EdTPA, or the Educating Teacher Performance Assessment, is a significant evaluation tool for teacher candidates. It assesses a candidate's ability to plan, teach, and assess student learning. The EdTPA planning commentary is a crucial component of the assessment, as it demonstrates a candidate's understanding of the subject matter, instructional strategies, and assessment techniques. Here are five tips to help you write an effective EdTPA planning commentary:
Tip 1: Understand the EdTPA Rubrics
Before starting to write your planning commentary, it's essential to understand the EdTPA rubrics. The EdTPA rubrics are the criteria used to evaluate your planning commentary. Familiarize yourself with the rubrics to know what the assessors are looking for in your commentary. The EdTPA rubrics assess your ability to:
- Develop a coherent and well-supported instructional plan
- Identify and analyze student learning needs
- Design instruction that is aligned with the learning objectives
- Use assessment data to inform instruction
- Reflect on your teaching practice and make adjustments as needed
Tip 2: Provide Context for Your Lesson
Your planning commentary should provide context for your lesson. This includes:
- A brief description of the school, classroom, and students
- An explanation of the learning objectives and standards
- A description of the instructional materials and resources used
- An explanation of the instructional strategies and techniques used
Providing context helps the assessors understand the rationale behind your instructional plan and how it aligns with the learning objectives.
Example of Providing Context
"My lesson plan is designed for a 9th-grade English class at a suburban high school. The class consists of 25 students with varying learning abilities and needs. The learning objectives for this lesson are aligned with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Students will analyze a literary text and identify the author's use of literary devices. The instructional materials used include a copy of the literary text, a whiteboard, and markers. The instructional strategies used include a whole-class discussion, small-group work, and a writing activity."
Tip 3: Explain Your Instructional Decisions
Your planning commentary should explain the instructional decisions you made and why you made them. This includes:
- An explanation of the instructional strategies and techniques used
- A description of how the instructional materials and resources were used
- An explanation of how the lesson was paced and timed
- An explanation of how you adapted the lesson for students with varying learning needs
Explaining your instructional decisions helps the assessors understand your thought process and how you designed the lesson to meet the learning objectives.
Example of Explaining Instructional Decisions
"I chose to use a whole-class discussion to introduce the literary text because it allows students to share their thoughts and ideas and engage with the material. I also used small-group work to allow students to analyze the text in more depth and identify the author's use of literary devices. The writing activity was used to assess students' understanding of the text and their ability to identify the literary devices. I adapted the lesson for students with varying learning needs by providing graphic organizers and sentence stems to support their writing."
Tip 4: Discuss Your Assessment Strategies
Your planning commentary should discuss your assessment strategies and how you will use assessment data to inform instruction. This includes:
- A description of the assessment methods used
- An explanation of how the assessment data will be used to inform instruction
- A description of how you will adapt the lesson for students who may need additional support
Discussing your assessment strategies helps the assessors understand how you will measure student learning and adjust your instruction accordingly.
Example of Discussing Assessment Strategies
"I will use a rubric to assess students' writing samples and identify areas where they may need additional support. I will also use a formative assessment to check students' understanding of the material during the lesson. The assessment data will be used to inform instruction and adjust the lesson as needed. For students who may need additional support, I will provide additional scaffolding and graphic organizers to support their writing."
Tip 5: Reflect on Your Teaching Practice
Your planning commentary should reflect on your teaching practice and how you will use the EdTPA experience to improve your instruction. This includes:
- A reflection on your teaching practice and what you learned from the EdTPA experience
- An explanation of how you will use the EdTPA experience to improve your instruction
- A description of how you will adapt the lesson for future instruction
Reflecting on your teaching practice helps the assessors understand your ability to reflect on your teaching and make adjustments as needed.
Example of Reflecting on Teaching Practice
"Through the EdTPA experience, I learned the importance of providing clear instructions and scaffolding for students. I also learned the importance of using assessment data to inform instruction. In the future, I will use the EdTPA experience to improve my instruction by providing more scaffolding and using assessment data to adjust my lesson. I will also adapt the lesson to include more technology integration and differentiation for students with varying learning needs."
By following these five tips, you can write an effective EdTPA planning commentary that demonstrates your ability to plan, teach, and assess student learning.
What is the EdTPA planning commentary?
+The EdTPA planning commentary is a written reflection of a teacher candidate's instructional plan and teaching practice. It is a component of the EdTPA assessment and is used to evaluate a candidate's ability to plan, teach, and assess student learning.
How long should the EdTPA planning commentary be?
+The EdTPA planning commentary should be approximately 2-3 pages in length, double-spaced.
What should I include in my EdTPA planning commentary?
+Your EdTPA planning commentary should include a description of your instructional plan, an explanation of your instructional decisions, a discussion of your assessment strategies, and a reflection on your teaching practice.
We hope this article has provided you with valuable tips and insights to help you write an effective EdTPA planning commentary. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to ask.