Open-mindedness dispositions

The classroom is the first time many students are placed in close proximity to those from other backgrounds. In this space, a teacher must provide safety and challenge to all students, which requires a stance of open-mindedness to the ways and knowledges of various people.

Rubric for assessing open-mindedness dispositions

Open-mindedness dispositions: Examples

Understanding that background and culture influence a child’s school experience –  when you get really good at teaching you learn how to incorporate these backgrounds and cultures into your instruction!

Allowing multiple conceptions and viewpoints - rather than insisting upon your own 

Open-mindedness dispositions: Related InTASC Standards

1(h) The teacher respects learners’ differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to further each learner’s development.

1(i) The teacher is committed to using learners’ strengths as a basis for growth, and their misconceptions as opportunities for learning.

3(n) The teacher is committed to working with learners, colleagues, families, and communities to establish positive and supportive learning environments.

3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.

4(p) The teacher appreciates multiple perspectives within the discipline and facilitates learners’ critical analysis of these perspectives.

7(n) The teacher respects learners’ diverse strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to plan effective instruction.

8(p) The teacher is committed to deepening awareness and understanding the strengths and needs of diverse learners when planning and adjusting instruction. 

Self-reflection dispositions

The most important posture in a teacher’s tool kit is self-reflection that drives changes and development in knowledge and action.  Teaching is an art and a teacher must determine what a classroom needs, year after year, class after class.  A teacher must use self-reflection as the foundation for effective planning, instruction, and assessment for all students.

Rubric for assessing self-reflection dispositions

Self-reflection dispositions: Examples

Willingness to act upon constructive criticism provided by others

Willingness and ability to self-critique in order to continually change and improve your teaching

A great example is your ProCADS self evaluations - be open and honest so that we can best support you!

Self-reflection dispositions: Related InTASC Standards

3(r) The teacher is a thoughtful and responsive listener and observer.

4(o) The teacher realizes that content knowledge is not a fixed body of facts but is complex, culturally situated, and ever evolving. S/he keeps abreast of new ideas and understandings in the field.

4(q) The teacher recognizes the potential of bias in his/her representation of the discipline and seeks to appropriately address problems of bias.

6(q) The teacher is committed to engaging learners actively in assessment processes and to developing each learner’s capacity to review and communicate about their own progress and learning.

6(s) The teacher is committed to providing timely and effective descriptive feedback to learners on their progress.

6(t) The teacher is committed to using multiple types of assessment processes to support, verify, and document learning.

6(u) The teacher is committed to making accommodations in assessments and testing conditions, especially for learners with disabilities and language learning needs.

6(v) The teacher is committed to the ethical use of various assessments and assessment data to identify learner strengths and needs to promote learner growth.

9(m) The teacher is committed to deepening understanding of his/her own frames of reference (e.g., culture, gender, language, abilities, ways of knowing), the potential biases in these frames, and their impact on expectations for and relationships with learners and their families. 

Curiosity dispositions

In common parlance, a good teacher is a lifelong learner.  To this end, we look for a disposition toward curiosity, both toward understanding how things work but also toward imagining how things might be made better.

Rubric for assessing curiosity dispositions

Curiosity Dispositions: Examples

Engage in professional development – don’t text or sleep or complain in PD. 

Help others in your professional learning community – don’t keep good ideas to yourself or be unwilling to share resources

Remain open to new ideas, new technologies, new ways of teaching and learning – don’t make snap judgements on why a new idea won’t work – try it first! 

Curiosity Dispositions: Related InTASC Standards

3(p) The teacher is committed to supporting learners as they participate in decision-making, engage in exploration and invention, work collaboratively and independently, and engage in purposeful learning.

4(r) The teacher is committed to work toward each learner’s mastery of disciplinary content and skills.

8(r) The teacher is committed to exploring how the use of new and emerging technologies can support and promote student learning.

9(n) The teacher sees him/herself as a learner, continuously seeking opportunities to draw upon current education policy and research as sources of analysis and reflection to improve practice. 

Educational equity dispositions

Centuries of data show that educational inequities exist and persist. It is difficult to imagine that one teacher can change the world, but we look for teachers who are willing to try.  While much can be accomplished within a single classroom to promote educational equity, a strong educational equity and advocacy disposition also means looking beyond the classroom to address educational inequities.

Rubric for assessing educational equity dispositions

Educational Equity Dispositions: Examples

Recognition that inequities and biases exist in education

Work to minimize these inequities in your classroom

Use classroom teaching to address inequities and biases in an appropriate manner

Educational Equity Dispositions: Related InTASC Standards

2(m) The teacher respects learners as individuals with differing personal and family backgrounds and various skills, abilities, perspectives, talents, and interests.

2(n) The teacher makes learners feel valued and helps them learn to value each other.

5(q) The teacher is constantly exploring how to use disciplinary knowledge as a lens to address local and global issues.