Washington Teaching Performance Assessment

After reading the handout on the Washington Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA), I could see how it would be a valuable tool when creating a lesson unit. I have had no experience in the classroom, as of yet, and am only working on my first unit plan, but I think a rookie or a veteran teacher could benefit from this as a guide and a kind of check-list to be sure the new unit is well thought out. In our small group discussion during the last class meeting, we touched on the importance of learning about your students, reading their files, etc., that is valuable but sometimes overlooked. With the demands on teacher's time and resources I can understand how this may happen, but it is still a factor of available information for teachers to consider. This is just one of the points listed on the TPA which will be a good reminder as we plan our lessons. Also great considerations are the linguistic and vocabulary considerations, as well as evaluation methods. I can easily see myself getting hit with a lightning bolt of inspiration for a new way of teaching something, and possibly not thinking of it from all relevant angles to insure the lesson is complete, and for everyone. I think the TPA is suited for just that purpose and will be very helpful.