How to Support New Teachers During their edTPA Journey

For New Jersey educators, the edTPA is a hurdle they must face to realize their teaching dreams. A requirement for any educator seeking a standard teaching license within the state of New Jersey, the edTPA is a teaching performance assessment mandated by the New Jersey Department of Education in 2017. Combining a mix of recorded lessons and written commentary, the edTPA replaces student-teacher evaluations that used to be conducted by educator-preparation programs. 

Rutgers Alternate Route candidates, who have been taking the edTPA since 2018, typically have one-and-a-half years of teaching experience under their belts before they need to tackle the assessment. 

We want our candidates to feel prepared and confident as they begin their respective edTPA journeys, which is why we recently held virtual sessions on how to support educators as they gear up for their own edTPA experience. In the session, we focused on some areas where veteran teachers can help new teachers feel prepared and confident to take on the edTPA. 

Pull from your own experience 

The edTPA appears overwhelming, but it’s really all about planning, instruction and assessment. Teachers develop skills in all these areas through their daily professional practice; and the edTPA just helps demonstrate how you piece it all together. Veteran teachers already have years of planning experience to pull from, so passing along tips from your career and best practices in education is valuable to candidates. Offer your favorite organizational tips and help them break up the work into chunks to make it less overwhelming. 
 

Review the rubric in your content area 

There is a rubric for every edTPA content area. For veteran educators looking to lend a hand, becoming familiar with the rubric within your content area is a big help. By reading some of the rubrics, which assess candidates on a scale of five, educators can better understand what candidates are being expected to demonstrate for the edTPA. Candidates are expected to score at a level three to be considered proficient, so Rutgers Alternate Route prepares them to aim for a score at level four and exceed the minimum threshold for new teacher competency. 
 

Remind candidates to cite their research

There are simple ways to keep candidates from leaving points on the table. One of the easiest ways candidates can stack up their points is to simply cite the research supporting their choices related to planning, instruction and assessment. Rutgers Alternate Route compared submissions that excelled in edTPA scoring with those that did not make the cut. In these comparisons, the candidates that excelled always cited educational theorists and other reputable sources of education research in their commentary. By citing previously introduced theories and sources, the candidates demonstrate  that they understand the research associated with their instructional decisions. 
 

Assist with some of the logistical details 

There are a lot of logistics that go into the edTPA, from recording lessons to gathering signed parent permission slips. Many new teachers are still learning to navigate their school policies and systems or developing their technology skills, and veteran educators can assist with these details by offering reminders, providing templates and helping teachers conduct a trial run of their video. This is an area that will pay dividends for new teachers beyond their edTPA submission as gaining strong organizational habits and a sound grasp of school policies will position them to be responsible and accountable members of their school communities.
 

Keep candidates accountable with deadlines 

The edTPA is a massive undertaking that involves a lot of planning, so help candidates by creating deadlines and milestones for them to hit. Hold them accountable by scheduling check-ins to discuss progress, goals and challenges. Rutgers Alternate Route encourages candidates to register for the assessment by early November and then schedules practice edTPA submissions starting  in December, so fall is ideally when candidates should be getting organized for the edTPA. A great way to help candidates remain on track is to outline key benchmarks to hit month by month. 

Help candidates discuss student backgrounds appropriately and respectfully 

The edTPA prompts candidates to discuss the demographics, cultures and interests of their students. Paying attention to how candidates discuss students' backgrounds is important.  Advise them to use quantitative descriptions and discuss the students from an assets-based perspective. This can be particularly challenging for new teachers that work with students that come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Nevertheless, they should avoid discussing any harsh home situations and rely on data instead of anecdotal information. It is also important to incorporate their knowledge of student cultures and interests into lessons for increased student engagement during instruction.
 

Make your own teaching decisions visible 

This is one of the simplest ways you can support new teachers--by letting them observe you. The best practices assessed in the edTPA are already being performed in your classroom. By allowing candidates to observe your teaching, you’re providing opportunities for them to see first-hand how  all the skills they’re learning and developing are being put into practice. 

Unpack your teaching process so candidates can understand why you handled certain situations the way you did, or why you chose one strategy over the other. By showing a candidate your process, it helps them to better develop and understand their own. 
 

If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter and sign up for Alternate Route’s monthly newsletter for more information and stories from the field of education.