to go through each segment of each step, you should be able to hit score well on the rubric. With that being said, there is A LOT that goes into each part of each step of the edTPA. I feel being, and staying, organized is key and will really help the lessons and planning run smoother.
What stood out to me, and as we have already discussed this week and in our past KSP courses, is the academic language used in the edTPA. We need to consult our plans with the common standards at all times so we really focus in on what skill each activity is building. We saw this week that there are more factors, such as literacy, that need to be addressed as well. What will students be expected to do, and how as educators, are we going to help get them there? Everything we do in the classroom should have a recorded purpose and needs to be a well thought out (and hopefully executed!) activity/discussion.
Keenie,
DeleteI agree staying organized and following the edTPA that our lessons will run smoothly. I also agree their is a lot in the edTPA and we need enough time to make sure we have everything completed! So, one thought it not to wait till the last minutes to complete this edTPA.
I think in order to have a successful lesson, we do need to be specific in our objectives, follow those objectives and make sure they relate to our content standards! Just like you said... well thought out!
Keenie,
DeleteI really like what you said about being able to explain WHY we are doing the activities that we have planned. I think we could all plan a lesson with great activities in general, but will those activities be appropriate for the specific students we will be teaching? That is what the edTPA is all about to me. It makes sure that we become aware of WHO we are teaching and what each student brings to the classroom. We can then take that knowledge and plan an appropriate lesson for the class.
Keenie,
DeleteI like the way you were able to break the TPA into a form that helps us create better instruction for students. Not only does it make the process less stressful, but allows us to be more intentional. I have also found that staying organized does wonders for the process.
To start out, I also only have three tasks in my edTPA so I’m not sure where that task 4 was coming in to play. The key point that I took from the video is the importance of following each step of each task while comparing what you do to the corresponding rubric. Everything that we need to do is laid out pretty clearly for us so if we follow along and hit each point then we should be able to successfully complete the tasks. We do also need to be aware of the details on structure for example such as size, font, and length of the document since there are specific guidelines for that as well.
ReplyDeleteThe information that I see cutting across all of the resources that we have read about relates back to the organization of lessons. We can design great lessons for the kids but do we understand why we are choosing to do what we have planned? The edTPA forces us to take a step back and really think about our students and what each of them brings to the classroom and their present level of ability so we can have a lesson that allows each student to learn and develop their knowledge/skills.
Some cautions or hints that will help develop a quality product first goes back to what I said on following each step of each task. Since that gives us a pretty clear idea of what is expected, if we follow along then we are on the right track. I think it is also important like it said in the video, to keep our own journal of what is happening each day we are in the classroom. This will help us write about “why” we are doing certain things in class when we can refer back to our experiences each day rather than having to think back.
Chris,
DeleteI agree with following each step in each task! Did anyone do a highlighting the video suggested? I did and that seemed to help point out key words to make sure I stay on task! Or what methods are you using?
I never considered keeping a journal to track my students learning. I guess if I did then I would have a resource to pull from when I am justifying what I am teaching! I liked your justification and suggestion!
Kaitlin,
DeleteAre we supposed to be doing a journal of our experiences for the field experience this semester? I guess I was under the impression that we were? That is where I got the idea in my discussion post anyways!
Chris,
DeleteI took notes of little things. Not full journal entries... because most of the information/ details we turn in on our assignments goes into our edTPA. So I did not keep as detailed journal as I did last spring. I mostly did reflection after teaching my lessons.
I agree Chris. The edTPA is set up as a series of steps to follow and if we do them correctly, we should do well on the rubric. It does seem a bit intimidating right now, just because even though things are so broken down and relatively easy to follow, it is still a lot to think about and plan!! Like you noted, we need to be thinking about each of our students and what they bring to the classroom-- making modifications where needed.
DeleteI have not been keeping a journal for thid field experience either-- but rather keeping notes after each time. I think that is a really good idea for full time student teaching though-- just to look back and reflect on how things went/what could be changed for the future.
It is comforting to know that by following along with the tasks given, we will be able to successfully complete the TPA. It is also amazing to understand that the TPA is a detailed guide that wants you to succeed. I also see the reflection as a crucial part of the process and as important as the lesson planning itself.
DeleteHaving gone through the edTPA to prepare for my lessons, I find that the lesson plan helps inform us on the details of teaching that often do not enter the discourse. The most time consuming and stress causing aspect of lesson planning is the sequence of events during class. This focuses on how the average student will best learn the material presented. I had a tendency to assume that the average learner is all that matters. The edTPA forces us to address all students in the classroom. How can we differentiate to assure all students attain the knowledge we want them to learn.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson plan makes us think about teaching to all students and not the content. This is the area I am having the most trouble with philosophically and practically. The guidelines are important for the process and we must follow them in order to successfully complete the lesson plan. We also need to be reflective in assessing how we write the lesson plan. The edTPA form can be informative and useful if we take the appropriate time to understand why we wrote what we did and how we can make it better.
Joey,
DeleteI never thought about how much the edTPA makes us look at all students and to plan for all students. This task seems a little daunting ( even to acknowledge it)! I think it makes us prepared to address all types of students and ways we will modify and adapt to each type of learner.
I think in order to follow the edTPA and make sure we are providing all the commentary we need, it might be useful to have another set of eyes to read over our work to make sure it makes sense. That we have explained ourselves in full detail. Thoughts?
Joey,
DeleteYou really took my thinking on the edTPA farther by pointing out the differentiation aspect. I was aware of how it forced us to be aware of what each student brings to class and to plan appropriately but I never really thought about the differentiation that will result from it. Seems so obvious now! I also found myself thinking about how in a classroom setting that could be very difficult to achieve and I think I understand the trouble you are having. In a physical education setting it is much easier to accommodate for this since a lot of results are based on numbers or times so if a student is finding the original tasks easy for example, I can challenge them to do more in less time to keep them engaged.
You bring up a great point that remembering this is all about our students is key! I think it will be very easy to get stressed out or overwhelmed trying to fill out the edTPA and fit the guidelines, rather than envisioning how this will play out in the classroom. It is also very important however, to remember to BE FLEXIBLE! The edTPA is so structured that it might be hard to deviate from a plan we spent so much time on creating, but if it isn't working as we thought, we need to be able to quickly change the plan. Remembering that we need to address ALL of our students is also key. That means knowing all the backgrounds of our students and what unique needs they may have-- providing differentiated instruction when needed/ when possible.
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