Out of school informal learning environments provide an excellent experience for students to develop scientific curiosity and critical thinking skills. Currently, there is a range of methods available for supporting STEM learning. As schools focus on college and career readiness, while giving high school students opportunities to take college…

The Maryland Action for Drug Discovery and Pharmaceutical Research (MADDPR) Program provides hands-on lab experience and mentoring to underserved minority high school students. Over 4 years, 93 high school students and their science teachers participated in the two-week summer camp program which was led by 15 faculty from the School of Pharmacy.…

The number of English learners (ELs) entering middle schools continues to increase, and middle school content teachers providing EL instruction face a considerable challenge. The problem that was studied in this research was the middle school content teachers' insufficient understanding of ELs' cultural background, needs, and interests. The…

Considering the critical need to support students' mental health and wellbeing, this article outlines a standards-based approach that integrates flourishing within a high school English/Language Arts classroom and supports clinical practice and professional development in a professional development school (PDS). Using the book, "The Bean…

Bullying bystanders' reactions are important for either stopping or perpetuating bullying behaviors. Given school-based bullying programs' focus on bystanders, understanding the associations between school-level factors and individual bystander responses can improve intervention efficacy. Data from 64,670 adolescents were used to examine bullying…

Crab cakes and football, that's what Maryland does!" (Abrams, Levy, Panay, & Dobkin, 2005). Although the Old Line State is notorious for harvesting delectable blue crabs, the movie "Wedding Crashers" failed to highlight something else Maryland does well: engineering design competitions. This article discusses how a multistate…

In this article, the author describes the college-school district collaboration called the "Academy of Health Sciences," an innovative approach to learning that located a high school on the college campus and gave students the opportunity to earn a college degree, too. The Academy of Health Sciences is just one of a slew of ideas that…

The College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 (CCR-CCA) established a number of requirements designed to increase college and career readiness as well as degree completion in Maryland. With a rapidly changing economy and a focus on increasing the percent of young adults with postsecondary degrees, the intent of the Act is to…

The 2011 National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam event at Towson University enabled a large group of blind youth to participate in a five day long science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academy. Enrichment experiences such as this one may generate interest in STEM subjects for students with visual impairments. For decades,…

In this article, we present a case study of a course called Women in Mathematics. Students in the course studied the lives and the mathematical contributions of women mathematicians throughout history, as well as current gender equity issues in the study of mathematics and in mathematical careers. They also mentored 20 middle school girls…

The Office of Shared Accountability in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS) is conducting a multiyear evaluation of the "Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success" (ACES) program. ACES is a collaboration between MCPS, Montgomery College (MC), and the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) to create a seamless pathway from high…

Salisbury University (SU) has been preparing teachers since 1925 and has earned a stellar reputation in teacher preparation, especially through its work with PDS. In 2009, SU was honored with the NAPDS "Spirit of Partnership" award for its contributions to the annual national conference. SU and Worcester County Public Schools earned the…

In order to strengthen communication between UMBC and its Professional Development School (PDS) network, we implemented an interview process prior to internship that required all students to interview with a school in the PDS network. This article outlines the interview process including the questions, assessment, and logistical issues. Further it…

This paper presents findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the impact of a novel coaching approach utilized as one element of the Double Check cultural responsivity and student engagement model. The RCT included 158 elementary and middle school teachers randomized to receive coaching or serve as comparisons; all participating…

This article presents findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the impact of a novel coaching approach utilized as one element of the Double Check cultural responsivity and student engagement model. The RCT included 158 elementary and middle school teachers randomized to receive coaching or serve as comparisons; all participating…