Professional Development

JHU Offers Tuition Free Educational Opportunities for Maryland STEM Teachers

To help Maryland become a leader in STEM education, JHU Whiting School of Engineering, Engineering for Professionals (EP) offers Maryland high school STEM teachers that qualify for admissions the opportunity to enroll in one course per semester—with a tuition waiver—in any of EP’s 18 graduate programs.

JHU School of Education Offers K-8 STEM Certificates for In-Service Teachers

The 15-credit Graduate Certificate program for K-8 Lead Teachers at JHU offers a unique opportunity for teachers to deepen their understanding of STEM content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and to experience leadership opportunities through engaging in the professional development of their peers.

Through course activities in small interactive groups, whole class participation, and individual preparation, participants will demonstrate an understanding of and competencies in:

  • Engaging K-8 students in high quality learning activities that help them to develop strong STEM skills and conceptual understanding.
  • Demonstrating high quality standards-based teaching practices.
  • Providing K-8 professional development in STEM education that helps other teachers better understand the content.
  • Communicating effectively within the school community the view that STEM education is more than rote sets of rules and procedures.
  • Providing engaging explorations using appropriate technology.
  • Connecting research in STEM education to educational practice.

STEM Curriculum Resources

TryEngineering

TryEngineering.org is a resource for students, parents, teachers, and school counselors. This is a portal about engineering and engineering careers. It is meant to help young people understand better what engineering means and how an engineering career can be made part of their future.

National Engineers Week Foundation

Free science activities from the National Engineers Week Foundation

TeachEngineering

The TeachEngineering digital library provides teacher-tested, standards-based engineering content for K-12 teachers to use in science and math classrooms. Engineering lessons connect real-world experiences with curricular content already taught in K-12 classrooms. Mapped to educational content standards, TeachEngineering’s comprehensive curricula are hands-on, free, and relevant to children’s daily lives.

PBS Design Squad

The goal of Design Squad is to give kids a stronger understanding of the design process, and the connection between engineering and the things we all use in everyday life. The results of engineering are all around us: from cars to cameras and everything in between. Being an engineer doesn’t mean being a “nerd” with a pocket protector. It means being a creative problem solver, an innovative thinker and a team player. The website offers many examples that contextualize engineering concepts and spurs kids to explore those concepts on their own or with a parent or educator.

Engineering Adventures

Engineering Adventures (EA) is an engineering curriculum for elementary students created especially for out-of-school time (OST) programs. In EA, children are introduced to the Engineering Design Process as they ask questions, imagine, plan, create, and improve solutions to real-world problems. Each unit includes a storybook which sets the stage for the design challenge.

NASA’s BEST

The NASA’s BEST Activities Guides bring the principles of engineering alive to younger audiences. The activities can be used as in-school curriculum or after-school clubs. NASA’s BEST teaches the Engineering Design Process. Each guide has been created for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8, but all follow the same set of activities that teach students about humans’ endeavor to return to the Moon: how we investigate the Moon remotely (Part 1), the modes of transportation to and on the Moon (Part 2), and humans living and working on the Moon (Part 3). The emphasis is for students to understand that engineers must “imagine and plan” before they begin to build and experiment; therefore, students must draw their ideas first before constructing.

Youth Engineering Solutions

Youth Engineering Solutions (YES) is a preK-8 engineering and STEM curriculum resource which provides free lesson modules aligned to standards.

Click2Engineering

In the Learning Activities section, you will find vetted, high-quality, engaging and authentic engineering activities for youth. These activities were selected to support youth engagement in practices to develop an engineering mindset. While we provide suggested age ranges for each activity, most can be readily adapted for a different age group.