The purpose of this proposal is to present a dispositions rubric used with undergraduate PETE students and share results from use of the instrument. NASPE PETE professional standard 6 states “physical education teacher candidates demonstrate dispositions essential to becoming effective professionals”, so it is clear that evaluating these important characteristics is important.
Method:
Professional dispositions of undergraduate PETE students have been evaluated at UWG for several years and the dispositions rubric has been revised several times to better evaluate these important characteristics. Students are scored on the following dispositional categories: attendance, class preparation, appearance, communication, ethics/diversity, responsiveness, participation, and professional development. The rubric scores are unsatisfactory (U), developing (D), proficient (P), and exemplary (E). Students are scored multiple times per semester and throughout the program. Each semester, students score themselves and are scored by two of their instructors during the first half of the semester. Discrepancies between student scoring and instructor scoring are discussed with the student to explain the differences. Students are also scored by all program faculty at the end of each semester. The results included here are end of fall semester data for a senior cohort (N=24) and a junior cohort (N=23).
Analysis/Results:
Percentages for each dispositional category for cohort group were calculated using Excel and show: Senior Cohort – attendance (U=4.2%, D=12.5%, P=54.1%, E=29.2%), class preparation (U=0%, D=8.3%, P=87.5%, E=4.2%), appearance (U=0%, D=4.2%, 83.3%, E=12.5%), communication (U=4.2%, D=29.2%, P=66.6%, E=0%), ethics/diversity (U=4.2%, D=29.2%, P=66.6%, E=0%), responsiveness (U=0%, D=12.5%, P=83.3%, E=4.2%), participation (U=4.2%, D=12.5%, P=75%, E=8.3%), professional development (U=8.3%, D=37.5%, P=54.2%, E=0%). Junior Cohort – attendance (U=8.7%, D=26.1%, P=8.7%, E=56.2%), class preparation (4.3%, 34.8%, 47.8%, E=13.1%), appearance (U=4.3%, D=21.7%, P=69.6%, E=4.3%), communication (U=8.7%, D=43.5%, P=47.8%, E=0%), ethics/diversity (U=8.7%, D=39.1%, P=52.2%, E=0%), responsiveness (U=0%, D=17.4%, P=82.6%, E=0%), participation (U=0%, D=26.1%, P=73.9%, E=0%), professional development (U=8.7%, D=43.4%, P=43.4%, E=4.3%).
Conclusions:
Professional dispositions for undergraduate PETE students is a very important aspect of their preparation and using a dispositions rubric is one way to provide students with important feedback on their teacher education preparation. On average, students tend to start in the unsatisfactory or developing categories as they begin the program and end up in the proficient and/or exemplary categories by the end of the program as they learn and work on their dispositions. The results clearly show that these students are varied in their professional dispositions and understanding their dispositions gives strong feedback on their teacher preparation.