Examining Elementary Education Teacher Candidates' Experiences Completing edTPA

This study examined 388 elementary education teacher candidates (n = 388) across four semesters in one educator preparation program about their experiences completing the performance-based assessment edTPA. Candidates were in one of three programs at a large, public research university in the Southeast region of the United States. These programs included: a general undergraduate elementary education program, an undergraduate elementary/special education dual licensure program, and a post baccalaureate graduate certificate in elementary school teaching program. Findings indicate that candidates across all three programs reached consensus on the five biggest challenges of edTPA. The challenges included: (1) deeper thinking for students; (2) identifying the language function of the lesson sequence; (3) including discourse in the lesson plans; (4) including the syntax supports in their lesson plans; and (5) making connections to research and theory. While all three groups of candidates identified these five challenges, the order and the extent to which they were a challenge varied by group. Further, candidates expressed disproportionate periods of time dedicated to edTPA during student teaching. Candidates in the graduate certificate in teaching program reported that they felt less prepared than undergraduate students in the other programs. Implications include examining how to best support candidates in all three programs to increase their likelihood of success on edTPA.