The implementation of edTPA, a portfolio assessment that preservice teachers must pass in order to gain certification in 41 states, has added standardization to the certification process. Those who go through the process develop very specific skills in the three focus areas of planning, instructing and assessing. The way that teachers are hired,…

Teaching writing requires explicit pedagogical training. Often pre-service English teachers are not only unprepared to teach writing, but they are also unprepared to provide effective writing feedback. Effective writing feedback: (1) prepares young writers to make sound and thorough writing choices; (2) positively impacts learning; and (3)…

This study takes a fine-grained look at the inaugural implementation of a high-stakes teacher performance assessment (the edTPA) from multiple perspectives and chronicles how participants used the reading, writing, and discussion of poetry to cope with and sometimes critique the edTPA. Teacher researchers sought to understand multiple perspectives…