Interim Dean Donna Wiseman
College of Education
University of Maryland

NCLB is plagued with results of unintended consequences. For example, AYP, the law's requirement that states require annual testing and improvement, has caused some states to lower standards. Critics continue to maintain that NCLB is punitive and suggest that schools that are failing need guidance and not just sanction. Finally NCLB is criticized because students in hard to staff schools are still not exposed to large numbers of highly qualified teachers.

Regardless of the pros and cons of NCLB, the University of Maryland's College of Education continues to focus on preparing high quality teachers, providing professional development for experienced teachers, and conducting cutting edge research about teaching and learning. By focusing on what we do best we feel we can help each school make progress. Future teachers prepared in our programs enter classrooms with strong academic backgrounds and pedagogical knowledge. They have completed a year-long internship in the public schools and feel extremely comfortable during their first years of teaching. Our graduate and outreach programs provide opportunities for experienced teachers to hone their teaching skills and encourage them to be leaders in their classrooms and schools. Our faculty members are engaged in research that explores a wide range of critical issues ranging from understanding how children learn and develop to the development of useful and effective assessments to the social and cultural challenges surrounding educational achievement.

Q - Recent news reports question teacher quality and preparation to meet the demands of NCLB. What is Maryland doing to ensure that the teachers we graduate are ready and able to meet these challenges?

The teacher education programs in the College of Education are noted for their strong content and pedagogical preparation programs for future teachers. Teacher education programs require a high grade point, focus on strong content knowledge standards, offer extended practicum and field experiences, and align programs closely with professional standards. Any new teacher exiting our program has passed a series of standardized tests designed to measure content and pedagogical knowledge. Topics such as technology and diversity have been diffused throughout our teacher education curriculum.

Our efforts to strengthen the field and practicum experiences produced solid partnerships between the college and local schools. The partnerships often lead to the establishment of "professional development schools," in which K-12 faculty and university faculty collaborate to model best practices in teaching and learning during future teachers' internship experiences. Teacher preparation has become more selective, rigorous, and relevant and the College of Education at the University of Maryland continues to adjust our programs so the teachers we produce are prepared to meet the challenges in today's schools.

For the last several years, the College of Education at the University of Maryland has been working to increase the number of highly qualified teachers we produce in areas of shortage in the state of Maryland . As a result, in the next few years, the numbers of mathematics, science, and special education teachers who graduate from our programs will increase. The college also provides programs that are particularly attractive to individuals who are working in other areas but have the drive and desire to teach. One of our most innovative programs is one offered in partnership with the local schools districts that provides future teachers with the opportunity to teach part-time while completing their certification. Another program provides a one year graduate certification designed to attract career changers and is particularly attractive to mathematicians and scientist who may be working in other fields.

Q -Talk about how important research is at the College of Education and how that research is being used to help teachers in the classroom.

Research in the College of Education at the University of Maryland enables us to better understand and improve teaching and learning. Often our best researchers are engaged in some aspect of teacher preparation so the results of their scholarship have an immediate impact on our programmatic efforts. As an example, four years ago, six faculty members began a five year study of high quality teaching in the fourth and fifth grade. Not only has their research process helped the profession better understand how teacher practices and education policies promote positive and equitable outcomes, but their findings have been applied to our programs. The project principal investigator describes how her research directly impacts the teaching of teachers who are students in our graduate programs and future teachers who are enrolled in our teacher education programs.

Several other projects illustrate how our research is applied in educational settings to benefit children and teachers in our surrounding community. One of our faculty members worked directly with Baltimore City schools for five years to improve the teaching of mathematics. The results of the program she helped implement were that students in grades one through five showed gains of 17 to 24 points on statewide achievement scores. In addition to contributing to improved mathematics achievement in Baltimore City Schools our researchers have helped educators reduce over-referral of minority children into special education , enhance our understanding of high quality teaching , improve comprehension instruction, and raise scores at elementary, middle, and high schools in the Bladensburg area of Prince George's County. The award-winning Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education (MIMAUE) continues its outreach efforts through relationships with area schools, topical colloquia presentations, and collaboration with our partner schools. Our researchers also work to provide insights and understandings about the best way to prepare teachers, teach students, and improve student learning outcomes.

Q - What are some of the recent trends in education?

One of the most important recent trends is a focus on the importance of preparing young people to enter professions that require skills in what is known as STEM or S cience, T echnology, E ngineering, and M athematics. There are fewer individuals going into to STEM professions than in the past and many believe that our country cannot remain economically competitive in the global arena unless more of our high school and university students are motivated to enter careers in these areas. Elementary and secondary teachers play important roles in preparing future scientist, mathematicians, engineers, and technology specialists.

Not only do high quality teachers teach the skills needed for students to be successful in STEM related content, but well trained teachers provide the motivation for students to continue their study at advanced levels. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of teachers of STEM related areas. Because of the need for high quality teachers in the STEM areas, the University of Maryland is focusing recruiting and preparing of science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers. While much of our efforts are on the recruitment of secondary STEM teachers, we also believe that elementary teachers play a major role in encouraging students to enjoy and pursue STEM related content areas. Thus, we are considering how to best prepare elementary teachers so that they will feel comfortable introducing elementary students to STEM content.

Another trend is the focus on advance placement and early college admittance which blurs the lines between high school and university. Advance placement courses where high school students can study college course content and take an exam that allows them to exempt the requirement in college curriculum are a measure of high school success. Early admissions allow academically talented students to earn college credit while in high school.

The campus and the college are involved in several initatives in which we collaborate with local high schools so that their students are prepared and encouraged to experience success in college level courses work. For example, the college is collaborating on a project to develop standards of learning that ensure students are prepared to master engineering-related content. College credits earned while in high school provide students an opportunity to pursue more rigorous course work than may be available in the high school. Students may benefit from accelerating completion of their college degree programs, reducing the cost of their college education, and entering the work force sooner.