EDTPA Making Good Choices

Being new to using EDTPA makes it difficult to understand the language that is expected when designing a lesson plan. I have picked up certain strategies on how to tackle the EDTPA format using a multitude of different activities over the education classes I have taken so far. Nonetheless, creating an effective EDTPA that can be understood and taught by anybody who picks it up is a difficult process. After reading through “Making Good Choices” I have learned a few more ideas I could use while creating more lessons that fulfill that necessary requirements. Getting to know our students is more important than just surface level connections, like enjoying certain hobbies each other do. By understanding where they come from, the community that they live in, if they have running water or not, I can adjust my learning segments to avoid weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths, helping them achieve their desired goals. I’ve always struggled with understanding the vocabulary part of the EDTPA. How do I know which vocabulary words that students might know or not? How will I be able to teach the necessary words with the little time I have? Using vocabulary charts that have commonly confusing words to students with objectives for the class to complete like finding the meanings together as a class can help speed this process in a less boring way than assigning homework. There seems to be a common theme among the entire EDTPA and that is versatility or flexibility. To accommodate for the diversity of student’s teachers encounter all over America, they need to be prepared to adapt their lesson for students who English is their second language or just struggling to keep up with their peers. There is also the side of the students who are more prepared or further developed than their peers who also need to be considered. Teachers can’t just let student’s sit idle because they are caught up with the material. These kids need to be challenged to further their skills. It can be difficult for teachers to create multiple ways for all members of the class to get the best teaching method for each other. Teacher’s philosophy is definitely tested on how they balance they class structure.