Program developers who design effective professional development for teachers understand how teachers learn. They provide active learning experiences based on adult learning theories and invite the “whole person into the [learning] environment” (Taylor, 2009, p. 11). Programs designed for self-directed teachers who bring their experience into the learning will be more successful in supporting teachers as they adjust their teaching practice through reflection (Chen, 2014).
Transformative Learning for Teachers
The following learning theories have been selected to serve as the context within which all MTDS learning opportunities and/or programming would be developed and presented. These theoretical frames combined with learning built with effective professional learning structures are the defining mechanisms of learning for the Missouri Teacher Development System leading to transformations in teacher ways of thinking and knowing and practice. Central to all MTDS learning is the development of teacher empowerment and teachers as change agents.