Can You Teach Intrinsic Values? Creating a Rubric to Support and Assess Professional Dispositions Development

Teacher educators understand the important role of dispositions, defined as beliefs, values, and attitudes educators demonstrate when interacting with others. Without skills in these areas, teacher candidates will likely struggle to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to be effective in the classroom. There is general consensus in the field as to the value of developing these dispositions in teacher candidates. The purpose of the present paper is to describe a process aimed to define and measure professional dispositions aligned to Combs’ perceptual dispositions model. The work had three objectives. Firstly, to understand how students and other members of the faculty viewed the importance of professional dispositions. Secondly, to build on the broad definition of professional dispositions by identifying associated competencies. Finally, to create a tool to authentically assess and support teaching dispositions in teacher candidates. The authors identified six competencies to measure and help develop in teacher candidates: Cultural Competence, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Self-reflection, and Initiative. This paper provides a methodological approach to defining dispositional competencies, a process and tool to measure these in teacher preparation programs.

Converging Andragogy With Working Adult Professionalism in Initial Teacher Preparation

Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) are tasked with providing preservice teachers with pedagogical theory, practical field experiences, mentorship, and scaffolded professional dispositions during critical phases of their preparation. In addition, EPPs collaborate with school districts and state departments of education to address critical issues in the field, including teacher retention and shortages. Our research explores how one EPP pilot, designed to build upon experience, supported working adult education students (e.g., parapros) seeking initial teacher certification. We sought to understand how adult teacher candidates engaged in professional learning and emergent professional relationships. Our qualitative study examined the experience of the first cohort of a 3-year pilot program. Using andragogy as a conceptual framework and paired with Danielson Evaluation Dispositions to expand on this professionalism, the data expanded on these professional dispositions through a thematic network analysis. Emerging from this analysis and through an andragogical lens, cohort members exhibited key traits associated with adult learners, including application of skills, flexibility, identification of growth, and relationship building. Our research concluded with implications for EPPs and suggestions for further research for programs at the intersections of andragogy and initial teacher certification.

Proleptic Autobiography

This assignment challenges students in an English Language Arts teacher education program to compose a proleptic autobiography—a genre of writing that transforms the customary retrospective autobiographical essay assignment as a way to encourage students to envision and create their future professional selves. The goal of the assignment is to support students’ development of realistic expectations of their imminent careers as educators and to foster a deeper appreciation of diverse learners. Composing such an imaginative narrative can help students develop stronger professional dispositions as they consider aspects of their future careers such as work/life balance, economic concerns, developing confidence, and providing support and encouragement to their students.

Work-Based Learning (WBL) Model to Develop Self-Directed Learners in Optometry Education - An Evaluation

Purpose: This paper evaluated the effectiveness of work-based learning (WBL) model to develop self-directed learning skills in optometry education. Methods: ‘WBL cohort 1’ in Academic year (AY) 1819S1 (n = 20) and ‘WBL cohort 2’ in AY1920S1 (n = 65) were studied and compared with a ‘traditional cohort’ (n = 42). The following were investigated: (i) Student Survey (SS); (ii) Focus Group Interview (FGI); (iii) adjunct lecturer survey and (iv) Final Module Score (FMS) in four core modules. Results: Through SS, >60% reported that WBL enabled them to be selfdirected learners and >80% felt that it helped to develop useful optometry skills and knowledge. Through FGI, 83% of the ‘WBL cohort 1’ and 54% of the ‘WBL cohort 2’ reported that it trained them to be self-directed learners. More than 60% of the adjunct lecturers surveyed reported that students who underwent the WBL model had exhibited good interpersonal skills, critical thinking and good traits of an independent optometrist. However, these were not as clearly evident when the cohort size was increased. Based on academic performance (with FMS as an indicator), WBL produced variable results in the four core modules surveyed, with WBL cohorts 1 and 2 performing differently. Conclusion: WBL model was able to develop self-directed learners and professional dispositions as well as generic employability skills. To scale WBL for larger cohorts, considerations must be given to faculty and resource availability, which it demands.

The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on the Professional Orientations of Secondary School Students in Jordan

This study aimed to identify the relationship between emotional intelligence and professional dispositions among secondary stage students in Jordan, and the study relied on the relational descriptive approach, and the study sample consisted of (1500) secondary stage students in Jordan. The emotional intelligence scale and the professional dispositions scale were used to collect data. The results showed that the level of emotional intelligence among secondary school students in Jordan was of a moderate degree. The results indicated that there is a close correlation between professional dispositions and emotional intelligence, whenever a higher level of emotional intelligence, the level of professional dispositions towards motor professions or manual skills were increased, but the relationship decreases with emotional intelligence whenever the professional dispositions go towards software, discoveries, and media matters. In light of the results of the study, a set of recommendations were presented.

Establishing and Developing Professional Evaluator Dispositions

A basic principle associated with competent evaluation practice asserts that evaluators should possess the education, abilities, skills, and experience needed to undertake the tasks proposed in an evaluation. For those training evaluators this also means teaching professional dispositions, because an individual’s dispositions (i.e., beliefs and values) influence how they will act as professionals. In order for evaluation educators to teach evaluator competencies, we must understand the underlying dispositions associated with each competency. We must also identify which dispositions are essential for professional practice. This paper discusses the issue of dispositions and the challenges of helping evaluators develop positive professional dispositions.

Teachers' Dispositions at Tertiary Level: An Inquiry in the Preparation of Prospective Professionals

Teachers' dispositions are mainly effective in the optimization of quality education. At the tertiary level, it plays a significant role in the process of educating students. It is primarily concerned with successful and effective teaching. Such dispositions are directed by the beliefs and viewpoints concomitant to ethical principles like honesty, equity, accountability and social justice. Professional dispositions of teachers involve the technical aspects of teaching such as a wide array of knowledge, subject expertise, pedagogical skills and experience that they engage in advancing the intellectual growth of students. These technical aspects of teaching, however, overshadow the nontechnical qualities of teachers like their personal virtues, character, and personality that are immensely important for the inculcation of values in students. The paper proceeds to argue that students of higher education would be prospective professionals, it is, therefore, the responsibility of teachers to promote and instill virtues in students during their academic years. It further argues that virtuous disposition not only mediates value inculcation in students but it also empowers teachers to perform through thick and thin in conformity with normative professional dispositions. The analyses deduce that the scope of teachers' dispositions should be widened to take into account the importance and relevance of virtues in order to bring affirmative change in the professional skills of teachers. The study attempts to find out the significance of virtuous dispositions in practice teaching and argues for the internalization and implementation of the same within the professional dispositions of teachers.

Examining the Development of Professional Dispositions of Prospective Teachers in Higher Education: Broadening the Horizon of Teacher Training

In 2009, dispositions were included in the professional standards by the National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (NACTE) in Pakistan. As per NACTE’s manual, teachers' training institutes are responsible to develop and assess dispositions in prospective teachers in Pakistan. However, no research study in Pakistan illustrates whether teacher training institutions are developing and assessing professional dispositions of pre-service teachers. Therefore, the basic purpose of the study was to examine and measure the professional dispositions of pre-service teachers of teacher education programs in Pakistan. The quantitative cross-sectional research design was opted to accomplish the research study. The researchers visited 11 out of 15 public universities of Punjab. Hence, data were collected from 1061 out of 1592 prospective teachers through proportionate stratified sampling. For data collection, a self-assessment questionnaire was used which was developed by reviewing extensive literature in accordance with dispositions mentioned in National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan (NPSTP). The study concluded that albeit pre-service teachers did not possess equally all, and hence, partly possessed professional dispositions, mentioned in National Professional Standards for Teachers. Prospective teachers from South Punjab reflected significantly more professional dispositions as compared to prospective teachers of Central and North Punjab. The NACTE may guide and provide information to departments of education of universities for developing, monitoring and assessing the prospective teachers’ professional dispositions, so that prospective teachers’ professional dispositions may be enhanced to launch a better workforce for educational institutions. Keywords: professional dispositions, prospective teachers, teacher training institutes, professional standards.

Fostering Professional Dispositions of Preservice Teachers in an Educational Psychology Course

This chapter describes pedagogical approaches for fostering preservice teachers' professional dispositions in an undergraduate educational psychology course. First, scholarly literature related to advancement of preservice teachers' professional dispositions is reviewed. Select conceptual frameworks are reviewed and aligned with teacher preparation approaches used in the target course for advancing preservice teachers' professional dispositions. Next, analyses of preservice teachers' course experience and field experience in the target course are showcased as pedagogical approaches used for promoting preservice teachers' professional dispositions. Thereafter, additional pedagogical approaches are suggested for promoting preservice teachers' professional dispositions for teaching diverse students in secondary schools. Finally, options for examining development of preservice teachers' professional dispositions within teacher preparation programs are discussed as a future research direction.

A New Generation of Teachers

This chapter describes a contemporary profile of teacher candidates. While some education majors enter the program with requisite knowledge, intellectual curiosity, a willingness to push themselves, and the ability to accept critique in order to learn how to become a teaching professional, many of their peers enter professional coursework lacking critical thinking and other skills needed for the profession. The author provides a rationale for why professional dispositions and linguistic knowledge are critical for education majors, especially Pre-K-8 teachers—those grade levels where language learning is critical for subsequent school success. In doing so, this chapter suggests how teacher preparation curricula and pedagogies might be reconsidered.