Professional Development and Partnership Schools

Morgan State University, in conjunction with the Maryland State Department of Education, develops and maintains Professional Development Schools (PDS) for the training of teacher candidates. PDS provide the site for performance based learning by interns. PDS offers interns successive experiences that build upon knowledge gained from coursework within the teacher preparation program.

All Morgan teacher candidates will be assigned to a PDS during their senior year and will assume the role of an intern. An intern is a student in a teacher preparation program who participates, as part of a cohort (typically 5 or more), in an extensive internship in a PDS. Interns completing a PDS experience spend a minimum of 100 days, over two consecutive semesters, engaged in the school community interacting with and learning to teach students with diverse backgrounds and abilities. Interns are also expected to document mastery of professional standards for beginning teachers through the development of a portfolio.

Compared to traditional student teachers, PDS interns are provided more exposure to the full range of teacher duties (e.g., classroom set-up, committee meetings, faculty meetings, parent conferences, etc.). This enables them to become more comfortable with full teaching responsibilities and more knowledgeable about school, K-12 students and personnel, and the instructional program. Teacher candidates will be assigned to a PDS when they have completed all admission requirements for the PDS Internship.

Professional Development Schools

Partnership Schools