edTPA key terms

A written summary of the school, classroom, and students that a candidate uses to plan instruction, including community, class demographics, and individual learning needs.

The main idea or essential question that ties together a learning segment; it describes the core content and skills students should develop across several lessons.

Official statements, often set by a state, that describe what students should know and be able to do in a subject at a given grade level.

A clear, specific statement of what students should be able to do by the end of a lesson, usually written in measurable terms.

A short series of connected lessons, typically three to five, built around one central focus and taught to the same group of students.

The skills, experiences, and understandings students already bring to a topic before new instruction begins; teachers use it to connect new learning.

The oral and written language students need to understand and express content learning, including vocabulary, sentence structures, and ways of communicating in a discipline.

The purpose for which students use language in a lesson, such as describing, explaining, comparing, or arguing, tied to the content learning goal.

The specific language students must understand or produce to complete a learning task, such as writing a claim or explaining a process.

The rules and patterns for arranging words, phrases, or symbols into meaningful structures, such as sentence forms or mathematical equations used in a subject.

The ways people in a subject area talk, write, and share ideas, including expected structures for discussion, explanation, and argument.

The key words and phrases tied to a lesson's content that students need to know in order to understand and discuss the topic.

Temporary supports a teacher provides to help students complete a task they could not yet do alone, gradually removed as learners gain competence.

Planning and teaching that adjusts content, process, or product to match students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles so all can succeed.

A planning approach that builds multiple ways of representing information, engaging students, and allowing them to show what they know.

A detailed written outline of a single lesson that includes objectives, materials, instructional steps, checks for understanding, and assessment.

Instruction that challenges students with higher-order thinking, complex texts or tasks, and meaningful application rather than simple recall.

Information collected before instruction about what students can currently do, used to set goals and measure growth.

The degree to which students actively participate in and attend to learning tasks, shown through discussion, work, and persistence.

Mental work that goes beyond recall, such as analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing, or creating, requiring students to use content in new ways.

Instruction in which students work together in pairs or groups toward a shared learning goal, often discussing ideas and building on one another's contributions.

The routines, expectations, and responses a teacher uses to create a safe, orderly, and productive learning environment.

The planned and spontaneous questions a teacher asks to check understanding, probe reasoning, and move students toward deeper thinking.

The methods and techniques a teacher chooses to deliver content and guide learning, such as direct instruction, discussion, modeling, or inquiry.

Students' awareness and control of their own thinking and learning, including planning, monitoring, and evaluating how well they understand.

A stage of instruction in which students practice a new skill with teacher support, prompts, and feedback before working independently.

Observable student work, responses, or performances that show what students understand or can do at a given point.

A written analysis in which a candidate explains and justifies instructional choices, citing specific moments from teaching and student responses.

Ongoing checks during instruction that reveal how students are progressing, allowing the teacher to adjust teaching before formal grading.

An evaluation at the end of a lesson or unit that measures what students learned against the learning objectives, often for a grade.

The specific qualities or standards used to judge student work, describing what evidence shows mastery of a learning objective.

A scoring guide that lists levels of performance and describes the qualities of work at each level, used to evaluate student products consistently.

Information given to students about their performance that identifies strengths, gaps, and next steps so they can improve.

A process in which students judge their own work or progress against clear criteria, helping them take ownership of learning.

A careful examination of assessment results to identify patterns in what students learned, where gaps remain, and what should change in teaching.

Using assessment results and other evidence to plan, adjust, and target teaching so it responds to students' actual needs.