TPA Review and Response

The Teacher Performance Assessment, the TPA, or the thing you will use to become a teacher. Whatever you decided to call it, this assessment for new teachers of Washington State is a well put together framework that gives candidates and teachers the tools to develop well written, standard based, and goal oriented lesson plans.

At first glance this handout that EWU has created seems like a bunch of rhetorical questions. The kinds of things that make me think, “Well, no duh!” Example: Who are the students in this class? Or What kind of assessments will you use in the lesson plan? I think at this stage in the game that I should have a grasp on these things, but it is nice to have a bit of clarity and depth into each section of the lesson plan.

What I like the most about the TPA, is the details that each section asks for in the lesson plan. Though I am a book nerd and like narratives as much as the next person, I find that the outline form of the TPA and the divided section are easier to read and follow. Anyone who picks up the lesson plan should be able to know what the objectives for the lesson, how to run/teach the lesson, the big idea and essential question of the lesson, and finally how to asses student learning in the lesson.

Another thing that is interesting about this lesson plan is that it is being used by many of my peers. In a way it connects us to each other in a way so we can share and understand our lesson plans. We can give advice on a level we all understand and perhaps barrow lesson plans from each other and know exactly how to deliver them to our future students.

One thing that I am not particularly fond of this lesson plan is that it is a requirement for the teacher candidates to know, but there isn't any real knowledge of the TPA until we are right in the middle of producing them. I wish I had a specific class that could take the time to develop writing lesson plans. I mean I have had management classes and assessment classes, but they needed to combine many other things and lesson plans were just a small part of it.

Other than hesitation of my knowledge of lesson plan writing, I like the TPA. It’s easy to understand once you get it down. It also covers many areas that are important to think of before you actually hit the lesson itself. I also appreciate how we can use our lesson plans to share with or get critiques from colleagues.