Missouri Teacher Development System

Missouri Teacher Development System (MTDS) is a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)-supported framework designed to support teacher learning and career development. All programs are school-year long cadre experiences with competency-based learning, offering on-going professional development and support.

Learn more about the individual programs and competencies.

Current MTDS Programs

MTDS Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP)

This program is intended for the first-year teacher. BTAP meets and exceeds the Missouri DESE requirements for beginning teachers. The five sessions, completed over the course of the year, offer just-in-time learning.

MTDS Purposeful Lesson Planning (formerly BTAP B)

This program focuses on guiding early career teachers in the use of high-impact instructional strategies in their lesson design. The program will instruct the teacher in how to make the most of a prepared curriculum as well as in designing their own lessons. An emphasis is placed on the use of Learning Targets and Success Criteria, engaging tasks, and formative assessment. In addition, the course also includes additional attention to classroom management, data collection and response, differentiating instruction, and effective feedback, and formative assessment. Teachers enrolled in this program have the opportunity to attend a highly valuable state meeting in Columbia facilitated by national presenter, researcher, and author, Mike Rutherford. All teacher receive a copy of his book, “The Artisan Teacher” which serves as a resource for the program.

MTDS Designing for Engagement & Critical Thinking

This is the first year for this course and the KCRPDC is happy to have a pilot cohort.

This course is intended for early career teachers who are interested in focusing specifically on strategies that will create engaging their students through tasks that promote critical thinking.  Leaning heavily on the work of Philip Schlechty, the teachers will learn how to promote self-directed learning and incorporate and create highly-engaging tasks.  This program could be assigned to a second year teacher who you believe is already a lesson-design and classroom management star, or could easily be for a more experienced teacher who wants to focus on these strategies. Teacher enrolling in this course have the opportunity to attend the workshop with Mike Rutherford along with the teachers enrolled in Purposeful Lesson Planning.  

MTDS Teacher Academy

Teacher Academy has been providing Missouri teachers with valuable professional development experience for 30 years. Available to teachers with a minimum of three years of experience, but often attended by teachers with many more years under their belt, Teacher Academy includes two, one-day state meeting workshops with John Antonetti during which teachers learn ways to increase cognitive rigor and instructional engagement. All participants receive a copy of “17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be Wrong.” An additional focus of the program is an action research project they complete and share.

MTDS Developing Stories Through Powerful Task Design (formerly TAG)

Intended for teachers who have completed Teacher Academy, this program encourages teachers to extend what they learned in Teacher Academy into practicing and developing more innovative tasks and strategies. In addition to four collaborative days at the RPDC, Teacher Academy Graduates have two, one-day workshops with John Antonetti, and receive his book, “Powerful Task Design”.

MTDS Mastering: Foundations of Coaching and Mentoring

Beginning teachers in the State of Missouri are required to have an assigned mentor teacher to assist them during their first two years in the classroom. This course meets the Mentor training standards as outlined by DESE, and will provide training for mentors that provides the best possible experience for the novice teacher and mentor alike. This is also an important step for teachers who are wanting to build their teacher-leader skills. Mentors are invited to attend a one-day state training with Mike Rutherford in Columbia. This takes place in early August to give mentors the opportunity to begin their learning before their mentoring duties start. All mentors will receive a copy of “Mentoring Matters” by Lipton and Welllman, which is used as a resource throughout the program.

For the 2023-2024 school year BTAP, Purposeful Lesson Planning, and Mastering: Foundations of Coaching and Mentoring will be offered at 4 locations: KC RPDC (Union Station), Grandview, Kearney, and Pleasant Hill. Fees for all programs are $75/program for non-member district teachers and $50/program for member district teachers. Additional information can be found on Frontline (My Learning Plan).  Direct links to enrollment can be found here.

Contact

Kat Nicolaus 
Teacher Development Specialist

Megan Owens
Teacher Development Specialist