From the inception of the Teacher Preparation Data Model (TPDM) at the Alliance in 2019, one of the main goals has been to bring TPDM into the core data standard. In 2020, the data standard added surveys from TPDM. In 2021, we have continued to make strides in achieving this goal.
TPDM as a Core Extension
Ed-Fi continues to focus heavily on making it simpler to implement the data standard, including TPDM. In 2021, we debuted the Ed-Fi Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) starter kits, Diversity and Persistence and the Clinical Experience and Performance. These starter kits tackle some of the most important questions that EPPs may have about their candidates. We used these starter kits as a guide for what to bring into the core data standard.
After analyzing the starter kits, we settled on the following entities and domains:
- Candidate
- EducatorPreparationProgram
- CandidateEducatorPreparationProviderAssociation
- FinancialAid
- Credentials
- PerformanceEvaluation domain
Being a part of the core standard has many benefits, it signals that we believe that the model is stable and should not need significant change. Second, many of the tools provided by the ODS/API (such as the database migration utility) are built to work with the core data standard.
TPDM-Core will remain an extension, providing the easiest upgrade path from older versions of TPDM as well and smoother transitions between TPDM-Core and the existing TPDM. TPDM-Core is installed by default with a new ODS/API installation (version 5.3 and above) and will receive full support from the core data standard and platform teams.
TPDM-Core and TPDM-Community
With the release of TPDM-Core, we needed a new name for the existing, full TPDM model. We chose TPDM-Community as it represents the work of the entire TPDM community. The focus of TPDM-Community will be to support those institutions that want to go further in their TPDM journey than the handful of use cases that TPDM-Core will support. This includes the application pipeline (applicants, prospects, applications), deeper support for post completion employment, professional development, and non-rubric bases evaluations.
While TPDM-Core is installed by default with a new ODS/API v5.3 installation, installing TPDM-Community is easier to install than previous TPDM versions, taking only a couple of extra steps. And because TPDM-Core is a perfect subset of TPDM-Community, upgrading from TPDM-Core to TPDM-Community means that your existing data mapping does not need to change.
Learn more about the TPDM-Core and TPDM-Community and the Ed-Fi Starter Kits.
