ST. PAUL, Minn. — Standing at the edge of a pond surrounded by her class of fourth-graders, Jasmine Zeppa filled a bucket with brown water and lectured her pupils on the science of observing and recording data. Many of the children seemed more interested in nearby geese, a passing jogger and the crunchy leaves underfoot.
Zeppa’s own professor from St. Catherine University stood nearby and recorded video of it all.
“I think it went as well as it possibly could have, given her experience,” the professor, Susan Gibbs Goetz, said. Her snap review: The 25-year-old Zeppa could have done a better job holding the students’ attention, but did well building on past lessons.
Aspiring teachers like Zeppa are preparing for new, more demanding requirements to receive their teacher license. Under a new system being tested in 19 states, video of student teachers in their classroom will be evaluated and candidates must show they can prepare a lesson, tailor it to different levels of students and present it effectively.
Most states only require that would-be teachers pass their class work and a written test. Supporters of the new system say the Teacher Performance Assessment program is a significant improvement, while others are a little more cautious in their praise, warning that it’s not guaranteed it will lead to more successful teachers.
The assessments also place responsibility for grading the would-be teachers with teams of outside evaluators who have no stake in the result. Currently, the teachers-in-training are evaluated by their colleges, which want their students to get their teaching licenses.
“It’s a big shift that the whole country is going through,” said Misty Sato, a University of Minnesota education professor who is helping adapt the assessments for Minnesota. “It’s going from ‘What has your candidate experienced?’ to what your candidate can do.”
