Examining (Re)Constructive History through the Experiences of Asian American Teachers

This article summarizes a case study of three Asian American teachers and their experiences in integrating Asian American perspectives into their social studies teaching. Through examining these teachers’ experiences, the importance of teacher dispositions, teacher knowledge of Asian American histories, and access to ongoing professional learning opportunities that centered equity emerged as critical to integrating Asian American perspectives into the curriculum.

Dexterity, Deliberateness, And Disposition: An Investigation of Instructional Strength for Early Literacy

This mixed-methods study examines the relationship between an emergent conceptualization of teachers’ instructional strength and their students’ progress in early literacy. The conceptualization includes three components: a teacher’s deliberateness, their instructional dexterity, and a set of teacher dispositions that catalyse and maximize these attributes. Based on the results of qualitative inquiry, the authors developed a measure of individual teachers’ instructional strength according to this conceptualization. Regression analysis reveals that all three components are significant predictors of students’ growth in early literacy. The study includes 318 teachers and 1,181 students from 227 schools across the country.

Supporting Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Noticing of Student Thinking Professional Noticing of Student Thinking

A growing body of evidence suggests developing the attention of preservice, secondary mathematics (PSMTs) teachers towards professional noticing of student thinking should feature in teacher education programs. There were two aims for this qualitative study: first, to explore the extent to which an Interview Module (IM) supported the development of PSMTs’ ability to notice and make pedagogical decisions based on student thinking evidenced in video- and paper-based work samples. A secondary aim was to establish the viability of the IM in an Australian context. Overall, PSMTs regarded their involvement in the IM as beneficial to their development as teachers. Specifically, participants outlined that the IM helped to shift their beliefs about teaching and learning, and helped promote productive teacher dispositions. Furthermore, these shifts were enabled through opportunities to engage with authentic student work, and the access they were given to new forms of responding.

The Role of Teacher Dispositions in a Global Teaching Context

Dispositions are a vital aspect to teacher preparation. Dispositions provide the holistic view to teaching future teachers that is often missing in teacher preparation programs. Commonly, the focus of training in teacher preparation programs is on pedagogical and content specific instruction. However, teacher preparation programs have a greater responsibility to further prepare candidates through dispositional development. In the 21st century, it is imperative that teachers are communicatively and culturally competent. Teacher dispositions relate directly to 21st century skills. This chapter focuses on defining dispositions, explaining their significance in teacher preparation programs and establishing how dispositional training can be employed in practical settings. Including teacher dispositions as an integral aspect of teacher preparation globally could help to establish meaningful and clear connections regarding what is truly needed for successful intercultural and international education in the 21st century.

Assessment of Pre-Service Teacher Dispositions

Measurement of pre-service teacher dispositions is an important part of teacher preparation programs. A strong correlation exists between dispositions of teachers and the quality of their student’s learning. Teachers, in addition to sharing content knowledge, are responsible for demonstrating and sharing core values relating to virtues such as honesty, justice, fairness, care, empathy, integrity, courage, respect, and responsibility, and these values must guide their own conduct and interpersonal relations. As teachers serve pupils who are minors, their conduct and potential to serve effectively and ethically in the profession must be evaluated. However, a thorough faculty-led instrument to assess pre-service teacher candidates’ disposition does not currently exist. The purpose of this research was to develop an assessment of pre-service teachers’ dispositions for use in teacher education programs. A 25-item instrument was created through assessment of teacher education program needs and review of best practices on building teacher evaluation instruments, national professional teaching standards, and existing assessment tools. Teacher education faculty completed the instrument assessing roughly 600 students in a masters-level teacher education program. Results indicate that this instrument is a valid and reliable tool that will allow teacher education faculty and administrators to assess teacher candidate professional skills and conduct.

Examining Teacher Dispositions for Evidence of (Transformative) Social and Emotional Competencies with Black Boys: The Case of Three Urban High School Teachers

Drawing from a larger study of teacher empathy, this article offers a critical race analysis of three teachers’ dispositions to discern (a) their social and emotional competencies (SEC) and (b) evidence of transformative social and emotional learning (SEL). Data sources include one-on-one teacher interviews, focus groups, document analyses, and more than 1,500 minutes of video-recorded classroom observations. Findings illustrate the influence of race, identity, and one’s conceptions of power for determining transformative expressions of teacher participants’ SEC. Implications for creating the conditions to effectively design and facilitate transformative SEL programming in urban school settings are discussed.

TEACHER DISPOSITIONS AS PREDICTORS OF TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION: A CHANGING TIDE

Technology initiatives are becoming commonplace in the U.S. Although technology is widespread, its use by teachers is not always clear. This study addressed teacher dispositions to predict classroom technology integration for a public district in the Southwest United States. A modification of the Teacher Attribute Survey was given to 250 pre-k through 12th-grade teachers, examining teacher self-efficacy, teacher philosophy, openness to change, and classroom technology use. Results showed technology use was significantly related to hours of professional development and willingness to continue graduate courses with no incentive. Implications suggest a shift from teachers learning the technology toward needing resources for implementation.

Teacher Professional Dispositions: Much Assemblage Required

Background/Context Despite noted difficulties with defining and assessing teacher dispositions, U.S. state education departments and national accreditation agencies have included dispositions in mandates and standards both for determining teacher quality and for assessing the quality of the teacher preparation programs that certify them. Thus, there remains a significant impetus to specify dispositions to assess, identify what “good” dispositions look like in practice, and determine the best way to measure them. Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we aim to problematize the construct of “teacher dispositions” through a critical synthesis of literature and a discussion of a rhizomatic perspective to generate a (re)conceptualization that is more closely aligned with the immensely complex nature of teaching and learning. Second, we draw on samples of university-generated teacher disposition assessment tools to provide concrete examples that “put to work” this complex perspective on dispositions. Research Design To apply ideas introduced in our rhizomatic framework focused on multiple, dynamic assemblages, we conducted a qualitative textual analysis of a sample of 16 widely available assessment tools used by university-based teacher preparation programs to measure teachers’ professional dispositions. Findings and Conclusions Overall, the vast majority of disposition criteria included in the tools reviewed were temporal and relational, seeking to assess the interactions of the teacher candidate amidst a variety of potential circumstances as well as material and discursive factors. This reveals a paradox, however, since, despite their more contextual phrasing, these criteria ultimately seek to assess an individual and are high-stakes only for that teacher. Yet, we suggest that the results of this review may be an indication that the field is moving toward a more multifaceted vision of teaching that can better take into account the dynamic, situated, and relational nature of teaching activity. We also suggest the language accounting for some of the complexity of teaching in the disposition assessment tools we reviewed may be an entry point into a more dynamic, vital materialist vision of the profession.

Developing Effective Dispositions for Teaching Music

The impact of teacher dispositions on the professional development of preservice music teachers (PMTs) has been substantiated. This chapter describes an approach to dispositional development within the structure of an introduction to music education course. A teacher concerns model is used to organize this systematic approach through three developmental stages that include self-concerns, teaching task concerns, and student learning concerns. A series of 11 critical questions are presented for use in guiding PMTs’ dispositional development through these developmental stages. Activities to engage PMTs in the exploration of each of these questions are detailed for use by music teacher educators desiring to engage PMTs in dispositional development.