Sometimes obstacles such as time, attitude toward learning, and programs that ignore best practices in adult learning block internal motivation. The Science of Adult Learning The learning experience should be enjoyable. When adults feel positive about a situation, endorphins are released, making them feel good and open to learning, and dopamine stimulates the prefrontal cortex, keeping them attentive and likely to remember the learning. . Professional development that begins with a message, “You teachers have failed your children, let us teach you the right way to do this job,” will not work. Negative feelings (including feeling like you've been forced to take a refresher course) cause the hormone cortisol to enter the bloodstream. This catapults the brain into survival mode and shifts its attention from learning to managing stress. Instead of learning, the brain remembers the pressure and registers the PD as unpleasant. A climate of “fear of failure” encourages survival behavior, not learning behavior, and promotes structured, routine, and procedure-oriented responses. Past experiences and