TPAs

I’m not going to lie. TPAs (Teaching Performance Assessments) scare me. To death. I have only had to do a few so far, yet they are difficult and tedious. Not only that, but every teacher I have ever talked to has told me that they are unrealistic in real classroom. That being said, they are required, and I’m sure there are some benefits to learning how to write them.

I really like the examples of questions we should be asking ourselves that this guide gives. Eastern’s template is a 2 to 3 page guide of boxes with maybe one question explaining what we should be filling out. Although that template is a great visual guide, it does not get us asking the things we need to. How are the students in this class? How many? What age? What are their proficiency levels? When I have worked on TPAs before, it has been hard for me to think of these questions off the top of my head.

I think I actually like these guidelines better than the ones we are using. Or at least the explanations they give. It has been difficult for me to understand in the past, so the thought of having to do twenty TPAs this quarter for three different classes has been really freaking me out. This really goes into more specific details in terms that are easier to understand. Plus having so many questions to think about makes it a lot easier to discuss what I want my students to be learning from this lesson.

Overall, I’ll still use Eastern’s layout for a TPA not only because I know it, but because it is required. However, I know that I will be using this handout in conjunction to that, and I am now more confident about writing TPAs than I was before.