Making Good Choices SPED
Making Good Choices SPED
Choices Instruction
MGC_SPE_v01
Copyright © 2018 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. The edTPA trademarks are
owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is permitted only
pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement. This document was authored by the Stanford Center for Assessment,
Learning and Equity (SCALE) with design assistance from Evaluation Systems.
edTPA Making Good Choices in Special Education Candidate Support Resource
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2
Getting Started................................................................................................................................ 4
Planning Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment .......................................................... 10
Instruction Task 2: Instructing and Engaging the Focus Learner .................................................. 22
Assessment Task 3: Assessing Learning ........................................................................................ 31
Introduction1
This support guide will help you make good choices as you create and implement your edTPA
learning segment. It is not a substitute for reading the handbook. Instead, it should be used as a
reference where you can find supplementary advice for completing specific components of
edTPA as needed.
Read the entire handbook before you start your edTPA work. The handbook is dense. Reading
it thoroughly before you start will help you navigate the requirements once you begin the work.
Don’t skip any sections, text boxes, or footnotes. Everything in the handbook provides
important information that will help guide you in your decision making.
Once you have read the entire handbook, Making Good Choices in Special Education will
support your decision making as you develop artifacts and respond to commentary prompts in
each of the three tasks. By reading and reflecting on the questions and suggestions in Making
Good Choices in Special Education, you will develop a deeper understanding of edTPA and have
many of your questions addressed. This document will help you think about how to plan,
instruct, assess, and reflect on learning, not only for completing edTPA, but also for effective
teaching well into the future.
On the pages that follow, each section of this document addresses key decision points that you
will encounter as you complete your edTPA. Use the live links from the questions in the
overview chart to locate answers to inform your decisions. Bold text in the answers provides
specific directions to guide your choices.
You may find some questions repetitive across tasks. This “repetition” is intentional. The
questions that appear across tasks represent threads that tie all the tasks together, for
example, your knowledge of the focus learner or the learning goal for the learning segment.
1 This version of Making Good Choices in Special Education replaces earlier versions posted on the edTPA.com and
edtpa.aacte.org websites. SCALE recognizes Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, Kelli Appel and John Snakenborg for their
contributions to the Special Education version of Making Good Choices.
Questions that appear to be similar are couched in terms of the task that you are completing.
For example, you will respond to questions about how your knowledge of your focus learner
was used to plan, instruct, and assess. When considering your understanding of your learner in
Planning Task 1, you should include references to how the learner’s assets are reflected in your
instructional strategies and materials. When you respond to a similar prompt in Instruction
Task 2, you should describe and provide evidence for what you and the learner actually said and
did in the video clip(s) submitted. Therefore, when you encounter a prompt that seems similar
to one you already answered, think about how the context in which the prompt appears might
guide your response.
Getting Started
Key Decisions
How do I get started with my edTPA preparation?
Planning Ahead How much time do I need?
Planning Ahead
You will likely be instructing your focus learner in a class or group setting. Instruction should
proceed as it typically does in this group setting. Remember that you will be planning,
instructing, and assessing the entire group or class, but your edTPA will highlight what you are
doing specifically to support and meet the needs of your focus learner. This will likely include
strategies for the entire group/class as well as some strategies specifically designed for your
focus learner.
Back to Getting Started Key Decisions Chart
Organizing
When completing the commentary response templates, note that there are page limits.
However, supplementary information you may be directed to add to the end of commentaries
as needed does not count toward those limits (e.g., citations of materials from others,
transcriptions of inaudible portions of videos, any required translation of materials in a
language other than English,2 copies of the assessment analyzed).
All of the requirements about what to submit (and information about the optional elements)
are introduced in the Tasks Overview Chart and then specified in more detail in the Evidence
Chart at the end of the handbook. Read the Evidence Chart and be sure that you understand
the requirements and all necessary evidence you must submit before you start working on your
edTPA. You may find it helpful to use the Evidence Chart as a checklist as you ensure that you
2If you are submitting materials in a language other than English, see the Submission Requirements for
more detailed translation requirements and guidelines. Requirements vary by subject area.
have submitted all necessary evidence according to the requirements, including artifact format
(e.g., live hyperlinks to materials are not permitted). Portfolios with missing, inaccessible, or
inappropriate evidence will receive condition codes (see the Submission Requirements).
Back to Getting Started Key Decisions Chart
3
See the “Planning for Alignment and Learning” section of this document for more information on how
to address prescribed curricular requirements.
Read each prompt carefully and completely. Be sure to respond to all parts of the
questions using simple straightforward sentences or bullets.
Pay attention to conjunctions (“and”, “or”). When the prompts are bulleted,
make sure to address each bullet point.
Incomplete, superficial, and unelaborated responses are not sufficient. One or
two sentences for each prompt will not contain enough information for a
reviewer to understand your intentions, what or how you have taught, or what
your focus learner has learned.
Move beyond showcasing or summarizing your classroom practice and show that you
understand your learner and how to support his/her development of knowledge and
skills, as well as to identify and analyze the evidence of his/her learning to support
further learning and inform your future instruction. edTPA provides an opportunity to
reflect on your beginning teaching practice and what you have learned by planning,
instructing, and assessing student learning. Perfect teaching is not expected.
Pay attention to the verbs in the prompts. They will guide the depth of your writing.
When asked to “describe,” do that: tell about what you planned or did. When prompted
to “explain,” include more detail, and give reasons for your decisions. “Justify” requires
analysis; you must explain why you did what you did and include evidence to back up
your response with supporting details.
Provide specific, concrete examples to support your assertions. Do not merely repeat
prompt or rubric language as your responses to commentary prompts—you must
always include examples and evidence of your teaching. If you suggest that the focus
learner was able to understand a concept, provide concrete examples from the focus
learner’s written, oral, or other performance work that demonstrate and support your
claim. For example, you might point to a specific aspect of the focus learner’s response
or behavior on an assessment that supports your statement. Your assertion that the
focus learner understands what you have taught must be backed up with evidence that
you specify. Use time stamps to direct a scorer’s attention to specific points of
instruction and provide concrete evidence for your commentary statements. Time
stamps can be approximate; they need not be accurate to the second.
You may find some prompts repetitive across tasks. This “repetition” is intentional. Key
prompt elements that appear across tasks represent threads that tie all the tasks
together, for example, your knowledge of students or the central focus of the learning
segment. Questions that appear to be similar are couched in terms of the task that you
are completing. Therefore, when you encounter a prompt that seems similar to one you
already answered, think about how the context in which the prompt appears might
guide your response.
Back to Getting Started Key Decisions Chart
If there are particular rubrics that you want to learn about in more depth, refer to the
Understanding Rubric Level Progressions (URLP) resource for Special Education. This resource
gives a detailed description of the differences in rubric levels and provides subject-specific
examples of what evidence might look like on each level.
Back to Getting Started Key Decisions Chart
NOTE: Although particular commentary prompts align with certain rubrics, all of the required
artifacts and commentary responses for each task are taken into account during the scoring
process. For example, your lesson plans, assessments, instructional materials, and video(s) are
key artifacts in the scoring process that may provide relevant evidence for multiple rubrics. So
while you will not find a rubric that “scores” these items in isolation, they all inform and are
part of what will be used in evaluating your responses.
Back to Getting Started Key Decisions Chart
Key Decisions
RUBRIC 4
In addition, the learning segment should provide opportunities for instruction and assessment
of a learning goal and allow you to provide specific planned supports for your focus learner. As
with any learning segment, decisions about what to teach should be driven by what the focus
learner is expected to learn at his/her particular grade level as well as the content of the
learner’s individualized education program/plan. You will want to think carefully about how
much content to address in your edTPA learning segment; this is a significant decision about
manageability, not only for the scope of your edTPA portfolio but also for the capacity of the
focus learner to learn within the 3–5 lessons of the learning segment. District guidelines, school
goals, and learner interests must be considered as well. While your cooperating teacher must
not choose a learning segment for you, his/her input can be useful in guiding you to consider all
of the relevant factors.
For a focus learner with academic learning needs, the learning goal should address
academic content that the focus learner can reasonably be expected to achieve in 3–5
lessons. Academic content includes traditional subjects of the general education
curriculum (English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies); functional
academics; and early literacy/numeracy. The learning goal may or may not align with an
IEP goal. However, if the learning goal does not align with an IEP goal, the specific
planned supports must be related to an IEP goal or the required modifications and
accommodations identified in the focus learner’s IEP.
“Early literacy . . . [refers to] the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that precede
learning to read and write in the primary grades (K–3)” (Roskos, Christie, &
Richgels, 2003), including “[developing] alphabet knowledge, phonological
awareness, letter writing, print knowledge, and oral language” (National Institute
for Literacy, 2009).
“Early numeracy represents a collection of skills that develop during the pre-
kindergarten years including number and operations, geometry, measurement,
patterns and algebra, and data analysis and classification” (Wackerle-Hollman,
2014).
“identify” because it would be possible to tell whether a focus learner was able to correctly
“identify” a piece of information.
Your lesson objectives should be sequenced to build on one another, moving the focus learner
toward achieving the learning goal. This generally means the objectives will be different for
each lesson. However, for some learners, lessons may focus on the use of planned
opportunities, repeated trials, or repeated practices to enhance skills, acquisition, and/or use.
In these cases, the lesson objectives and learning goal may overlap and lesson objectives may
not differ across the lessons. If this is the case, there are other ways to demonstrate a “logical
sequence” in the lessons. You can use slightly different, more challenging materials from lesson
to lesson, or you may fade the use of supports through the learning segment. You will have the
opportunity to explain the logical sequence of the lesson objectives, learning tasks, materials,
and planned supports in Planning Commentary prompt 1d. The educators who score your
edTPA will carefully examine the match between your learner strengths and needs, the learning
goal, and lesson objectives to determine if such overlap is appropriate.
Specific planned supports may include changes to the learning environment; the use of explicit
instructional strategies, learning tasks, or materials tailored to meet the individual needs of the
focus learner; accommodations or modifications; the use of assistive technology; and the use of
a prompting strategy or a scaffolding strategy. Special educators are required to use research-
based strategies in delivering special education services. It is important that you identify the
underlying evidence base, which supports the use of the planned instructional strategies and
specific supports. These research-based instruction and support strategies should be
incorporated into the lesson plans. You will justify your instruction and support strategies in
prompt 3c of the Planning Commentary. Rather than designing the learning segment and
lessons and later looking for research to justify those decisions, it is suggested that you engage
in these processes simultaneously, conducting a database search to identify available research
related to the needs of the focus learner, the academic content area, the age and grade level of
the focus learner, and the specific identified disability of the focus learner and then
incorporating the specific individualized supports into the planned lessons.
The specific planned supports must be associated with either an IEP goal or required
modifications/accommodations if
the academic/functional academic/early literacy or numeracy learning goal is not
associated with an IEP goal OR
the learning goal is nonacademic.
Be sure to address all lesson plan components described in your edTPA handbook while
making sure that each submitted plan is no more than 4 pages in length. If you are using a
lesson plan model that extends beyond that limit, you will need to condense them or excerpt
the necessary components listed below. Planned assessments/data collection forms will be
attached as separate artifacts as noted in the Evidence Chart.
NOTE: Do not put explanations and rationales in your lesson plans, as scorers are instructed
to look to the commentary prompts for explanations of your thinking and justification for your
plans.
how you selected or modified curriculum materials with your focus learner’s
background, strengths, and needs in mind, and/or
how you adapted a lesson to meet your focus learner’s learning needs (e.g.,
alternative examples, additional questions you ask, or supplementary activities).
When describing how your knowledge of the focus learner affects your instructional and
support decisions for Planning Task 1, your response should provide relevant detail about your
focus learner’s prior learning/experiences, development, and strengths (including personal,
cultural, language, and community assets) in addition to his/her learning needs. Your written
commentary and lesson plans should reveal what you plan to do in the learning segment to
capitalize on your focus learner’s strengths and to meet his/her varied needs. Your
commentary responses should clearly communicate how you structured the learning segment
to reflect the needs, assets, and interests of the focus learner.
Be sure that your descriptions are based on your observations of your focus learner and not
on assumptions or stereotypes associated with his/her disability; age; or ethnic, cultural, or
socio-economic background. A good way to ensure you are avoiding stereotypes or
assumptions is to ask yourself if you can back up your assertions with evidence and to include
that evidence in your responses.
Back to Planning Task 1 Key Decisions Chart
Do not merely repeat prompt or rubric language as your responses to commentary prompts—
you must always include examples and evidence of your teaching. Provide specific and
concrete examples of strengths and needs from your focus learner’s prior written, oral, or
demonstrated work that demonstrate and support your claim. See the two different examples
of academic and nonacademic prior instructional histories below:
Academic: When tested at the beginning of the year, Terry could read 24 simple CVC words
independently. By January, he was reading 62 words correctly with several self-corrects. He is
now working on CVCe (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant with silent e) words to reach his IEP goal of
75 CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) and CVCe words read correctly by the end of the year.
Vocational: Sonya is good about using her checklist to complete regular tasks in her work
placement. However, if she completes these tasks early, she does not check to see if there are
additional tasks that could be done. She also did not notify her supervisor last week when she
was sick. She gets very upset when she makes mistakes and shuts down. Therefore, I am
working with her on communication in the workplace, identifying different scenarios, and using
role-play and error prevention to help her learn what she might say.
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In order to make a clear connection to your focus learner’s strengths and needs, justifications
should reference specific research-based instruction and/or support strategies related to the
learning goal and lesson objectives. You should explain the theoretical concepts and lines of
research that support/inform what you have planned to do (i.e., why you think that your plans
should be successful with your focus learner). Do not merely name drop a theorist (e.g.,
Vygotsky or Bloom said . . .), mention a textbook author, or describe a concept without being
explicit about the theory or research finding, how it reflects knowledge of your focus learner,
and how both are reflected in your plans for instruction. Be sure your justification centers on
instructional and support choices that move the learner toward meeting the lesson objectives
and learning goal.
Formal citations are not required when referencing research/theory—only when referencing
copyrighted materials such as textbooks. If you do list citations, provide them at the end of the
commentary; they will not count toward the page limits.
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Communication Skill
The communication skill should make clear what the focus learner will do with
communication to participate in learning tasks and/or demonstrate learning for the learning
goal. Often, the standards and/or objectives for the learning segment will include
communication skills embedded in the content to be learned—look to the verbs used (i.e.,
explain, signal, compare, argue, request). Choose one communication skill that the focus
learner will need to develop in order to participate in instruction or demonstrate learning
across the learning segment for the learning goal.
As previously mentioned, you are also asked to explain how you will support the focus learner
in developing and using the communication skill. The support strategies should be specific to
the use of the communication skill and not merely related to helping the focus learner in
achieving the learning goal. Planned supports for communication can include instructional
strategies such as vocabulary development, modeling, guided practice; materials such as
graphic organizers, dictionaries, spell-check; or accommodations such as assistive technology. It
is the candidate’s responsibility to describe how the communication skill allows the focus
learner to participate in learning tasks and/or demonstrate learning and how the identified
supports will assist the focus learner in acquiring, maintaining, and/or generalizing the
communication skill.
For additional examples of communication skills and related supports, see Understanding
Curriculum-Related Communication in edTPA, which will be included under Academic
Language Handouts.
Back to Planning Task 1 Key Decisions Chart
Planning Assessments
A focus learner that has multiple learning and Avoid assumptions or stereotypes associated
support needs as identified in his/her IEP with the focus learner’s disability; age; or
A learning goal, which for the vast majority of ethnic, cultural, or socio-economic
selected focus learners addresses academic background
content Content inaccuracies
Standards and IEP goal(s) for the learning goal Inappropriate, unreasonable scope and
One lesson objective for the learning goal per sequence in the learning segment
lesson in daily lesson plans Generic, unrelated support strategies
Specific support strategies to assist the focus Lack of alignment between IEP goals,
learner in achieving the lesson objectives, standards, the learning goal, lesson
which are based on the needs of your focus objectives, learning tasks, and assessments
learner Responses to commentary prompts that are
All rationales and explanations for your too brief or that do not directly address the
instructional choices written in your prompt (if you feel like you are repeating
commentary (not elaborated in your lesson yourself, you may not be detecting the
plans) different nuances between the prompts)
Explicit justification of why your instructional
strategies, materials, and specific planned
supports are appropriate for your focus
learner
Identification of and support for the learner’s
use of an expressive/receptive
communication skill for the learning goal
Explanations of assessments and a daily
assessment record that show how you plan
to monitor the focus learner’s progress
toward all lesson objectives and the learning
goal
Three to five lesson plans, each no more than
4 pages in length
Instructional artifacts to help scorers better
understand the learning segment
Key Decisions
What if video recording is not allowed in my
placement?
What are my professional responsibilities for
maintaining confidentiality?
Video Recording What are the features of a quality edTPA video?
How do I prepare my edTPA video recordings for my
learning segment?
What resources do I need to consider (equipment,
software, and tutorials)?
Analyzing Teaching
What is important to consider as I identify changes I
Effectiveness
would make to the learning segment?
RUBRIC 10
Re-read all of Instruction Task 2, including the rubrics. Be sure you understand the key
concepts, description of requirements, and components of the task. Read the rubric footnotes
to clarify terms in the rubrics. Additionally, use the glossary to ensure you understand critical
terms (e.g., respect, rapport, and challenge).
Video Recording
What if video recording is not allowed in my placement?
Some placement settings (e.g., psychiatric facilities, juvenile correctional institutions, and
hospitals) do not allow video recording for safety or security reasons. If you are placed in one of
these settings with such a policy, then contact your edTPA coordinator for guidance in
developing alternative evidence. Candidates are expected to provide video recorded evidence
of instruction for all other placement settings. If video recording is not allowed because of a
district, school, or institutional policy, which is not related to safety or security, then contact
your university supervisor to either gain assistance in securing permission or finding another
placement.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
It is vitally important that you only use the video for the purpose of completing your edTPA.
Video of your teaching should never be posted in public venues like YouTube, Facebook, etc.,
or shared with people not involved with the edTPA assessment (e.g., potential employers or
your family) without additional permission, as this violates the confidentiality of the children
you teach and their families. Even when intending no harm, this is a serious breach of
professional ethics.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
then the video quality will be important. If communication that is important to understand
is occasionally inaudible or, in the case of sign, visible, in the clip(s), you may provide a
transcript with your commentary, embed quotes in your commentary response, or insert
captions in the video clip (a permissible edit) (see the Instruction Task 2 section of the
Special Education edTPA Assessment Handbook for more information).
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
Although a camera operator is often unnecessary, discuss any plans for someone to
operate the camera. If you use a camera operator, look to people who already have
approval to be in classrooms (e.g., your cooperating teacher or your university
supervisor). For any others, be sure that you obtain prior approval well in advance and
that your invited camera operator knows and follows school procedures for visitors.
Collect the necessary consent forms from a parent/guardian of your learner(s) or, if
eligible, from the learner(s), as well as adults who might appear in the video.
Respecting learners’ privacy, as well as protecting yourself and your cooperating teacher,
is a professional responsibility that should not be ignored.
Read your edTPA handbook carefully to note the limits on length of clips. NOTE: These
limits may differ for Tasks 2 and 3.
Make arrangements for the necessary video/audio equipment well in advance. If you
do not have ready access to video equipment, reach out to peers, family members, your
cooperating/master teacher, university supervisor, or university/school technology staff.
Location. Location. Location. Think about where you and your learner(s) will be located
in the “classroom” during the activities to be portrayed in the video and where to place
the camera. If you are filming in a public community setting (e.g., store), visit the setting
at the time of day when you plan to film to assist in your planning. Regardless of
location, ask yourself the following questions: What evidence do the rubrics call for that
the camera will need to capture? Where will the camera/microphones need to be
placed in order to optimize sound quality? In particular, think about where to place any
other learner who may have withheld permission to be filmed so that she or he can
participate in the lesson off-camera. If you do need a camera operator, meet in advance
to share the lesson plan and video needs.
Practice video recording before teaching the learning segment. Practice will provide a
chance to test the equipment for sound and video quality, as well as give your learner(s)
an opportunity to become accustomed to the camera in the room.
Try to record the entire set of lessons in your learning segment. Recording more than
what you plan to submit for edTPA will provide you with plenty of footage from which
to choose the clip(s) that best meet the requirements for edTPA. It is also helpful to
have extra footage to use in case of technical problems or the future need for a retake.
Your face must appear in at least one video clip to confirm your identity. If the camera
angle to best capture interactions does not include your face, your face may appear
briefly and the camera angle can be adjusted while the camera is running so that the
video clip is continuous.
Be natural. While recording, try to forget the camera is there (this is good to explain to
your focus learner as well) and teach like you normally do. If possible, record other
lessons prior to the learning segment so that the camera is not a novel item. If using a
camera operator, advise him or her not to interject into the lesson in any way and to
minimize camera movement.
Be sure to select and submit clips with quality audio so that those viewing your clips can
hear you and the focus learner as well as any relevant discussion the focus learner may
have with other learners. It is often helpful to watch the video recording each day so that
you can check for audio quality. As you watch, note possible examples of evidence with
time stamps for later consideration in choosing the clip(s). It will be important to identify
specific instances of the video recording with time-stamp references in your
commentary responses. While it is fresh in your mind, record a transcription for
occasionally inaudible parts for the video that you might want to include in your
submission.
Identify and address key portions that are inaudible. As you view and listen to the
video clips, note any inaudible portions where transcription is necessary to help an
educator better understand and evaluate the teaching and learning. You may provide a
transcript, add captions for these portions, or provide a time stamp and quotes for the
inaudible sections in your commentary. Be selective—you do not need to address all
inaudible comments, but the majority of the video should be clearly audible and show
both you and your focus learner. In addition, transcription for this purpose should be
limited to addressing audibility concerns; further analysis or explanation of your
teaching belongs in the commentary.
Address any portions of the video that require translation. Captions or transcriptions
may be necessary if the instruction is in a language other than English. See the
Submission Requirements and your handbook for specific direction on when translation
to English is needed.
Your video clips are the primary sources of evidence used in scoring Instruction Task 2.
The evidence you need to collect for Instruction Task 2 should demonstrate how you
engage the focus learner while teaching. Read the handbook instructions carefully.
Read each prompt AND read each rubric to fully understand all of the evidence that your
video should demonstrate. When choosing your clips, consider what the focus learner is
doing. It is helpful to watch your clips to be sure that they provide evidence for all of the
required elements. When responding to your prompt, consider using time stamps from
the video to support your written commentary and direct a scorer’s attention to what
you want him/her to see. Consult the Evidence Chart in your handbook for specific
requirements for your clips.
Choose clip(s) that meet requirements for content and length. Review the video, using
any notes you have made, to identify excerpts that portray the focus required in
Instruction Task 2. Then go back to select the clip(s) and identify starting and stopping
times for the excerpts. Any break in the continuity of events signals the start of a new
clip to scorers, so count the number of clips/excerpts carefully. CAUTION: You may
receive condition codes if you exceed the number of clips permitted, if the total time of
your clips exceeds the maximum, OR if the total number of minutes represented in your
clips for Instruction Task 2 is less than 3 minutes.
Be sure to review the instructions for downloading and saving both the video and audio
from the camera if you are not already familiar with them and ensure that you backup
your files once downloaded. As soon as the video recording is downloaded, view the
video to ensure the video and audio quality will allow a scorer to understand what is
happening, and make a backup copy of the video and audio on a hard drive, a USB
drive, or a CD/DVD.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
Video equipment and cropping your clips for edTPA: Since the clip(s) you submit for your
edTPA must consist of a continuous teaching without any edits, you will need to use cropping
tools to extract a clip from the longer video you record. If you are new to video recording or to
the camera you are using, be sure to read the instruction manual that comes with the camera.
Even if the manual has been lost, most manuals are available online at the manufacturer’s
website. Manufacturers may also have online tutorials to help you learn how to use the
camera. YouTube has a plethora of videos that demonstrate how to set up and operate a
camera.
The free video editing software that comes with most computers is perfectly adequate for
preparing and saving the clip(s) in the format required in your edTPA handbook. PCs have the
program Windows Movie Maker (found in the START menu under PROGRAMS), while Macs
provide you with iMovie. There are many online tutorials that will support you in learning how
to use these programs. Contact your edTPA coordinator and program IT support for
suggestions.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
Learning Environment
What do I look for when selecting clip(s) that demonstrate respect and rapport?
Establishing respect and rapport with your focus learner and all other learners is critical for
developing a mutually supportive and safe learning environment. Respect is the positive feeling
of esteem or deference toward a person and the specific actions and conduct representative of
that esteem. Rapport is a close and harmonious relationship in which members of a group
understand each other’s ideas, respectfully collaborate and communicate, and consider one
another’s feelings. Both respect and rapport are demonstrated by how you treat learners and
how they treat each other, and you should work to make them evident in your videos. While
you may be working with learners who face challenges in these areas, your video should show
you are actively working to create an environment of respect and rapport within the context of
your learner’s(s’) disability-related characteristics. Learners with disabilities may require very
individualized strategies over a length of time to develop respect and rapport, and each learner
may demonstrate rapport in a very unique way. For learners who have severe challenges in
social and communication skills, respect and rapport may be revealed in learners’ body
posturing, proximity, or eye contact, as well as absence or lower levels of undesirable behavior.
Be sure to consider the modes of communication and all levels of social behavior most
applicable to your target learner when identifying evidence of respect and rapport. In your
commentaries, cite specific scenes (time stamps are very helpful) from the video clips that
illustrate the respect and rapport you have established with all learners. Remember that
scorers do not know your learner(s), so you will need to both cite and explain more subtle and
individualized evidence of respect and rapport for a particular learner.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
needs with other learners in the video. Challenge is defined as probing ahead of the focus
learner’s current ability levels. Challenge can be demonstrated by including prompts or
opportunities for the focus learner to learn content or demonstrate learning beyond his/her
current performance level. It is difficult to demonstrate challenge if your focus learner appears
to automatically know and understand all of the content of the lesson.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
The pacing of the lesson and learning activities is important. A well-planned lesson, in which
the focus learner remains engaged, can be facilitated by the pace of instruction and smooth
transitions between different activities. Excessive downtime or a prohibitively fast-paced
lesson can be barriers to your focus learner’s engagement in the learning activities.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
You can draw upon any of the interactions in the video to highlight how you prompt, listen to,
or observe the focus learner and any other learners and respond in such a way that you are
supporting him/her/them to develop and/or apply their new learning. Your feedback can be
verbal or nonverbal (such as pointing) and should be more specific than “yes” or “no” or other
general comments. At a minimum, the clip should show you eliciting responses, closely
monitoring learner progress, and providing feedback to the focus learner with opportunities
to respond, but you should not be ignoring other learners in the class or group. If you are
teaching a group, unless you have provided evidence to the contrary, scorers will assume that
the focus learner will be learning from your and his/her interactions with other learners and
from your feedback to them. However, be sure to include some interactions directly with the
focus learner.
Back to Instruction Task 2 Key Decisions Chart
1. Considering my learner’s responses to instruction, if I could teach this lesson again, what
would I do differently?
Answer this question by analyzing and describing what you have learned about teaching toward
the learning goal to this focus learner. Base your analysis on your observations of how the
learner responded to the instructional strategies and materials you used in the video clip(s)
submitted.
You will also need to cite evidence that explains why you think these changes will work.
Consider how research and theory inform your decisions about needed changes. Be sure to cite
specific examples of what the focus learner understood/could do and did not
understand/could not do (as well as any other strengths and needs), and describe the
concepts from theory and/or research that support your proposed changes. Be explicit about
any knowledge of the focus learner that also informed the changes that was not obvious from
the video. (Click here to return to Planning Task 1 explanation of citing research.)
Back to Instruction Task Key 2 Decisions Chart
Clip(s) that contain evidence addressing each Sharing your video publicly on YouTube,
criterion in the rubrics Facebook, or any other website. It is both a
legal and ethical obligation to respect the
References in your commentary responses to
privacy of learners.
specific examples found in your video clip(s)
Choosing a clip that shows you making
Time stamps identifying evidence from the
significant content errors
video clip(s) in every response
Showing disrespect to any learner or allowing
Information about the focus learner that is
learners to be disrespectful to each other
needed to support your conclusions that may
not be evident from the video for an educator Mismatches between instruction and support
who does not know the learner choices and focus learner’s needs and
strengths
Key Decisions
Analysis of Focus
Learner’s Performance • What kind of assessment data should I analyze for my
edTPA?
RUBRIC 11
Use of Assessment to
What do I need to think about when determining “next
Inform Instruction steps” for my teaching?
RUBRIC 15
Re-read all of Assessment Task 3, including the rubrics. Be sure you understand the key
concepts, description of requirements, and components of the task. Read the footnotes to
clarify terms in the rubrics. If necessary, re-read the glossary for terms used in “What do I need
to do?” (e.g., baseline data, assessment).
Feedback
What types of learner feedback should I include in my edTPA?
The feedback should be related to the learning goal and should be the actual feedback given
directly to the focus learner. Feedback should offer the focus learner clear and specific
information about his/her performance around the lesson objectives and align with the analysis
of learning for the learning goal. Think about strategies for feedback that address patterns in
the focus learner’s performance and also attend to unique student work. At the very least, your
focus learner should be made aware of his/her strengths and errors. Effective feedback should
specifically identify areas where he/she did well and where he/she needs to improve related
to the specific learning objectives. Percent correct and nonspecific comments such as “Good
job” are not sufficient, as the focus learner will have little idea what exactly he/she did well.
In contrast, comments such as “Great job recognizing that ‘who’ questions refer to people
[academic learning goal]” or “You are doing better waiting for Mr. Johnson [boss/supervisor]
to finish before you start speaking [vocational or communication learning goal]” direct
attention to the details of performance, deepening the focus learner’s understanding of the
progress toward the learning goal.
The same expectation applies to feedback on how the focus learner can improve. For example,
citing the number of problems the focus learner completed incorrectly [academic learning goal]
is not sufficient. In order to identify an area for improvement, the focus learner needs to know
what it is that needs correction. Your feedback must be related to the learning goal. Following
are two examples of feedback addressing needs and reinforcing strengths related to both an
academic and a nonacademic learning goal:
Feedback related to an academic learning goal, written on the focus learner’s paper:
“You’ve got a great idea for the content of this paragraph. Now work on your topic
sentence. It needs more focus.”
Oral feedback related to a nonacademic learning goal (motor skills): “Great job cutting
on the line, but you seem to be having trouble holding the paper still as you cut. Watch
what I do. [Teacher models holding paper to cut.] See how my thumb is on the top of
the paper and pointed up when I hold it? Make your thumb look like mine.”
Back to Assessment Task 3 Key Decisions Chart
How do I explain how my focus students will understand and use the feedback I
give?
The purpose of giving feedback is to help your focus learner understand what he or she knows
and can do and what he or she still needs to work on. Research shows that the opportunity to
apply feedback promotes learning. When responding to this prompt, make sure you address
how the focus learner understands and uses feedback. Think about feedback for the work sample
you plan to analyze for Assessment Task 3. If feedback is to be applied immediately after it is given,
what will you do to assist the focus learner in understanding and using the feedback? An example of
immediate feedback and opportunities to understand and apply it is illustrated by the example
of cutting with scissors in the previous question. If feedback will not be applied immediately,
what are you going to do to ensure that the focus learner understands the feedback that he or
she was given? Then think about the upcoming lessons and the feedback given to the learner.
What opportunities are there in the next lessons for the focus learner to apply the feedback?
Would revision of the work sample be a more powerful learning experience? Is there additional
support that might scaffold the application of the feedback and support learning? Does the
focus learner have different needs that imply different choices? Your explanation should
demonstrate that you have considered how and when the focus learner might best apply the
feedback to support or extend his/her learning.
Back to Assessment Task 3 Key Decisions Chart
What do I need to think about when determining “next steps” for my teaching?
Informed by your analysis of the focus learner’s performance on the learning goal in the
learning segment, "next steps" should detail the instructional moves you plan to make going
forward in relation to the learning goal. These next steps may include additional feedback to
the focus learner, a specific instructional activity/learning task, or other strategies. The next
steps should aim to maintain, support, or extend learning of the learning goal. Describe your
next steps in language specific enough that another educator could carry them out. You will
also need to justify your next steps with principles from research and/or theory. (Click here to
return to the Planning Task 1 explanation of citing research.)
Back to Assessment Task 3 Key Decisions Chart
Completed daily assessment record (and Superficial analysis of the focus learner’s
baseline assessment, if not evident in daily performance without citing evidence from the
assessment record) baseline data, daily assessment records, and
the work sample
Graphic (table or chart) or narrative that
summarizes the focus learner’s progress Misalignment between the daily assessment
toward the learning goal records, learning goal, lesson objectives,
and/or analysis
Description of performance patterns in
relation to specific planned supports used Feedback that is developmentally or age-
inappropriate or contains significant
Completed work sample for the learning goal
inaccuracies
(the work of the focus learner only, not a
group project) Identifying next steps for learning that are not
related to your analysis of the focus learner’s
Evidence of the feedback that you provided to
progress toward the learning goal
the focus learner related to the learning goal
Specific references to the focus learner’s work
sample and/or assessments to support your
commentary responses
Concrete evidence of the focus learner’s use
of the communication skill (video clip or work
sample)