Teaching and Learning

Our teachers challenge students to master the fundamentals and reach beyond their existing knowledge to raise their capacity for inquiry, take ownership of their learning and explore their full potential. Foundational skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration and empathy, to name a few, don’t just complement and enhance our strong academics, they are also the key ingredients of a life well-lived.

In 2017, Friends School of Baltimore became one of the first group of private, public, and charter schools in the world to enter into a three-year Science of Teaching and School Leadership Academy partnership with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning. As the only Baltimore-area partner school, Friends now commits itself to making research-informed teaching and learning the central focus of faculty professional development, curriculum, and program design. Each summer, Friends School teachers and leaders attend a five-day Academy that features leading university researchers in Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) science on topics such as memory, emotion and cognition, mindsets, and neuroanatomy as it relates to learning.

As a partner school for the Academy, Friends School teachers and school leaders participate in a research study designed by the Science of Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins University and become members of the Neuroteach Network; educators from around the world who are seeking to enhance how they design their classes and work with each individual student using research-informed strategies in the field of Mind, Brain, and Education Science.

Knowledge

The indispensable foundation of a world-class education is a powerful vehicle for nurturing skills and habits of mind.

Skills

Friends School cultivates the skills students will need to lead meaningful and productive lives.

Habits of Mind

We teach students to embrace challenge to reflect meaningfully upon their own learning.