Special Projects

The College of Education is proud to be affiliated with additional programs of study and research.

The Academy for Future Teachers

Finding dynamic ways to introduce potential educators to careers in education is vital to lessening the national teacher crisis. Colleges and universities across the nation have developed successful programs that nurture in these individuals the call to teach, eventually providing them the training required to realize their career goals. The College of Education at Bowie State University proposes the Academy for Future Teachers, an entity that will aggressively recruit traditional and non-traditional potential educators in an effort to alleviate current and projected teacher shortages in Maryland, the mid-Atlantic region, and the nation.

The academy will target throughout the Central Maryland region (between Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis) school-aged students in grades six through twelve, community college transfers, career changers, retirees, and men, sharing with them teaching as an attractive and attainable career option. The academy will feature a steering committee that develops as a part of the school's marketing and recruitment plan strategies for recruiting talented candidates and simultaneously design surveys for assessing attitudes towards teaching as a career.

A task identified in the school's marketing and recruitment plan, pools of potential educators will be identified and aggressively linked to career options in education and academic programs. A wealth of untapped talent can be found in regional public school systems, religious organizations, the federal government, large employers in the region, and the unemployed and underemployed.

The academy will benefit from existing and new programming of the College of Education, including a staff of university faculty and master teachers, a visiting scholars program, The Institute for the Study of the Education Gap, affiliations with educational associations, campus-based education clubs and honor societies, and local employers of teachers. The overarching goal of the academy is to bring potential educators to campus and to send master teachers and faculty into the community.

A two-session workshop will be developed and offered throughout the year. College of Education administrators, faculty, and staff will lead this workshop that will aggressively market to target populations. The workshop will be offered on and off campus, at worksites, community centers, community colleges, churches, and schools, and will introduce potential educators to careers in education, including the challenges and rewards of teaching, academic programs and requirements, state and national licensure requirements, financial aid, grant, and scholarship potential, and most importantly, the traits of a master teacher and the impact of teaching on the nation.

Additionally, the academy will host a two-day campus retreat for high school sophomores and juniors who have expressed an interest in teaching as a career. This summer experience is designed to assist high school students in choosing education as a career, and will feature interaction with master teachers from across the state who will encourage students to develop their potential as future teachers. The retreat will feature structured courses that include planning and teaching actual lessons, development of leadership skills, utilization of state-of-the-art educational technology, career and college advising, networking with regional employers of teachers, and an introduction to University life.

Throughout the year, high school sophomores and juniors will be invited to campus for Careers in Education Mentoring Day, during which they participate in workshops and attend courses in teacher preparation. The Academy for Future Teachers will develop a website that will provide information regarding university entrance requirements, financial aid and scholarship opportunities, and academic programming leading to certification in education.

Visiting Scholars Program

A major focus of the College of Education is capacity building or designing strategies that will result in systemic reform within the school. In an effort to build capacity, the College of Education would seek to attract visiting scholars who possess specific skills critical to the improvement of our undergraduate programs.

The visiting scholars will provide the College of Education with unique skills and expertise of nationally recognized professors with whom the faculty and students at Bowie State University's College of Education would normally have limited contact. One of the major expertise needed is the design and implementation of research projects that showcase the professional development work that is commonly conducted by the faculty in the local schools and school districts.

As a result of this lack of research expertise, very few faculty have published in traditionally accepted venues. An expectation for the visiting scholars would also include conducting presentations at national and state conferences in collaboration with the faculty from Bowie State University. Visiting scholars will primarily increase the intellectual richness and scholastic context of the learning environment within the College of Education at Bowie State University.

Each visiting scholar will provide one or more public lectures and workshop seminars at the College of Education at Bowie State University, attracting attention to the University and its educational programs. These lectures will include teachers and administrators from the six professional development schools in Prince George's County. All teachers enrolled in the School of Education's certification programs are required to complete a 100 day student internship in one of our professional development schools.

It is critical that the College of Education strengthens its educational programs and that the faculty and administrators in the professional development schools also receive on-going professional development that is aligned with the State of Maryland Standards and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. The lectures and workshops seminars will become key conduits of professional development for the faculty and community partners.

Since only nationally recognized scholars will be commissioned as visiting scholars, the College of Education will be guaranteed that highly qualified scholars shall be involved. The visiting scholars will have opportunities to collaborate with the faculty on best practices, trends, and priorities within the fields of undergraduate teacher preparation. Additionally the visiting scholars will also collaborate with the administrators of the College of Education regarding policies and practices that will enhance the programs.