Personal and Interpersonal Attributes in Selecting Teachers

Abstract

Building a case on the commonalties found in four teacher assessment instruments, the authors assert the importance of selecting teachers based on professional attitudes and personal attributes. This article synopsizes four tools used to assess teachers and teacher candidates regarding knowledge, skills, and values. The tools reviewed in this article are: Teacher Perceiver Instrument, STAR Teacher Interview, Praxis 111 Teacher Performance Assessment, and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The article includes a clarifying matrix which supports the authors' proclamation and which illustrates the dimensions of teacher knowledge, dispositions, and skills particular to these tools. In addition to building a case for the significance of the personal and interpersonal attributes necessary for successful teacher; this article offers a synthesis of these four tools and draws implications for teacher preparation and professional development.

Haberman Star Teacher Interview as a predictor of success in urban teacher preparation

“…EPPs proposing to prepare teachers for urban schools need to make significant changes to their content and structure to include: (a) curricular changes, including a focus on diversity and culturally responsive practice, knowledge of self and others, and an emphasis on connections from theory to practice (Carpenter-LaGattuta, 2004;Cochran-Smith, 2004;Darling-Hammond, 2006Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2007;Gay, 2000Gay, , 2004Ladson-Billings, 1994Milner, 2010); (b) a focus on the preparation for the realities of urban communities with an emphasis on social justice (Cochran-Smith, 2004;Gay, 2004;Hollins, 2012;Ladson-Billings, 1994Weiner, 1999;Zeichner, 2003); (c) extended and closely supervised field experiences in urban schools, which may include coursework taught in urban classrooms and communities (AACTE, 2013;Conaway, Browning & Purdum-Cassidy, 2007;Darling-Hammond, 2010;Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2007;Ladson-Billings, 1994National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2010;Zeichner, 2003Zeichner, , 2010Zeichner, , 2011; and (d) the recruitment of a diverse pool of candidates specifically for teaching in urban schools (AACTE, 2013; Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2007;Haberman, 2005a;Ladson-Billings, 1995;Ryan & Alcock, 2002;Tredway, 1999;Weiner, 2000). The focus on teacher education reform, accountability for the performance of graduates, and the necessity for robust selectivity in teacher education demands that EPPs examine selection procedures to ensure that they are admitting students with the potential for effective teaching.…”

“…There was a need to select candidates who did not just have the propensity to be successful in a university teacher preparation program, but also with the propensity to be successful as an urban school teacher during and after the program. Therefore, the program approached selection and admission to the program in a manner consistent with the recommendations cited in the literature regarding the selection of urban teachers (Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2007;Haberman, 2005b;Ladson-Billings, 1995;Ryan & Alcock, 2002;Tredway, 1999;Weiner, 2000). The urban teacher education program targeted recruitment efforts at candidates of color, candidates with urban school experiences, candidates with a professed desire to teach in urban communities, candidates living in urban communities, and those with experiences working with diverse populations of children (Haberman, 2005a;Waddell, 2015;Waddell & Ukpokodu, 2012).…”

Assessing The Validity Of The Teacher Perceiver Interview As A Predictor Of Faculty Performance

“…The teacher helps students develop a need for closure but does so by working from the students' level. (Ryan and Alcock, 2002).…”