Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Why Do We Have Dispositions, and Where Did We Get Them?
This post is a repost from February 2009. Please refer to older posts to learn more about dispositions.
When I first began discussing dispositions, I mentioned that it was a way of measuring teacher quality. Most professional organizations define teacher quality as knowledge, skills and dispositions-more on the knowledge and skills in later posts. Why is teacher quality so important? Linda Darling-Hammond, renowned educational researcher at Stamford University, said it best, “Teacher quality is one of the most important factors influencing student achievement..." There have been empirical studies to prove this fact.
While National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), as well as content area organizations mention dispositions, there is no consensus for criterion on which to measure dispositions. Because accreditation of teacher education institutions requires assessing dispositions, several models have emerged. For example, NCATE defines dispositions “values and commitments” as linked to teacher performance. Other organizations equate them with attitudes, characteristics, ethics, and professional behaviors. Still another model talks about self-assessment and reflection. This model attempts to reach the complexities involved in teacher dispositions and self-improvement. All of these models attempt to capture dispositions that teachers need to be effective educators that enhance student learning.
So where did we get the criterion and indicators for your dispositions? Well, obviously we looked at all these models. But we also looked at the vision and core values of the School of Education. It was important of us to connect your dispositions to these qualities since we believe these to be significant in all areas in the School of Education.
As with all worthy assessments, this disposition rubric is a work in progress. We continually use the data we garner from it to improve it. By following this procedure for all of our assessment tools, we hope to improve our teacher education program to make you a successful educator.
At the beginning of this post I used the work “discussing’. This blog might have started out as me telling you about dispositions; however, from the comments I have been seeing it has turn into a valuable discussion. Please feel free to make a comment. I value them.
When I first began discussing dispositions, I mentioned that it was a way of measuring teacher quality. Most professional organizations define teacher quality as knowledge, skills and dispositions-more on the knowledge and skills in later posts. Why is teacher quality so important? Linda Darling-Hammond, renowned educational researcher at Stamford University, said it best, “Teacher quality is one of the most important factors influencing student achievement..." There have been empirical studies to prove this fact.
While National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), as well as content area organizations mention dispositions, there is no consensus for criterion on which to measure dispositions. Because accreditation of teacher education institutions requires assessing dispositions, several models have emerged. For example, NCATE defines dispositions “values and commitments” as linked to teacher performance. Other organizations equate them with attitudes, characteristics, ethics, and professional behaviors. Still another model talks about self-assessment and reflection. This model attempts to reach the complexities involved in teacher dispositions and self-improvement. All of these models attempt to capture dispositions that teachers need to be effective educators that enhance student learning.
So where did we get the criterion and indicators for your dispositions? Well, obviously we looked at all these models. But we also looked at the vision and core values of the School of Education. It was important of us to connect your dispositions to these qualities since we believe these to be significant in all areas in the School of Education.
As with all worthy assessments, this disposition rubric is a work in progress. We continually use the data we garner from it to improve it. By following this procedure for all of our assessment tools, we hope to improve our teacher education program to make you a successful educator.
At the beginning of this post I used the work “discussing’. This blog might have started out as me telling you about dispositions; however, from the comments I have been seeing it has turn into a valuable discussion. Please feel free to make a comment. I value them.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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