1

Professional Dispositions: Fundamental to Success

Department of EducationMaster of Arts in Teaching

Catherine Snyder, Chair, NBCT, PhDNicki Foley, Asst. Director, MSEd

Department of Education

Master of Arts in Teaching

• Secondary Disciplines

• pk-12 TESOL

~100 Graduate Students

~45 Graduates/Year

100% Job Placement

AAQEP

1989, Full-Year Residencies

7 WeeksFull-day

Psychology of Teaching &

Literacy

Discipline-Specific Methods

Teaching Lab

SUMMER9 Credits

FALL14 Credits

SPRING14 Credits

Professionalism in Teaching

Full Year Residency

ENL Literacy

Effective Teaching for All Learners

Discipline-Specific Coursework

MAT Action Research

Modern Teacher

Discipline-Specific Coursework

Master of Arts in Teaching Program

Spring of Previous Year

Mentor Placement Process Begins

Initial Inquiry

Recruiter Interaction

Review & Decision

Unstructured Interview

Enroll

6%

Pre-2016 Process

80%

Conversion Rate

Completed App to Enroll

Attrition Rate

16%65% Dispositional

What lies ahead...

…Our dilemma and our goals

...Review of our revised intake process

...Integration of the DAP: Dispositions, Attributes, & Proficiencies Instrument

...How we use DAP

6

Enhancing the Intake Process

Sandler Approach 1 & 2-year Option

Informational Interview Interview Protocol On-demand

Writing

DAP Interview

2015

Miller Analogies Test

.9 Recruiter

2016

2019

2017

The Previous Intake Process

The Updated Intake Process

Preliminary Interview with Assistant Director

Invited to complete on-demand writing

prompt

using standards-aligned interview

protocol with scoring rubric

May call recommendation

writers, follow up with candidate with

questions or second interview

& recommend 1 or 2 year timeline

What lies ahead...

…Our dilemma and our goals

...Review of our revised intake process

...The Dispositions, Attributes, & Proficiencies (DAP) Instrument

...How we use DAP

The DAP: Dispositions, Attributes, and Proficiencies Instrument

Designed by Sally Ingles, PhD(sally.ingles@caepnet.org)

Validated group interview protocol

Fishbowl with 8-10 candidates & 3-5 raters

Raters

Candidates

1

3

2

4

1

2

6

5

3

4

8

7

?

The DAP: Dispositions, Attributes, and Proficiencies Instrument

Critical Thinking

clarity, organization, logic, level of abstraction, focus, questions

Leadership

self-assured, takes initiative, provides direction for group, other seem to listen, empowers group

Oral Communication

use of verbal fillers, fluency, word choice, vocabulary, volume, pitch, tone

Behavioral Interaction

active listening skills, rapport, perceptiveness, with-it-ness, tolerance, perceptivity, posture

Structured Interview

Placement Interview

Dispositions Interview

Dispositions Goal Setting

Supervisor Training

Mentor Training

Faculty Advisor

Check-ins

ACCEPTED

GRADUATION

INQUIRY

Information Interview

Supervisor, Mentor, Resident

Dispositions Discussions 4x/year

Dispositions Summer Program

Dispositions Implementation Across Program

What lies ahead...

…Our dilemma and our goals

...Review of our revised intake process

...The Dispositions, Attributes, & Proficiencies (DAP) Instrument

...How we use DAP

Scale

1. Provided no or poor example. Showed poor judgement in choice of examples or strategies. Little to no self-reflection was involved in response.

2. Provided an appropriate example, but action taken was immature or didn’t result in resolution. Self-reflection was evident in response.

3. Provided an appropriate example and an appropriate course of action was taken or attempted. Self-reflection was evident in response.

Interview Scale, Sequence & Questions

Information Interview Structured Interview Placement Interview

Scale

1. Provided no or poor example. Showed poor judgement in choice of examples or strategies. Little to no self-reflection was involved in response.

2. Provided an appropriate example, but action taken was immature or didn’t result in resolution. Self-reflection was evident in response.

3. Provided an appropriate example and an appropriate course of action was taken or attempted. Self-reflection was evident in response.

Interview Scale, Sequence & Questions

Structured Interview (for acceptance)

• Share an example of an interest you have pursued over time. (Oral Communications)• Tell me about a time you set a goal and fell short of meeting it. (Critical Thinking)• Tell me about a leadership opportunity you had? What did you learn about yourself from that experience?

(Leadership)• Tell me about your experiences interacting in diverse settings. What did you learn about yourself from

that experience? (ethnic, racial, linguistic, neuro, gender) (Human Interaction)

Placement InterviewAdvisor Questions

○ Describe a time when you needed to work as part of a team. What was your role on the team, and what actions did you take to contribute to the team’s goals? (Oral Communication)

○ Imagine a situation where you discover an ineffective process that you believe is adversely affecting some students. What steps would you take following that discovery? (Leadership)

○ Tell me about a time when you made a mistake, and how did you deal with this situation? What were the outcomes?

○ Think of a time when you had to work on multiple projects at once. How did you manage your time? (Critical Thinking)

○ Think of a time when you were new to an organization – perhaps when you went to college or joined a new club. What steps did you take to establish yourself in that new community? (Human Interaction)

○ Tell me about a time when you were faced with a difficult interpersonal situation. How did you handle the situation? (Human Interaction)

○ Give me an example of a time when you had to communicate with someone whose opinion differed from yours. What was the situation? What actions did you take? (Human Interaction)

Interview Scale, Sequence & Questions

Initial Inquiry

Recruiter Intv.

Review w/ Multiple Options

Structured Intv.

Enroll

2017-2019 Process

Info. Intv.

Writing Prompt

Decision & Offer

6%

80%

Conversion Rate

Completed App to Enroll

Attrition Rate

16%24%

90%

7%

What lies ahead...

…Our dilemma and our goals

...Review of our revised intake process

...The Dispositions, Attributes, & Proficiencies (DAP) Instrument

...How we use DAP

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Catherine Snyder, ChairNicki Foley, Assistant Director

Department of EducationClarkson UniversityCapital Region Campuscsnyder@Clarkson.edufoley@Clarkson.edu

References

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