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Making Good Choices In Special Education: A Support Guide for edTPA Candidates


Example of an edTPA submission that recieved a perfect score.
Disclaimer: This example is for training purposes only. Copying or replicating responses violates TPA policies.

Task 1: Planning Commentary

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 12 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

1.   Alignment of the Learning Goal, Standard, Lesson Objectives, and Planned Supports

    a.   Complete the table below to identify the

    • learning goal selected for the learning segment.
    • academic content standard, alternate standard, or early childhood standard, related to the learning goal and/or the planned supports. (Note: Please include the number and text of the standard that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the part or parts that are relevant.) Indicate if there is no relevant standard for the learning goal and/or planned supports.
    • lesson objective for each lesson.
    • planned supports to be used throughout the learning segment and described in the lesson plans, specific to achieving the learning goal.

    Learning Goal: [  ]

    Relevant Academic, Alternate, or Early Childhood Standard: [  ]
    • Lesson Objectives
    • Lesson 1: [  ]
    • Lesson 2: [  ]
    • Lesson 3: [  ]
    • Lesson 4: [  ]
    • Lesson 5: [  ]
    • List of Specific Planned Supports to Address the Learning Goal (supports may be the same across lessons)
    • Lesson 1: [  ]
    • Lesson 2: [  ]
    • Lesson 3: [  ]
    • Lesson 4: [  ]
    • Lesson 5: [  ]

    b.   Based on the learning goal and the focus learner’s IEP goals, respond to ONE of the prompts below.

    • If the selected learning goal is academic and is aligned with an IEP goal:
      • Explain how the learning goal and the planned supports align with the IEP goal.

    • If the selected learning goal is academic but is not aligned with an IEP goal:
      • Explain how the planned supports align with the learning goal.

    • If the selected learning goal is non-academic:
      • Explain how the learning goal and, if relevant, the planned supports align with the focus learner’s IEP.

    c.   List any special accommodations or modifications in the learning environment, instruction, or assessment required by the IEP and relevant to the learning goal.

    d.   Explain how the lesson objectives, learning tasks, materials, and planned supports are sequenced to

    • move the focus learner toward achievement of the IEP goals, standards (as appropriate), and the learning goal.
    • build connections between the focus learner’s prior learning and experiences and new learning for the learning goal.
    • NOTE: If the lesson objectives are the same across the learning segment, the explanation may address how the materials used or the planned supports may change throughout the learning segment.
2.   Knowledge of Focus Learner to Inform Teaching of the Learning Segment
For each of the categories listed below (2a–d), describe what you know about the focus learner’s strengths and challenges as related to the lesson objectives of the learning segment. Cite evidence of what the learner knows, what s/he can do, and what s/he is learning to do in relation to the learning goal and any relevant planned supports.

Refer to baseline data obtained prior to the beginning of the learning segment.

    a.   Prior learning and experiences, including prerequisite knowledge and skills related to the lesson objectives

    b.   Social and emotional development (e.g., impulse control, ability to interact and express him/herself and his/her feelings in constructive ways, ability to engage and persist in individual and collaborative learning, social connectedness)

    c.   Personal, family, community, and cultural assets (e.g., the focus learner’s interests and strengths, relevant lived experiences, and self-management skills; family supports or resources; cultural expectations; community supports or resources)

    d.   If relevant, any other information about the focus learner that will influence your instructional planning (e.g., other needs and strengths in areas such as motor skills or communication)

3.   Supporting Learning

Refer to the instructional materials and lesson plans you have included to support your justifications, as needed.

    a.   Describe how the learning tasks, materials, and planned supports address your focus learner’s needs and capitalize on his/her strengths and interests.

    Planned supports can include the learning environment, instructional strategies, learning tasks, materials, accommodations, modifications, assistive technology, prompts, and/or scaffolding that are deliberately selected or designed to facilitate learning of the targeted knowledge and skills.

    b.   Explain how the learning tasks, materials, and/or planned supports will provide challenge to your focus learner.

    c.   Justify your choices of learning tasks, materials, and planned supports based on

    • the focus learner’s strengths and needs and
    • principles of research and/or theory.

    d.   Explain how, throughout the learning segment, the learning tasks, materials, and/or planned supports will promote generalization or maintenance of the knowledge and/or skills related to the learning goal.

4.   Supporting the Focus Learner’s Use of Expressive/Receptive Communication

    a.   Communication Skill. Identify and describe one communication skill related to the learning goal that the focus learner will need to use to participate in the learning tasks and/or demonstrate learning.

    Consider the focus learner’s strengths and needs related to the communication skill. Examples of communication skills include retelling a story, explaining a mathematics problem-solving strategy, answering questions, appropriately expressing frustration, selecting the right sign, requesting assistance, selecting a picture, starting or stopping communication, and responding to a prompt or cue.

    b.   Explain how you plan to support the focus learner’s use of the communication skill (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). Describe how the supports assist the focus learner in acquiring, maintaining, and/or generalizing the communication skill.

    • Provide an example from your lesson plans of this planned support.

5.   Monitoring Learning

    a.   Explain how the assessments and the daily assessment record (including baseline data) will provide evidence of

    • the focus learner’s progress toward the learning goal through the lesson objectives
    • the level of support and challenge appropriate for the focus learner’s needs

    b.   Explain how you plan to involve the focus learner in monitoring his/her own learning progress.

Task 2: Instruction Commentary

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 8 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Commentary pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored. You may insert no more than 2 additional pages of supporting documentation at the end of this file. These pages may include graphics, texts, or images that are not clearly visible in the video or a transcript for occasionally inaudible portions. These pages do not count toward your page total.

1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the clip(s)? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson plan number. Describe any changes in the lesson plans for the lessons shown in the clip(s) and the reasons for those changes.

2. If applicable, provide any additional information (beyond that provided in Planning Task 1) needed to understand the learning environment or interactions seen in each clip.

    a.   Identify the district, school, cooperating teacher, or student teaching requirements or expectations (e.g., prescribed reading curriculum) that affect your instructional delivery related to the learning goal described in Planning Task 1.

    b.   If more than one learner appears in a clip, provide information to identify the focus learner (e.g., clothing, position in setting).

3.   Promoting a Positive Learning Environment

Refer to scenes in the video clip(s) where you provided a positive learning environment.

    a.   Describe how you demonstrated respect for and rapport with all learners.

    b.   Describe how you provided a positive learning environment that both supported and challenged your focus learner in relation to the learning goal, moving the focus learner toward self-determination.

4.   Engaging and Motivating the Focus Learner

Refer to examples from the clip(s) in your explanations. For group instruction, you may refer to interactions with other learners as examples of collective strategies accessible to the focus learner.

    a.   Explain how your strategies engaged and motivated the focus learner to develop and apply the knowledge and skills related to the learning goal.

    b.   Describe how your instruction linked the focus learner’s prior learning and personal, family, cultural, and/or community assets with new learning related to the learning goal.

    c.   Describe the strategies you used to move the focus learner toward independently initiating and/or maintaining active engagement in learning tasks related to the learning goal.

5.   Deepening Learning

Refer to examples from the clip(s) in your explanations. For instruction in a group, you may refer to interactions with other learners that informed application of learning by the focus learner.

    a.   Explain how you elicited and responded to the focus learner’s performance to promote application of learning related to the learning goal.

    b.   Describe opportunities provided to the focus learner to apply feedback to improve performance related to the learning goal.

    c.   Describe how you moved the focus learner toward self-evaluation or self-correction to improve performance related to the learning goal.

6.   Supporting Teaching and Learning

Refer to examples from the clip(s) in your explanations.

    a. Explain how your materials, planned supports, and instructional strategies facilitated the focus learner’s progress toward the lesson objectives for the learning goal and how they reflected the learner’s development, age, strengths, and needs.

    b.   Describe how your instructional strategies, planned supports, and/or materials facilitated the development or application of a self-directed learning strategy for the learning goal.

7.   Analyzing Teaching

Refer to examples from the clip(s) in your explanations.

    a.   What would you change about the teaching seen in the clip(s) to better support or extend the focus learner’s performance and/or move the focus learner toward maintained, generalized, or self-directed use of knowledge and/or skills related to the learning goal?

    b.   Why do you think these changes would improve the learning of the focus learner in relation to the learning goal? Support your explanation with evidence of the focus learner’s performance related to the learning goal, as seen in the clip(s), and principles from theory and/or research.

Task 3: Assessment Commentary

1.   Analyzing the Focus Learner Performance

    a.   Identify the lesson objectives from the learning segment measured by each daily assessment record.

    b.   Describe any changes in the assessment related to the work sample, daily assessment records, and/or lesson objectives from what was described in the lesson plans, and explain why changes were made.

    c.   If the work sample for the learning goal is an excerpt from a video from Instruction Task 2, provide a time-stamp reference here. If a video work sample includes more than one learner, clearly describe how the scorer can identify the focus learner (e.g., position, physical description, first words spoken by focus learner) whose work is portrayed.

    d.   Summarize the focus learner’s progress toward the learning goal as reflected in the lesson objectives. The summary can be presented in a table or described in several paragraphs.

    e.   Analyze the focus learner’s performance based on

    • strengths (what s/he appears to understand or do well) and needs (where s/he continues to struggle or s/he needs greater challenge). Include any error analysis.
    • types or levels of planned support provided to the focus learner.

    f.    Based on the focus learner’s performance, explain how the planned supports you used did or did not impact learning and provide access to the content.

Cite evidence from the baseline data, daily assessment records, and work sample as needed, to clarify or illustrate your summary and analysis.

2.   Feedback to Guide Further Learning

 Refer to specific evidence of submitted feedback to support your explanations.

    a.   Identify the form in which you submitted your evidence of feedback for the focus learner. (Delete choices that do not apply.)

    • Written directly on a work sample document or included in a video work sample
    • In an audio file
    • In a video clip from Instruction Task 2 (provide a time-stamp reference) or in a separate video clip

    If video feedback occurs in a group context, clearly describe how the scorer can identify the focus learner (e.g., position, physical description).

    b.   Explain how feedback (including error prevention) provided to the focus learner addresses his/her individual strengths and continuing needs relative to the learning goal.

    c.   How did or will you support the focus learner to understand and use the feedback on both strengths and needs related to the learning goal, within the learning segment or in subsequent learning tasks?

3.   Evidence of Use of the Expressive/Receptive Communication Skill

When responding to the prompts below, use concrete examples from the focus learner’s work sample or an additional video clip (using time-stamp references) as evidence. You may provide evidence of the focus learner’s use of the expressive/receptive communication skill for the learning goal from ONE of the following sources:
  1. Video clip(s) from Instruction Task 2; provide time-stamp references.
  2. An additional video file named “Communication Use” of no more than 5 minutes in length; provide time-stamp references. See Assessment Task 3 Evidence Chart for acceptable file types. Submit the clip in Assessment Task 3, Part C.
  3. Work sample analyzed in Assessment Task 3; providing a time-stamp reference for a video work sample.

    a.   Explain the focus learner’s use of the communication skill to participate in learning tasks or demonstrate learning related to the learning goal.

    b.   Explain the extent to which the planned supports for the expressive/receptive communication skill built on the learner’s strengths and/or addressed needs relative to participating in the learning tasks or demonstrating learning related to the learning goal.

    • Describe the planned supports you provided to help the focus learner generalize and/or maintain the communication skill.

4.   Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

Consider what you know about the focus learner and the effectiveness of your instruction/intervention and the learning environment when designing next steps related to the learning goal. Consider all aspects of instruction, including planned supports, as appropriate. Connect your next steps to your analysis of the focus learner’s performance.

    a.   Based on your analysis of the focus learner’s performance, presented in the response to prompts 1d–f, describe next steps for instruction to improve or continue learning.

    • Connect your next steps to research and/or theory, particularly as it relates to evidence-based practices.

    b.   Based on what the focus learner knows and can do and your next steps, describe implications for the focus learner’s IEP goals and/or curriculum.