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Throughout your Teaching program, you will be asked to self-assess your professional dispositions. Why are professional dispositions important?

Colley (n.d.) states that dispositions are important because of the (1) integrity of the profession; (2) program standards and expectations; (3) mission of the institution; (4) legal responsibility; and (5) career retention and opportunity.

What are professional dispositions? The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), through its Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) (2011), provides core teaching standards "that outline what teachers should know and be able to do to ensure every K-12 student reaches the goal of being ready to enter college or the workforce in today's world.

These standards outline the common principles and foundations of teaching practice that cut across all subject areas and grade levels and that are necessary to improve student achievement" (p. 3). Within the 10 standards, there are 43 InTASC critical dispositions for preservice and inservice teachers. These standards and dispositions are part of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Standard 1.

In addition to national standards and expectations for professional dispositions for educators, many state departments of education and professional organizations have specific expectations for teacher dispositions.

The American Public University System School of Education has created its own conceptual framework and set of dispositions accordingly. You will be asked to self-assess yourself at various points during your program.

This information is needed for accreditation purposes, to help you reflect and self-monitor your own disposition development, and to ensure that you think more deeply about related course content that should shape your knowledge, performances, and dispositions. Your self-assessments are not graded, but must be completed in order to pass the course.

References

CCSSO's Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC). (2011). InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards; A Resource for State Dialogue.