Task 4: What does a quality edTPA lesson plan look like? (Essential Question D).
An important component of your edTPA is planning for instruction. One aspect of the planning for instruction component of your edTPA is your actual lesson plans. To help guide all candidates to think about and address all the required elements required by the edTPA the MSU, Mankato College of Education has developed a lesson plan template. You are required to use the edTPA template for this course and student teaching.
Pre-Posting: To help give a visual of what is expected in terms of content, quality, sophistication and overall general length, please view the example lesson plan.
To view the example lesson plan click on the link below.
Posting - What stands out to you? What 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” for making this a quality product? How will you approach the edTPA lesson plan format now that you have seen this example? What will you do differently than you have done in the past? What questions do you still have?
Response Postings:
By Sunday, November 10: 11:59 PM. Response postings
One thing that stands out for me is how closely this teacher focuses on his/her individual student. The information given in the section of “Knowledge of Student to Inform Teaching” is so explicit, such as knowing their learning styles, likes and dislikes, family/culture, cognitive development, special needs and so on. The section of “Support Student Learning” also stands out for me. The “fruit allergy” issue seems like an irrelevant to a lesson, but it is an important aspect which would be overlooked by teachers easily. To make sure that our students are safe in our classrooms, this kind of seemingly irrelevant issues should always be kept in mind by us. In addition, I realize that I have done it wrong with the “Research-Based Practices or Theories”. I was focusing on searching teaching strategies that we have learned from previous courses, and tried to fit those strategies with rationale into my lesson. However, now I understand that this part requires me to reflect the theories of children development and learning. I do not need to struggle with picking up strategies with my lesson; instead, I do need to truly think about research-based theories. As long as I understand and be familiar with how children development and learning, as well as second language acquisition, I would generate teaching strategies appropriately and sophisticatedly.
ReplyDeleteAssessment is one thing that I really need to work on. According to this sample and the edTPA handbook, assessment should be embedded across the entire lesson planning and instruction. Although I know the importance of it, I still cannot integrate it meaningfully and effectively in my lesson. I like how the sample lesson includes informal and formal assessments throughout the lesson. The questions will be asked in the end will give the teacher an overall idea about student immediate learning outcomes. The journal reflection is a good way to detect each student’s real and deep understanding on today’s topic. Thus, I will remember to prepare questions clearly and purposefully according to each objective I set up for a lesson.
I also understand what the “Central Focus of the Learning Segment” means. It is like the topic and learning goal of today’s lesson, and everything, including objectives, activities/tasks, and assessments, should be designed to accomplish it. In addition, I have seen how the language patterns/frames are prepared by the teacher to address on academic language development. It also demonstrates the major language function in today’s lesson. For ESL students, these kinds of printed language frames are necessary and helpful.
My biggest question so far is still about the “syntax”. Although I know what it basically means, I think I need more examples showing me how to write about it.
great overview of what you learned and think about the Ed TPA. With assessment, you are probable doing it all the time in your class, manly informal assessment. Walking around and making sure students are on task and keeping up with everyone. If they are not, then you have asset them.
DeleteI agree about the Syntax. I would like a Ed TPA were it tell us what to fill in where... I like the example, but I need to know excusably what is suppose to be in there.
Megan,
DeleteYou reminded me about the "withitness" that we talked about in Dr. Chapman's class. The informal assessment could be embedded throughout the entire lesson. As teachers, we should always keep our eyes on student's reaction to a question or task, so we will know whether they are with the class or not. When planning our lesson, we should address individual student based on out knowledge about them.
The edTPA is a form that is uploaded and promoted by Pearson Group. This form is based on National Concepts, it has a Field Test Handbook, Assessment Tools, that is a usable template that produces a 25 page Lesson Plan.
ReplyDeleteThe main tasks of the edTPA are:
1) Planning Instruction and Assessment
2) Instructing and Engaging Students
3) Assessing Student Learning
4) Analysis of Teaching
Some of the common strands/components of each task are assessments, rubrics with a focus and essential question, additive and analytical with the glossary embedded throughout.
Cautions for making a quality product are to tell the students what language/vocabulary they need to complete the assignment, assess where the student is at the beginning and utilize the research proven co-operative groups, and embed the language objectives in with the content objectives.
How will I approach the edTPA lesson plan format. I will utilize the 5E unit plan I developed in my science teaching methods class. We focused in great detail on many of the same aspects as edTPA. The standards, learning objectives, prior academic language, informal assessment, formal assessment, prior learning, misunderstandings and reflection.
What I will include in this plan will be the students academic language demands, language function, content specific vocabulary, language supports, IEP’s, family/community/cultural assets, social/emotional/mental health, co-teaching, research-based practices or theories and pacing.
The question I have has to do with utilizing the edTPA. Will we utilize a live edTPA on the Pearson site or will we utilize a word document form?
That is a great question. I didn't even know there was a live edTPA online. I like using the word document form, its easy to use and I have the ability to save it as any file I want. What would you choose?
DeleteKathleen,
DeleteIt seems that we are all learning something about the edTPA:) I think the sample and the handout really helps us know what to write in each section. I also think the "glossary" is useful since it can keep our lesson plan writing meaningful and professional.
I didn't hear about the online edTPA either. We may ask Dr. Kruizenga next time we meet in class.
Yimu
The thing that stands out to me the most is how easy it is to read and less complicated than I was expecting. The example of a geometry lesson does not use a lot of academic language, but rather using the action verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy. As an effective teacher I will:
ReplyDelete• Engage students in active learning
• Create intellectually ambitious tasks
• Use a variety of teaching strategies
• Assess student learning
• Continuously adapt teaching to student needs
• Create effective scaffolds and supports
• Provide clear standards, constant feedback, and opportunities for revising work
• Develop and effectively manage a collaborative classroom in which all students have membership.
Using these strategies my lesson plan format is more centered on the student and not me, the teacher. I think that this is a change from what I had thought of in lessons previously.
Why do you think your lesson plan was centered around the teacher? What kind of changes do you plan to make to your lesson plan?
DeleteIn the adult classroom there is not really a lot of lesson planning because the students are all at different levels. Also, I have ESL students and GED students at the same time. My previous experience was more teacher oriented and not student oriented. So I feel that I'm now focused more on what the student needs.
DeleteAudrey,
DeleteI have the same feeling about the center of the lesson plan.I was surprised to notice the much information showed in "knowledge of students" section. Then, I realized that I missed the other part of this section - "...to inform teaching". When we combine this two parts together, we can see the purpose of this section to make us know more about our students. The more we know, the more appropriate instructions we can provide for them based on their specific needs.
Yimu
Shifting focus from teacher focused to student focused lesson plans is a really cutting edge way of thinking. It's great that teachers don't have a sink or swim mentality anymore and are effectively trying to address the learning needs of each student.
DeleteWhat stands out to me with your example of an Ed TPA, is how much information you put into all aspects of the Ed TPA. I know my students well, but I don't know if I could fill out all the information on them for the part of "Knowledge of students to inform the teacher"
ReplyDeleteI really liked seeing what a full Ed TPA looks like. Now I need to work on filling out each part of the lesson plan in learning task implements. I tend to just fill out everything Im going to say. I should really look at each part and fill it out accordingly.
Being able to see a fully filled out Ed TPA will only help all of us! Thank you!
I agree the completed edTPA really is helpful. Taking it in steps makes the edTPA feel less overwhelming.
DeleteAgreed! This is really helpful sample, as well as the edTPA it self. Even though we might not fill the exactly accurate aspects out before, don't you ever feel that when finishing a lesson plan, it feels like we've already taught the whole lesson in our mind? The process of deliberating and writing out the plan helps us evaluate and examine our thoughts in a rational way.
DeleteIt is nice to see examples of some of the sections that I felt were open for interpretation, which can sometimes make things difficult if you are uncertain what is expected.
DeleteI was very impressed with a plan to address issues for each student identified with a potential learning impairment. A teacher making that type of effort on an individual basis to improve learning is inspiring. I like how the ed TPA helps you think through what might be an issue with the lesson. Just seeing the category “safety issues to consider” may trigger something that the teacher hadn’t thought of or allows for the teacher to go more in depth in preventive measures. The ed TPA can only be a successful tool if the time is spent to really develop it. These things take time especially the initial ed TPA, but I think they can be a useful tool to develop effective lesson plans. I will really try to incorporate individual needs into my lesson plans; this is something that I feel I haven’t been able to do very proficiently in the past.
ReplyDelete