The Intermediate Performance Assessment (IPA) is an exam designed to evaluate the extent to which
certification programs are successful in preparing students to meet Temple University’s six teaching standards and
to ensure that students are adequately prepared for their student teaching. These directions will detail
our expectations for the IPA.
The IPA has two parts. The first part is a lesson plan(s) for 40-120 minutes of class time. The second
part is a series of short essays (paragraphs – one for each of Temple’s six Standards for Skillful
Teaching) in which you describe the standard and its importance for student learning. You then explain
how the standard supports your instructional decisions in the lesson plan. You should draw on research
and/or theory to justify how your instructional decisions effectively achieve the standard as
demonstrated in your IPA Lesson Plan.
The Lesson Plan
You should select a lesson or series of lessons that demonstrates that you meet all six Temple teaching
standards. You can choose to do your IPA on a lesson you actually taught, but you don’t have to do
so. If you do use a lesson you actually taught, you can use what you learned from teaching it when
you write about how your lesson enacts the standards.
First, a definitional note: By lesson we mean a segment of instruction designed to achieve a specified
goal or goals. What that definition means is that lessons don’t equal a class period or a block (though
they could). They might be half a block or two periods; it depends on the objectives and the context.
Of course, if your lesson runs more than a period, you need to be mindful of stopping at an appropriate
end point. If it runs less than a period, you have to be mindful of how you’ll use the remaining
instructional time. Second, some skills, such as those that fall within early literacy development, do
not make good choices for IPA lessons because you cannot enact all six standards. For instance, it
would be difficult to include critical and creative thinking as well as real world connections in a
phonics lesson. However, the phonics lesson could be part of a series of lessons that enact the
standards.
Series of Paragraphs
For each standard you should
• Describe the instructional decisions you made in your lesson plan that were supported by the
standard, using details from your lesson plan as evidence for your decision.
• Explain how each of those instructional decisions applies the pedagogical principal underlying
the standard by drawing on relevant research and/or theory that supports it.
We expect that each paragraph will be somewhere between one-half to one single-spaced page.
Please note: When you are explaining the underlying principles, you can draw on the reading you have
done in any of your classes and what you learned in any of your field experiences. When you write
about the research and/or theory that informs your understanding of the standards, please be aware that
what we’re looking for is a deep understanding of a few key researchers and theorists. Dropping
names isn’t enough. But it is important to refer to key research and theory that informs your
understanding.
IPA Instructions (2023-24) Page 2
Planning Framework
Students MUST use this approved planning framework (or some close variation of that framework) for
their lessons in methods classes, including the IPA lesson. Consult your instructor to determine the
preferred lesson planning framework. (ECE students should use the Inquiry, Teacher Facilitated, or
Teacher Directed Lesson Planning Templates.)
CONTEXT
Describe the instructional context of the lesson. Who are the students this lesson plan was designed
for? Describe student attributes such as their linguistic and cultural backgrounds; cognitive, social
and behavioral needs; grades/ages; prior school histories, and so on. Also describe how the lesson
is situated in terms of what precedes the lesson, what follows it, and if possible, how it is related to
what is being done in other classes/subjects.
DESIRED RESULTS
What are you trying to accomplish with the lesson? What do you want the students to know and be
able to do at the end of the lesson? Consider not only the standards and objectives addressed by the
lesson, but also the big ideas or concepts you want the students to understand about the topic by the
end of the lesson.
EVIDENCE
How will you know whether the desired outcomes were achieved? Describe how you will assess the
specific objectives and understandings listed above. How you will determine if the students have
gained understanding about the big ideas/concepts? How will you know if they are able to perform the
skills taught in your lesson? How will you hold the students individually accountable for their
learning?
LEARNING PLAN
Rationale – What about prior sessions with the students and your knowledge of students in
general prompted you to select the objectives and develop the ideas in this lesson plan as you
did? Be specific and make sure that you think about the needs of your special education and
linguistically diverse students. Consider what theory is driving your instructional decisions as
well as how you plan to incorporate the Temple teaching standards into your lesson.
Materials – List the materials needed for this lesson, including technology. Where appropriate,
attach all materials to the lesson. Please cite your sources where applicable.
Procedures – You should explain as specifically as possible all of the major episodes of the
lesson and estimate how long each will take. Make sure to include an introduction to the lesson
and an opportunity for practice. Be very specific about the details of the lesson plan, such that
someone who did not observe the class could imagine how it went or someone, in your
absence, could use the plan to teach it the way you intended. For example, if you want to
discuss something, how will you facilitate the discussion? What will you say? What difficulties
might you expect the students to have, especially your special education and linguistically
diverse students, and how will you respond? How will your plan meet the diverse learning
needs of all students? Make sure that you include assessments that provide evidence of what
IPA Instructions (2023-24) Page 3
students know and can do and indicate how your procedures might be affected by what you
learn.
DIFFERENTIATION
Explain how you addressed the needs of the range of students you identified in the context.
REFLECTION
A. Explain how you are prepared to adjust the lesson depending on your analysis of the evidence that
you collected or highlight the ways you have made your teaching contingent on what you learn as you
teach if you’ve indicated that in your procedures. Explain how the evidence that you collect might be
part of systematic data collection that would help you think about something more than the
effectiveness of this particular lesson.
B. Reflect on how the lesson went. What did the students learn and what is your evidence? What went
well and why do you think so? What would you change if you were to teach the lesson again? Why?
Consider how theory might explain some of the things you observed. Explain how the formative
and/or summative assessments for the lesson influenced your instruction during this lesson and/or how
the results may impact future lessons.
Note: In some cases you will not have taught the lesson before you turn in it and you may not teach
the lesson at all. If that is the case, please omit section B.
IPA Instructions (2023-24) Page 4
Sample: ECE Lesson Plan and Essay
HEADING:
Student’s Name: Date:
Subject Area: Literacy Grade Level: 3rd
Concept/Topic: Persuasive Writing Time: 2 class periods
CONTEXT:
Composition of Classroom:
This lesson was designed for twenty five students in the fourth grade in Mrs. Fleischman
classroom at Franklin Elementary School in North East Philadelphia. There are 15 girls and 10 boys in
the classroom. None of the students have noticeable behavioral problems. There is a range of cognitive
abilities in the classroom. There are nine ELL students in the classroom with Access scores ranging
from 4.6 to 6.0. Since English is a second language for some of these students I will focus on making
content comprehensible for everyone. One way I will do so is to make sure students understand a few
key concepts before we begin instruction.
