UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls
Candidates completing multiple certifications will only need to complete an edTPA in one area. The educator preparation program will select the edTPA based on the candidate's student teaching placement (class, level, and subject matter) and the list of allowable handbooks provided by DPI.
Candidates must have the ability to complete the edTPA. It is therefore essential that the placement give the candidate the opportunity to satisfy the requirements in the relevant edTPA handbook. The candidate must be able to: take sole responsibility for planning, instruction, and assessment of a particular class during the edTPA learning segment; make video recordings as needed; and complete the edTPA within an acceptable timeframe.
Many educator preparation programs are incorporating a co-teaching model of student teaching, where the cooperating teacher and student teacher plan collaboratively and share teaching responsibilities. Co-teaching can take a variety of forms: one teaching while the other observes or assists students; one teaching while the other works with a small group needing extra support or challenge; both teaching as a team or in parallel at different stations; both taking turns with the teaching of particular classes, units, lessons, or activities; and so on. Co-teaching provides extensive modeling and feedback for the student teacher while boosting student learning and sustaining a high quality of instruction in the cooperating teacher's classes. Student teachers are still responsible for writing their own plans for instruction and may often teach on their own while the cooperating teacher attends to other duties. Student teachers will also need to take responsibility for planning, instructing, and assessing the class during the edTPA learning segment. More information about co-teaching can be found on the St. Cloud State University website at www.stcloudstate.edu/soe/coteaching/.
It is unlikely that all candidates in a program can complete the edTPA at the same time because the constraints of placements (length, classes, units, etc.) vary and because candidates may be ready at different times. Candidates should know their classes well and be confident in their teaching ability before completing the edTPA, but they should also submit the edTPA early enough to allow for remediation as needed. It takes 3-4 weeks to receive scores after submission; check the Pearson edTPA site (www.edtpa.com) for submission deadlines and score report dates, which can be used to set program deadlines. For an 18-week student teaching placement, the optimum time to complete the edTPA appears to be around weeks 8-12; for a 9-week placement, it may be around weeks 6-8 (which could require remediation/resubmission during a subsequent placement).
Split placements provide greater pressure on candidates to advance quickly toward the edTPA. Some educator preparation programs relieve this pressure by using 18-week placements and having candidates gain experience at other levels in pre-student teaching practicums. Some programs have considered using a 12-week placement to complete the edTPA followed by a 6-week placement at another level. Where two 9-week placements are used, programs should consider candidate readiness, the fit of placement to edTPA handbook, and the submission deadlines and score report dates on the Pearson edTPA website (www.edtpa.com) to determine the optimum time to complete the edTPA.