in situations where practice is highly regulated? Candidates who defined quality
predominantly by the effectiveness of instruction for facilitating subject-matter
learning outcomes tended to be less critical of the edTPA’s construct of teaching
than those who spoke of two other crucial, if somewhat ineffable, elements:
interpersonal-relational elements and political-institutional elements. For example,
one participant who perceived that the edTPA deemphasizes the processes of
building relationships, rapport, and motivation explained:
I feel like the idea behind the edTPA is great–actually looking at my teaching rather than
just what I say about my teaching–but I think what it actually ended up assessing was my
ability to follow instructions...I wasfinding myself using techniques whether or not they
were appropriate in the moment...because I was just so focused on writing about them [in
the commentaries]. That was very teacher-centered. It wasn’t about what the students need;
it’s about what I need for the assessment. (secondary English candidate)Another candidate with a strong focus on inclusive education noted that
high-quality teaching means“knowing how to...and being able to differentiate”
instruction; but ultimately, that process involves extensive efforts to“connect with
your students, form relationships with your students, [and] get to know them”over
time. In other words, the moral and psychological dimensions of teaching may be
underrepresented in the edTPA.
Still others indicated that the assessment largely ignores pedagogical autonomy
within the political institution of schooling as a quality of teaching. Several years
ago, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) released a set of
instructional modules designed to operationalize its English language arts and
mathematics standards for elementary teachers. Upon their release, educators
widely critiqued the modules as being of varying quality and appropriateness.
While NYSED portrayed them asflexible curricular guidelines, some school dis-
tricts adopted the modules as instructional scripts on account of their purported
alignment with standardized tests that would be used to determine teachers’and
schools’performance ratings. Consequently, some New York candidates were
compelled to use lessons that they had no agency in designing. While the edTPA’s
context for learningcommentary provides an opportunity to explain such circum-
stances, one prospective teacher remarked:
Some of the modules are very teacher-centered, with a lot of whole-class instruction. And
to think that the political details of the War of 1812 are meaningful and developmentally
appropriate to second graders is ridiculous. So edTPA is mandated by the state. But if I
want to do well on it, and teach in ways that I know are beneficial for my kids, I have tofind
ways to teach outside of the modules, which also come from the state. (elementary
candidate)This candidate illustrates how policy conflicts can affect practice and suggests that
high-quality teaching involves effective curricular and instructional gatekeeping,
which Thornton ( 2005 )defines as a process of mitigating the impacts of disparate
policies via well-warranted pedagogical purposes and a deep understanding of how
students learn. With regard to instructional design, the edTPA’s emphasis on
strategic, principled planning to support diverse students’ content knowledge,
602 K.W. Meuwissen and J.M. Choppin