A Balancing Act: edTPA Portfolio Analysis Shows PSTs Embrace and Break From Traditional Literacy Instruction

• In Event: Critical Practices in English Teacher Education: Challenging, Refining, and Reimagining Teacher Learning

Abstract

Abstract:
The edTPA (SCALE, 2013) is a consequential assessment meant to assess pre-service teachers’ (PST) readiness to teach. While initially touted as a positive step away from more paper-based assessments, the past few years have shown an increase in research that challenges the assessment’s effectiveness, particular a misalignment with pedagogical best practices within a discipline. This study adds to that discussion by analyzing the ways that the edTPA for secondary English teachers reinforces traditional instructional norms, particularly for literacy education. Discourse analysis of two teachers’ successful portfolios revealed that the English edTPA may shape teachers’ pedagogical practice by encouraging deficit thinking, promoting traditional literacy practices over multiliteracies, and limiting their opportunities for culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012).

Author

• Carrie L. James, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign