UTK expects and requires that teacher candidates maintain professional competencies, attitudes, and dispositions (ProCADs) identified as essential to the teaching profession. These ProCADs are outlined below, but please refer to the following site for complete details: https://sites.google.com/utk.edu/procadsforstudents.
Attitudes towards Teaching Methods: Teaching involves change. Lesson plans and teaching methods should not be “written in stone” but instead treated as possibilities that can be adapted to new and diverse situations.
Attitudes toward Students: No two students are the same. Effective teaching recognizes and values student differences and includes/respects differences in all areas of planning, instruction, and assessment.
Attitudes toward Schools: No classrooms exist in isolation – they are placed within schools. No schools exist in isolation – they are situated in communities. A teacher must value the input and experience of others in the school and the community.
Open-Mindedness Dispositions: No two students are the same. Teaching requires a stance of open-mindedness to the ways and experiences of various people.
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.
Curiosity Dispositions: A good teacher is a lifelong learner. Lifelong learning requires curiosity, both in understanding how things work and in imagining how things might be made better.
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. Much can be accomplished within a single classroom to promote educational equity, and an educational equity and advocacy disposition also means looking beyond the classroom to address educational inequities.
Professional Competencies: Teaching competencies include proficiency in planning, teaching, and assessing, but there are other duties and responsibilities that transcend a learning segment. Professional competencies include self-presentation, self-representation, collegiality, demeanor/attitude, and taking responsibility for the tasks entrusted to you.
Closely related to ProCADs is the Tennessee Teacher Code of Ethics. All Tennessee teachers must abide by Tennessee Code Title 49, Chapter 1; Title 49, Chapter 2; Title 49, Chapter 5; and Title 49, Chapter 6, relative to the teacher code of ethics. The TN Teacher Code of Ethics is linked at Tennessee Teacher Code of Ethics.