Undergraduate and Graduate Students

The following resources are for undergraduate and graduate students. The target audience for each of the resources below is specificed.

Best Buddies Maryland College Program for volunteers to help those with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities
Educational Outreach Project for students enrolled in ENCH 427 Transport Processes II – Heat and Mass Transfer
Teaching Artist Fellowship for UMBC students majoring in music

Best Buddies Maryland College Program
http://www.bestbuddies.org/maryland/index.asp

Target Audience
Individuals with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and those without disabilities who would like to share in a mutually enriching friendship are eligible. Best Buddies matches volunteers based on similar interests, geographic location, schedules and gender.

About the Program
Best Buddies is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for socialization and employment. The basis of our program is to foster friendships between people with intellectual disabilities and college students, middle school students, high school students, and community members. The Maryland office of Best Buddies International was established in 1995 and offers Best Buddies Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens and e-Buddies.

The Program Will:
1. Seek to break down the stereotypes that facilitate this social isolation by establishing friendships between people with intellectual disabilities and people without intellectual disabilities.
2. Build friendships that will help people with intellectual disabilities learn invaluable social and life skills, which will allow them to learn, grow and succeed in society.

Program Duration

Program Funding
The program is funded with the help of foundation and government grants, special events and private and corporate donations. Individual Best Buddies chapters are encouraged to hold fund-raisers, sell Best Buddies merchandise, and obtain community support to finance group outings.

Contact Person
Abby Neyenhouse
Maryland Colleges Program Manager
410-327-9812 ext. 25
AbbyNeyenhouse@bestbuddies.org

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Educational Outreach Project

Target Audience
College students in ENCH 427 Transport Processes II – Heat and Mass Transfer course (offered at UMBC)

About the Program
Each of the students in the ENCH 427 course (which is a required junior-level chemical and biochemical engineering course) are required to perform a group outreach project in a local high school class. The groups are allowed to select their own topic, but it should pertain to heat of mass transfer. Each project must consist of a presentation, hands-on activities and evaluation of the presentation from the class and teacher. In addition, each group must leave the classroom with some materials for the students interested in learning more about the topic presented. The students must decide what they need to learn, and then figure out how to learn it. They have the opportunity to practice communication skills with people who possess little technical knowledge. In addition, they have to critically assess their own performance, as well as the performance of others.

The Program Will:
1. Give college students a chance to be very creative and to share their experiences with high school students.
2. Give high school students a chance to be introduced to technical areas and careers that they might have not considered.
3. Provide college students an exercise in problem based learning.
4. Provide college students an opportunity to experience working in a group setting, towards a common goal.

Program Duration

Program Funding

UMBC Contact Person
Taryn M. Bayles
Chemical Engineering Professor at UMBC
410-455-3428
tbayles@gl.umbc.edu

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Teaching Artist Fellowship
for UMBC students majoring in music

About the program
The fellowship is a year-long residency at a local elementary school in which selected UMBC students partner with classroom teachers to bring music to children through aesthetic education model, developed by the Lincoln Center Institute in New York City. The goal of the work is to bring classical music in an experiential manner, so that each child has an opportunity to make connections with music from his/her own perspective. The lesson plans is centered around a work, concept or skill and will be activity-based (no lecturing.) Each UMBC student works with two classes of different grade levels to get an experience in teaching varying age groups. They work closely with both the classroom teachers and with the UMBC advisor on each lesson plan. (Pre-Requisite: MUSC 362, Arts in Education)

The Program Will:
1. Teach our students how to construct an aesthetic education-based lesson plan, create a year-long curriculum.
2. Encourage our students to develop a deeper and richer understanding of music and its positive influence on children.
3. Work side by side an accomplished and dedicated classroom teachers to develop their own teaching skills.

Program Duration
Annually, 14-16 visits

Program Funding
Varies from year to year

Partnering Schools
Curtis Bay Elementary School (present)
Catonsville Elementary School (2004-2005)
Norbel School (2004-2006)

Program Contact Information
Airi Yoshioka, advisor and coordinator
1000 Hilltop Circle, FA 009
410-455-3960

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