The edTPA is the most important part of an education major's college career. All of the hard work from the previous 3 years all lead up to this moment. This is an extremely stressful time for everyone, but there are simple things you need to remember as you're working on it so that you can keep yourself calm without losing your mind. Here are some things that I learned in my time while writing my edTPA that will help you get through it.
Make a checklist.
I am a huge list person. I love having a list of everything that I need to do in front of me. It alleviates the anxiety of not knowing what else I have to do as well as makes sure that I don't forget anything. I made a master checklist for the commentaries that was broken down by each task, each part, and even each question number. After making the checklist, I was able to plan how many questions I needed to do each day so that I could finish writing the commentary a week before I had to submit so that I would have time to make edits. Not only did the checklist keep everything organized for me, but it also felt really great to check off another question. It gave me continued motivation that I was one question closer to finishing.
Take breaks, allow time for yourself.
I cannot stress the importance of this. It is very easy to become overwhelmed and stressed during edTPA time. I tended to get extremely manic and would often not let myself stop until I finished the number of questions I had to complete each day. My friends would often remind me that I needed to stop, even if I was in the middle of a question, and take a break. When you feel yourself start to burn out, take a break for 10 minutes. Go get a drink, lay on the couch, grab a snack, do anything that will pull you away from your computer for 10 minutes and give your brain a break. Also remember that it is okay to take a day off from it. I gave myself a day the week before it was due to go out and see friends and not do or even think about the edTPA for that one day. If you keep forcing yourself to write your commentary if you are getting worn out, it is not going to be your best work. Take breaks.
Proofread
I planned to finish a week early so that I could have time to proofread. Sometimes going back into things isn't a good idea because you have the tendency to second-guess yourself and change things. When you go back to proofread, you have to try to put all of that aside and just focus on the spelling and grammar. I know I personally was up until 2am on some days working on my commentary. Sometimes your brain doesn't work as well as it normally does at 2am after working on commentary all day, and you make silly spelling and grammar mistakes. That's why it's important to go back into your commentary and proofread before you submit.
Do not underestimate yourself, you've got this
This was something I struggled with a lot while completing the edTPA. In the beginning, I underestimated myself so much because that's how I am. I questioned if my unit was good enough, if my videos were good enough, if my commentary was going to be good enough. I found it so much harder to have the motivation to write when I didn't have the confidence in myself. I luckily got this burst of confidence shortly after I started. I told myself to trust in myself and trust that everything I have learned in the past 3 and a half years prepared me for this. Once I stopped underestimating myself, I found it much easier to complete my commentary.
Breathe
This one is pretty self-explanatory. It was the last thing I put on my checklist in big letters to remind myself of. When you finally press that "submit" button, it's going to feel amazing. Just trust in what you know, believe in yourself, and breathe. You can do it.
Good luck!
