Historical and modern scientific thought is dominated by the English language, colonized science, patriarchal norms, and Westernized "ways of knowing." By making materials that lie outside that narrative discoverable (e.g., non-Western science, Indigenous/Aboriginal knowledge, women in science, etc.) we can assert that science is a…

From 2015 through 2019, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) conducted a project that was intended to test the utility of Shared Shelf to the teaching and research needs of small colleges. Shared Shelf (now called JSTOR Forum) made it possible for a collection of material assembled by one faculty member--for example, butterfly specimens--to…

In this article, Jennifer, a PDS Liaison from the University of South Carolina, and Ashley, an art teacher at a PDS school, discuss a recent project that highlighted the exceptional instruction occurring at Pontiac Elementary School.

This paper outlines the logistics and discusses the benefits of the Professional Development School (PDS) partnership between Sandhills Middle School (SMS) in Lexington School District Four and the University of South Carolina (USC). Through this partnership as well as the University of South Carolina's Center for Excellence, teachers at Sandhills…

Like other states, South Carolina has experienced a shortage of educators at all organizational levels within its school districts. Given this dynamic and the relatively limited opportunities for practitioners to earn advanced degrees, several South Carolina institutions of higher education banded together to form a consortium that would provide…

Background: Early Colleges (ECs) are a type of rapidly growing dual enrollment program proven to be successful in helping underrepresented students get a jumpstart on their postsecondary education. To date, the most rigorous evidence on the impact of ECs has come from two lottery-based natural experiments conducted by the SERVE Center (Edmunds et…

This case study examines how two Professional Development School partners, J.D. Lever Elementary School and the University of South Carolina Aiken, identify and ultimately select mentor teachers to work with teacher candidates. This article traces the evolution of this process, starting with selections premised mainly on established personal…

Inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs for students with intellectual disability (ID) have grown tremendously over the last two decades. What started as a movement to make higher education accessible to young adults with ID has shifted into a concern for access and demonstrable improvements to the postschool lives of the IPSE students…

In this article, Susan Altman shares her experience of working as a library assistant at Forest Heights Elementary School in Columbia, South Carolina, while taking classes in the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) Program at the nearby University of South Carolina. She discusses getting acquainted with the students, faculty and…

The problem addressed in this study is that students with disabilities are improperly prepared for postsecondary college and career outcomes. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to gain insight into the experiences of current and past teachers and transition service providers of students with disabilities, specifically regarding…

This article represents the 28 year history of Professional Development Schools at the University of South Carolina and explains how the network continues to grow and thrive, in part, by the application of a collaborative leadership model. Our goal in this article is to recognize and understand how our continued efforts, as professional…

What's in Our Waters Jr. (WOW Jr.) is an environmental outreach program designed to teach fourth grade elementary students about watershed protection. This program is unique because of the partnership that brings together students, teachers, scientists, and water resource professionals to promote science education and environmental stewardship in…

Rural school districts throughout the country face increasing challenges with recruiting and retaining beginning teachers due to job demands that include a lack of mentoring, lower salaries than their urban and suburban counterparts, geographic isolation, requirements to take on additional nonteaching duties, and teaching assignments that include…

University-school partnerships can be a powerful mechanism for educator professional learning, but they have varying degrees of success. In South Carolina's School District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties, superintendent Christina Melton wanted to make sure her district's partnership with the University of South Carolina would strategically…

In fall 2020, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) a $2.5 million grant, in partnership with the University of South Carolina (UofSC) and the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED). The aim of the three-year Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant is to build…