Resources

Kentucky Teacher Standards
A complete listing of, and links to, all Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (KYEPSB) approved performance standards for teachers is included. The standards provide the framework in which all teachers must operate within if teaching in a Kentucky K-12 public school. Dispositions are only indirectly addressed by embedding them in the current standards.

Professional Teacher Dispositions Defined: NCATE – The Standards of Excellence in Teacher Preparation
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is the teaching profession’s mechanism to help to establish high quality teacher, specialist, and administrator preparation. The knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions outlined in this link are based on current research in teaching and learning and on best practices in professional education. Each element reflects an important component of the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions that educators need to develop in order to help all students learn.

Screening Prospective Educators for Dispositions
Colleges of Education screen prospective education students for dispositions, therefore K - 12 education institutions should follow suit and screen for the right dispositions when recruiting, and developing, educators. This article will detail why and how dispositions are used in the teacher admission process at the college level.

The Perceptual (Field) Psychology Model of Educator Dispositions
The definition of dispositions used to implement the hiring program was based on the theory and research of Arthur W. Combs as operationalized by M. Mark Wasicsko. The “effective teachers as effective people” model focuses on four dispositions (also called “perceptions”) that distinguish effective teachers--those who on average can obtain more than a year’s worth of growth with a year’s worth of effort—from ineffective teachers. The hiring process assesses the following dispositions and is used by all principals and site-based school councils: (1) perception about self; (2) perceptions about other people; (3) perceptions of purpose; and (4) perceptions of one’s frame of reference.

Literature and Resources
This link provides a brief overview and resource list of important and relevant materials for helping gain additional background and information.


Assess Leadership Capacity

 21st Century Dispositions for Leading Change and Increasing Achievement
Understanding how transformational leaders go about making transformational change starts with an examination of strength-based strategies for growth and change. This PowerPoint will detail the statistical significance dispositions have on transformational change and provide the top ten strategies to employ for true change.

Assessing Educator Dispositions SBDM Training PowerPoint
Yes, it is important for administrators to have a strong knowledge of dispositions so they can hire the best teacher candidates for their students. However, in Kentucky, Site Based Decision Making (SBDM) councils play a large part of the hiring process and should therefore have a general understanding of how to screen teacher candidates based on dispositions. This PowerPoint provides an introduction to dispositions and how to discover an interviewee’s dispositions during the interview process.

Principal Interview Questions to Assess the Training Program
After training district administrators and building principals on how to incorporate dispositional questioning and screening into the interview process, it is important to evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of dispositional hiring strategies. The attached questionnaire gives administrators and principals an opportunity to reflect upon and provide feedback on dispositional initiatives. (IRB 13-091)

Qualitative Analysis of Dispositional Hiring Process
After the principal interview questions (see link and description directly above this link) were answered by all 23 Boone County School District principals to measure the impact of dispositional work throughout the district, the results were analyzed and summarized in this PowerPoint. Even though your data may differ from the results contained in the qualitative analysis, it is important to review the data and decipher what the results are telling you and possible next steps to take.


Build Leadership Capacity

Drive Book Review PowerPoint
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink is an excellent resource for building a culture rooted in intrinsic and self-directed motivation where the focus is on work, not money and/or recognition. Organizations with such a culture will find it easier to attract and retain talented teachers who also possess the dispositions associated with “Type I” individuals. This PowerPoint highlights the main concepts of the book Drive.

Hiring Gruntled Teachers – Strategies for SBDM PowerPoint
M. Mark Wasicsko, Ph.D.,Dean and Bank of Kentucky Endowed Chair with the College of Education and Human Services at Northern Kentucky University explains what SBDM councils should look for in teacher candidates while conducting the interview and selection process. Most parent SBDM members are not employees of a school district and therefore may not be as familiar with the importance of screening for dispositions. Reviewing this PowerPoint will help everyone on a teacher selection committee to be on the same page during the selection process.

Leadership for Transformational Change
Randy Poe, Superintendent of Boone County Schools, discusses the importance of transformational change through transformative leaders. Transformative leaders will attract and retain employees with the appropriate dispositions, such as the case at Simply Smuckers. It is important to develop transformative leaders and this video will cover the how and why of the development process. (Run-Time: 12-14) 

Transformational Leadership PowerPoint
Randy Poe’s video “Leadership for Transformational Change” (see link and description directly above this link) features this PowerPoint to complement the message of transformational leaders leading an organization to transformational change.


Support for Pre-Hiring

Developing Pre-Employment Screening Questions
Does your district use a screening-questionnaire as part of the pre-employment process? If so, are you asking questions that allow for discovery of candidate dispositions? Most districts in Kentucky use teacher-perceiver questions as a pre-screening tool, which tend to focus more on teacher content knowledge and pedagogical skills than dispositions. Altering pre-screening questions to focus on dispositions will make the interview process more efficient for two reasons: first, candidates who make it to an interview will be known to have solid content knowledge and pedagogical skills through a review of the application, resume and reference letters. Second, the answers to the disposition pre-screening questions will help determine if the candidate's dispositions are a fit for the culture of your district, or even individual schools within a district. This video will provide insight into how Boone County Schools started the process of developing a new dispositional based pre-employment screening tool. (Run time: 1:08)

Boone County Schools’ Pre-Employment Questions
Asking the right questions before the interview process is critical when determining who should be interviewed during the selection process. Boone County Schools developed a set of pre-screening disposition-based questions to get to know the natural attitudes and beliefs of teacher candidates before ever talking to them. Using such questions, and screening candidates before the interview process, will dramatically increase the likelihood of interviewing, and hiring, the right individuals.  View this link to see the pre-screen questions developed for certified applicants in Boone County.  

Support for Professional Development

A Student’s Journey – The Power of a Caring Teacher
This heart-warming and eye-opening story from M. Mark Wasicsko, Ph.D.,Dean and Bank of Kentucky Endowed Chair with the College of Education and Human Services at Northern Kentucky University, describes a transformative teacher he had in sixth grade that changed his life forever and led to an unlikely career path. Dr. Wasicsko's story is not unique to him; rather, it can be found in school distract after school district, especially districts that hire transformative teachers who possess the right dispositions. (Run-time: 23:42) 

KASA FRED Award Nomination Video - Example of a perception of self disposition
 Hiring school-district employees with the right dispositions is critical for student success. Dispositional hiring goes beyond teachers and should be applied to non-teaching staff to truly have transformational change through an entire school district. See why Minnie Tilley, Cafeteria Worker at Conner Middle School was nominated for the 2012 Fred Award by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators. In this video you will also see how Minnie demonstrates the characteristics of perception of self as it relates to dispositional hiring practices. (Run-time: 3:51)
Break The Mold Award - Example of a perception of others disposition
Boone County Schools recognizes employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions to ensure all students are career, college and life ready. Individuals honored with the Break the Mold Award also exemplify the dispositions sought when hiring within Boone County Schools. Tami Sallee-Thomas, Special Education Teacher at Goodridge Elementary, was awarded the December 2010 Break the Mold Award. In this video you will see how Tami demonstrates the characteristics of disposition of others because she sees others as being able and dependable to find adequate solutions to their own challenges. (Run-time: 3:14)

Break The Mold Award - Example of a perception of purpose disposition
Boone County Schools recognizes employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions to ensure all students are career, college and life ready. Individuals honored with the Break the Mold Award also exemplify the dispositions sought when hiring within Boone County Schools. Cindy Wilson, Financial Secretary at Mann Elementary, was awarded the January 2012 Break the Mold Award. In this video you will see how Cindy demonstrates the characteristics of disposition of purpose because she sees the big picture and keeps the appropriate perspective as her job relates to the education process. (Run-time: 2:50)

Break The Mold Award - Example of a general frame of reference disposition
Boone County Schools recognizes employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions to ensure all students are career, college and life ready. Individuals honored with the Break the Mold Award also exemplify the dispositions sought when hiring within Boone County Schools. Mary Jo Rechtin, math teacher at Ryle High School, was awarded the December 2012 Break the Mold Award. In this video you will see how Mary Jo demonstrates the characteristics of a general frame of reference disposition because she puts people first and builds long-term relationships with everyone. (Run-time: 4:26)
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21st Century Superintendents – Planning for the Next Generation