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On edTPA...


I have had very limited experience working with TPA format and the edTPA guidelines. I briefly discovered and used it last quarter, but there was little instruction or guidance with it so it was basically me and my group guessing what we had to do for each section. Also, the format was a little different than the template that’s provided for class. So this form of TPA and lesson planning is a new ballpark for me. It’s been a tough, tedious journey working out and understanding the lesson plan format and what exactly needs to be written out in each section. That, coupled with the difficult formatting, has created a challenging experience. In spite of that, I totally understand how crucial and vital it is to do these in pursuit of our education career. It’s important not just because we will have to do them; it’s important because it forces us to think deeply and critically about our lessons and pedagogical philosophy.

Reading the rubrics and guidelines for the edTPA assessment was quite resourceful. It got me thinking and planning ahead for when this will happen to me. I don’t want to be going into it blind, so having this document is incredibly important to me. I will definitely be saving this and using it later on in the future. But right now I really need to focus on filling out my lesson plans concisely and accurately. I have the vague and general idea for all my lessons floating around in my head, but writing them down in the lesson plan format has allowed me to think about them concretely. What exactly am I teaching and how exactly am I teaching it in every lesson? These aren’t the questions you’re thinking of when coming up with the outline and basis of the unit. So, in that regard, the TPA format has been really helpful.

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