Commentary: edTPA Is a Starting Point for Career-Long Thoughtful Teaching Practice
Danielson Group Founder Charlotte Danielson was a featured speaker at last month’s National edTPA Implementation Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
edTPA, in a few short years, has made an important contribution to what it means to be a professional educator, by focusing not only on the work of teaching, but on the thinking that underlies all professionalism.
The three tasks of edTPA reflect the essential work of teaching: planning, teaching lessons to students, and incorporating assessment strategies into that endeavor. edTPA requires prospective teachers to engage in those essential activities of teaching, and to submit evidence in portfolio tasks. But as important (some would argue more important), edTPA requires prospective teachers to not only engage in these essential tasks of teaching, but also reflect on what they do, and explain their reasoning.