The Florida Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Education Program (FCETP) is building a state-wide model of interdisciplinary and institutional cooperation for improving the preparation of future K-12 teachers. The collaborative is centered at Florida A&M University and includes over twenty institutions representing many of the state's research universities, four-year colleges, and community colleges.
These institutions include Florida State University, the University of Florida, University of South Florida, University of North Florida. the University of West Florida, the University of Central Florida, Florida International University, Bethune-Cookman College, Tallahassee Community College, Miami-Dade Community College, and Florida Community College at Jacksonville. In addition, area school districts and educational organizations which support the preparation of mathematics and science teachers support the major components of this project.
This inititative focuses on aggessive recruitment of students to teaching careers, and improvements in pre-service and in-service education. Program goals are:
o increase significantly the number of high-achieving high school graduates who enroll in and receive baccalaureate degrees from science, or mathematics teacher education program;
o establish an effective community of SMET faculty from participating institutions, and work towards increasing the frequency and effectiveness of communication among these faculty and participating teachers and students;
o implement of develop a core of mathematics and science courses for pre-service teachers that are inquiry-based and taught in cooperative learning environments; and
o create a model of teacher training that also incorporates summer mentoring of FCETP students and early sustained classroom experiences.
The FCETP Project is being evaluated by an external evaluator with assistance from FCETP staff.
