TPA Lesson Plan Response

The TPA has a lot of very good functions. I think that it tries to hit all of the things we should consider when we are planning a lesson. The inclusion of Content Standards and Assessment are vital to a lesson that is focused and knows exactly where it is headed, how it will be measured, and what you are basing your lesson on. Any curriculum, even the strictest one has room for individuality and also for bad teaching. Therefore, the template helps a teacher to focus and to actually have some kind of backbone to the lesson, why is he/she teaching the curriculum a certain way and what standards are he/she hitting.

 

Another important aspect of the TPA is Lesson Rationale, without it again the question is why are you teaching and how you are teaching what you teaching. There has to be a reason behind actions and I think it is smart and beneficial to have that in the TPA. In addition, I think it is important to specify the time in the Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks and the estimation of time will help to keep the teacher on track and to realize how much something takes times.

 

Also, the inclusion of Student Voice is an essential piece. To me, it helps make sure that each student gets a voice in the classroom and has a chance to speak. It helps the lesson to be more than a lecture, but instead for it to have student engagement. They get to be part of their learning and to speak their concerns or show their understanding.

 

I also like the breakdown of each part of the TPA into sections that include questions to answer. It gives farther explanation on what each of the parts means. Without it, it is hard to understand what is necessary to meet each part of the TPA, what is required of the lesson. Those questions serve as a guide when creating the lesson plan. There are also a lot of them, so it is a bit difficult to include all, but it is a great starting point in planning. With experience, a teacher can see how to meet all these criterions and to answer all the questions within those criterions. Less work will be required.

 

Now some of the things I find tedious and a bit confusing still are the Differentiated Instruction piece and the Parent and Community Connections. Since, this is the first time I see the Parent and Community Connections part, it is confusing how to incorporate that in the lesson. Also I question what is important to include in Differentiated Instruction piece. A lot of students just put a reference to 504 plans or IEPs but no specifics. Sometimes it feels that it is hard to include everything a TPA asking for and it is a bit mundane and repetitive, but I also recognized this process is important, especially in the beginning stages of teaching.