Abstract:
This dissertation addresses the development or sustainability of teachers’ productive dispositions through professional development and related professional experiences when viewed from an andragogical perspective. The study identified experiences which both promoted and hindered productive disposition, and then considered these events using the andragogical framework (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2011). This dissertation study includes a literature review of relevant topics including andragogy, professional development, teacher change and productive disposition. Teachers who participated in a grant funded professional development opportunity were interviewed, and an account taken of the math experiences throughout their lives, to include K- 12 mathematics instruction. This dissertation is meant to help identify professional development opportunities and professional experiences teachers have which promote a change or pathway toward productive disposition. The research considered, from an andragogical perspective, the professional development opportunities and conditions which will better promote the emergence or sustainability of a teacher’s productive disposition. The research also identified circumstances or events which hinder or curb a productive disposition, again, from an andragogical perspective.
