https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117736024 Journal of Teacher Education 1–15 © 2017 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0022487117736024 journals.sagepub.com/home/jte Theoretical/Conceptual In teacher preparation institutions today, in addition to learn- ing knowledge and skills needed to educate children, future teachers are being introduced to new ways of thinking and behaving. One of these ways, referred to as dispositions in this article, has become a topic of interest for programs and researchers in teacher education. In the United States, accrediting bodies for teacher prepa- ration including the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC; 1992) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE; 2008), which merged with the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) to become the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP; 2013), have given great significance to teachers’ dispositions. The glossary of the CAEP, which is now the sole accrediting body for educator preparation providers in the United States since July 1 2013, defines dispositions as “the values, com- mitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors towards students, families, colleagues, and communities that affect student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator’s own professional growth” (http://caepnet. org/glossary). CAEP (2013) also noted that professional edu- cation departments may add their own dispositions in addi- tion to fairness and the belief that all students can learn. The term “dispositions” has not only emerged in the lexicon of the U.S. teacher education authorities, but also it has started an international discussion about focusing more on disposi- tions to meet the needs of today’s learners. The Council of European Union for Teacher Education includes dispositions among its priorities for teacher achievement; however, they acknowledged disposition as a construct is challenging to define and assess (Caena, 2011). Consequently, teacher education programs have started to put dispositions among its priorities for teacher achievement. However, what may have started with best intentions to encourage teachers to develop and exhibit positive attitudes and conduct toward student education has splintered into debates about values, morals, and proper conduct in schools. The lack of common grounding for dispositions in teacher education has led to a heated debate across and among teacher education institutions and scholars (Borko, Liston, & Whitcomb, 2007; Ruitenberg, 2011). Complicating matters further is that English, with its penchant for synonyms, has 736024JTE XX X 10.1177/0022487117736024Journal of Teacher EducationAltan et al. research-article 2017 1 Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey 2 Florida International University, Miami, USA Corresponding Author: Servet Altan, Graduate School of Education, Bilkent University, 06800 Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey. Email: serveta@bilkent.edu.tr Using Habits of Mind, Intelligent Behaviors, and Educational Theories to Create a Conceptual Framework for Developing Effective Teaching Dispositions Servet Altan 1 , Jennie F. Lane 1 , and Erskine Dottin 2 Abstract Despite the heated debates about dispositions in teacher education, most accrediting agencies continue to put dispositions among their priorities. The authors of the current article concur with the value of using Dewey to understand how habits can be clustered to better understand intelligent teaching dispositions. But, can we extend Dewey’s epistemology to learning theories in a manner that informs the making of teaching conduct more intelligent? To address this question, the authors applied qualitative content analysis to review the literature. Through a deductive approach, dispositions as Habits of Mind were related to educational theories using intelligent behaviors as the common denominator. The conclusion is that dispositions can be clustered around Habits of Mind that are related directly to educational learning theories vis-à-vis thoughtfulness, and to learning theories that support learning or mindfulness. Grounding dispositions as habits of mind in selected educational theories may guide and support the professional development of teaching dispositions. Keywords teacher education preparation, standards, teacher characteristics, teachers’ disposition, habits of mind