List of Key Behaviors[1]
Proposition 1
“Teachers are committed to students and their learning.”
Skills
Accomplished teachers
· develop cognitive, social, personal, moral, and civic attributes of their students.
· provide multiple contexts in which to promote and evaluate students’ abilities.
· continually diagnose students interests, abilities, and existing knowledge.
Knowledge
Accomplished teachers
· form decisions about student learning and how to teach by using developmental theories, learning theories, and current research on learning.
· possess the knowledge, and strategies to equitably work with diverse groups of students.
· understand the importance of recognizing and meeting students’ needs created by individual differences.
Dispositions
Accomplished teachers are disposed towards
· believing in the dignity and worth of all human beings.
· believing that all students can learn.
· listening to their students.
Proposition 2
“Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.”
Skills
Accomplished teachers
· use questions to help students learn the subject.
· encourage students to think for themselves.
· possess a repertoire of instructional techniques geared to subject matter.
· create multiple paths to acquiring knowledge.
Knowledge
Accomplished teachers
· understand how knowledge in their subject is created, organized and linked to other disciplines.
· understand the factual information and the central organizing concepts of the subject.
· use knowledge of subject matter and of their students to structure instruction that facilitates further development.
Dispositions
Accomplished teachers are disposed towards
· being committed to their subject matter.
· using their knowledge of the subject matter to guide instruction.
· believing that students can learn to think for themselves.
Proposition 3
“Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.”
Skills
Accomplished teachers
· use a variety of generic instructional skills.
· know how to manage groups of students.
· develop classroom management systems so that the focus is on learning (not on disruptive behavior).
· possess and use strategies to regularly monitor and assess student engagement.
· possess and use a repertoire of methods for assessing what students have learned.
· develop students to be responsible for their own learning.
· are astute observers of their students.
Knowledge
Accomplished teachers
· know about the tried-and-true methods of teaching as well as innovative instructional formats.
· know how and when to employ a wide array of instructional materials.
· understand that learning is hard work and know how to encourage students even when they fail.
· know how to give constructive feedback to students, parents, and themselves.
Dispositions
Accomplished teachers are disposed towards
· holding high expectations for all students.
· observing their students.
Proposition 4
“Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.”
Skills
Accomplished teachers
· model critical analytical thinking.
· reason carefully by considering purposes, gathering evidence, evaluating consequences, and balancing outcomes.
· model and exemplify virtues such as curiosity and love of learning, tolerance and open-mindedness, fairness and justice, and appreciation for diversity.
Knowledge
Accomplished teachers
· employ their professional knowledge of sound practice in the interest of their students.
· know and use established theory and reasoning to make judgments.
· draw on current education research and scholarship to improve their practice.
Dispositions
Accomplished teachers are disposed towards
· professional development.
· seeking out opportunities that will serve to cultivate their own learning such as attending conferences, workshops, and other in-service training opportunities.
· reflecting on their teaching experiences in order that they might improve their practice.
Proposition 5
“Teachers are members of learning communities.”
Skills
Accomplished teachers
· continually engage in critically analyzing school curriculum.
· are proficient at identifying students who might benefit from special attention.
· work collaboratively with parents.
· take advantage of community resources that can assist, enhance, and supplement their work with students.
· use the cultural diversity represented in the communities they work as a resource in teaching about other cultures.
Knowledge
Accomplished teachers
· recognize there are a range of duties and tasks outside the classroom that contribute to the quality of the school and thus student learning.
· are aware of learning goals and objectives established by state and local authorities.
· realize students’ physical, emotional, and social well-being cannot be separated from their intellectual growth.
· know that teachers do not teach alone.
Dispositions
Accomplished teachers are disposed towards
· engaging parents and others in the community in the education of young people.
· collaborating with administrators and other teachers in planning the instructional program of the school.
· addressing issues of continuity and equity of learning experiences for students that require school-wide collaboration.
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[1] For the purpose of this activity, “Teachers Talking About Teaching,” only some of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions used to characterize each of the 5 NBPTS core propositions of accomplished teaching are listed.