Addressing Teacher Dispositions at the community college Level

1. Addressing Teacher Dispositions at the community college Level Glenda Hernandez Baca, Ph.D. Montgomery College, Maryland

2. Outcomes and Agenda • Introductions • Identify definitions for teacher dispositions • Discuss importance of teacher dispositions • Review models on teacher dispositions in teacher education programs • Discuss pilot study at Montgomery College • Develop and share ideas for implementing teacher dispositions at the college level • Share tips for teaching and assessing dispositions at the community college level.

3. Introductions • Turn to two others close to you and share the following: • Name • Institution • Position • What you would like to learn about teacher dispositions

4. What are “teacher dispositions?” • Teacher dispositions: • Values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors and are guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values (NCATE, 2003) • To act in an ethical manner based on an explicit or implicit code of conduct through the development of characteristics of a professional and a model of professionalism every day (Kramer, 2003).

5. Why are teacher dispositions important? • There is a direct correlation between effective teaching and the dispositions of the teacher (Notar, Riley & Taylor, 2009). • They are significantly related to CHANGE his/her mode of behavioral functioning in order to adapt to situational constraints (Yeh, 2002). • It is increasingly being taught and evaluated at the four-year institutions and in the field of education (Ellis & McElvey, 2005).

6. Models of Teacher Dispositions • Admissions Requirements- • The dispositions are evaluated in one specific course such as field experience • Across Setting Evaluations- • not based on limited pieces of evidence-St. Norbert College, Wisconsin • Open to Department faculty- • Faculty complete a disposition evaluation IF there is a concern

7. Teacher Dispositions at Montgomery College • About the pilot study: • Fall 2010 @ Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus • Pre and post-surveys • ED101- Foundations of Education and ED140- Introduction to Special Education • Purpose: • To determine if we should implement teacher disposition teaching and assessment in the AAT. • To lean more about students’ perspectives and knowledge about teacher dispositions. • Number of students: • ED101= 14 ED140= 28 Total =42 • Participant description: • Diversity in age, experience, program choice, racial, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.

8. What students know about teacher dispositions • Most students (92%) in ED101 had not heard of teacher dispositions and did not know the definition of the term. • More students in ED140 knew something about teacher dispositions (33% vs. 8% in ED101) and what it meant. • ED140 responses were more specific to opportunity and growth. ED101 expressed more concerns with subjectivity.

9. How students feel about teacher dispositions • It would give them an opportunity to better prepare themselves to become better teachers. • Can work and address concerns early • Learn more skills • Concerns: • Subjectivity • Specific areas (punctuality, attendance, being shy, etc.)

10. Other Findings On a scale from 1 – 5, where 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest, how important do you consider teacher disposition is to teacher effectiveness and student success? • 14% of students chose 3 • 19% of students chose 4 • 67% of students chose 5 **slights differences between ED101 and ED140 • 100% of students felt teacher dispositions should be evaluated at the AAT level.

11. Outcome of study • Developed a new disposition evaluation based on student feedback and collaborative effort between campus education faculty. • Included LEA (Montgomery County Public Schools) • Started using the evaluation in the Field Experience Course at the midterm point and for finals.

12. Future Steps • Implement it at the college-wide level: • Introduce it to all faculty and adjuncts • Develop clear goals and expectations for how it will be taught and assessed. • Address formal and administrative policy issues: • How what we are going to do with the information • What will happen to students who need significant and extensive supports in developing teacher dispositions?

13. Your Turn! • With 2-3 others, identify TWO concerns for TEACHING teacher dispositions at the community college level along with TWO possible solutions to the concerns. • Also, identify TWO concerns in ASSESSING teacher dispositions at the community college level along with TWO possible solutions to those concerns.

14. Tips to Consider Teaching Dispositions • When and how will you teach about it? • Be clear and specific • Embed it throughout your program (not just in one class) • Consider specific goals and outcomes • Provide sample of your disposition list to your students • Will it be consistent throughout your department?

15. Tips to Consider Disposition Evaluation: • Research the possible disposition “domains” and select what it is important for you, your students and your program. • Consider subjectivity and consistency • How will you address this? • Is your assessment instrument clear? • When and how will you implement this? • What will be done at the administrative level if there is a serious issue or concern?

16. References • Ellis, C. I. & McElvery, R. (2005). Teacher disposition and preservice teachers. (ERIC document Reproduction) • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2002). NCATE unit standards. Retrieved from http://wwww.ncate.org/standard/unit/stds.htm • Notar, C.E., Riley, G.W., & Taylor P. W. (2009). Dispositions: Ability and assessment. International Journal of Education E4 (1), 32-39. • Yeh, Y. (2002). Preservice teachers’ thinking styles, dispositions, and changes in their teacher behaviors. Paper presented at the 2002 Interenational Conference on Computer Education.