Hanna Stitt

ELM-490
September 10, 2017

Professional Dispositions Assessment

Please indicate your level of agreement with each statement listed below using the
response scale of 1-5. Use this assessment to inform your Professional Dispositions
Statement.
1 = Strongly Disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Undecided 4 = Agree 5 = Strongly Agree

Professional Dispositions Criteria 1 2 3 4 5

I believe a teacher must use a variety of instructional
x
strategies to optimize student learning.
I understand that students learn in many different ways . x

I demonstrate qualities of humor, empathy, and warmth. x

I am a thoughtful and responsive listener. x

I assume responsibility when working with others. x

I believe that all students can learn. x

I believe it is important to involve all students in

x
learning.

I believe the classroom environment a teacher creates

x
greatly affects students' learning and development.

I view teaching as an important profession. x

I understand that teachers’ expectations affect student

x
learning.

I view teaching as a collaborative effort among educators. x

I understand that students have certain needs that must be

x
met before learning can take place.

I am sensitive to student differences. x

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I communicate caring, concern, and a willingness to
x
become involved with others.

I am punctual and reliable in my attendance. x

I maintain a professional appearance. x

I believe it is my job to create a learning environment

conducive to the development of students’ self- x
confidence and competence.

I respect the cultures of all students and am sensitive to

x
cultural norms.

I honor my commitments. x

I treat students with dignity and respect at all times. x

I am willing to receive feedback and assessment of my

x
teaching.

I am patient when working with students. x

I am open to adjusting and revising my plans to meet

x
student needs.

I communicate in ways that demonstrate respect for the

x
feelings, ideas, and contributions of others.

I believe it is important to learn about students and their

x
communities.

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Statement
For my professional disposition statement, I believe I should recognize that each student

learns in their own way and that I should use a variety of instructional materials to help each

student reach their academic goals. I also believe that I should treat all students with respect

because it teaches them to take value of themselves and others around them. I also believe I need

to honor the commitments that I make to my students and fellow teachers. Honoring my

commitments shows my students and fellow teachers that I take my job seriously and want the

best for my students.

The assessment above supports my professional disposition statement because they are

things I have been working on for the past two years. Working in a special needs classroom

really taught me that kids do learn differently and that there are so many ways that we can help

them learn the same material. A motto that I use with students is to “treat others how you want to

be treated”. This really helps when teaching respect to the students. When a student gets upset or

in an argument with another classmate, 9/10 times it’s because of their actions towards one

another. I have always been the type of person to do what I say and honoring my commitments

are very important to me. I have learned not to make promises that I cannot keep and going to

fellow teachers for help is not a bad thing.

Throughout my program, most of my observations were in a second-grade classroom.

Working with this age group was a challenge for me. The material that they were expected to

learn and how fast paced the class was ran. I remember completing a reading lesson over a short

story in small groups and a few of the students did not know a lot of sight words. This was a

shock to me. My biggest challenge was figuring out which method worked best for which

student. I followed up with those same students the next week and played a sight word game to

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help them get more practice. I am also always open to feedback. I want to know what I can do

better so I can help the students reach their fullest potential. For one of my lessons, I went

through it with my cooperating teacher beforehand and we discussed what I could do differently

to make it stronger. She helped me with layout, word choice, and the activity.

There is always room for improvement and my biggest one is patience. Working in a

special needs room has helped with this problem, but I’m not completely there yet. To work

towards having patience with my students, I believe I need to get know them and some about

their families. There are a lot of underlying pieces that will help make things go smoother in the

classroom. Right now, I feel like I have pretty good communication practices, but I do not do a

lot of that. When I get my own classroom in the future, I feel the right step is to look for the best

communication app there is and also talk to the principal and fellow teachers on which methods

work best.

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