The San Francisco Bay Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation, led by San Jose State University and San Francisco State University and including San Jose City College, Evergreen Valley College, City College of San Francisco, and the College of San Mateo, identifies and establishes a core group of incoming freshmen – especially from underrepresented groups – who are interested in becoming teachers. Major components of the program are: 1) recruitment of future teachers from several target populations; 2) attention both to science and mathematics majors preparing for secondary school teaching and to students entering elementary school teaching; 3) extensive early field experiences; 4) tutor-mentor-advisor programs; 5) workshops for science and mathematics faculty resulting in their significant involvement in curriculum reform; 6) revision of core science and mathematics courses and creation of innovative capstone/integrated courses; and 7) a support network for new science and mathematics teachers. The project affects approximately 4000 students per year.

The Virginia Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers is a joint effort of the liberal arts, science, and education faculties of universities and colleges that train the large majority of prospective teachers within Virginia’s urban corridor (College of William and Mary, Longwood College, Mary Washington College, Norfolk State University, The University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University), the region’s Community Colleges (Germana, J. Sargeant Reynolds, and Tidewater), the Virginia Mathematics and Science Center, and the regional school systems. The goal of the Collaborative is to implement programs that will prepare K-8 teachers who have strong science and mathematics backgrounds, who enjoy science and mathematics, who understand what is known about the types of teaching that enable students to learn, and whose teaching will reflect their scientific and pedagogical knowledge. All science and mathematics courses taken by prospective K-8 teachers are being renewed and reformed by adapting the "best practices" being developed nationwide. Course revision teams include faculty from scientific disciplines, education departments, and master teachers from the school systems. A cadre of clinical faculty (outstanding K-12 teachers) play a crucial role in all aspects of teacher preparation reform, including the in-school experiences of prospective and new teachers and the professional development of discipline faculty. Recruitment and retention efforts enlist pre-service students to work with the faculty as Teaching Associates. The Collaborative includes two cross-fertilization/dissemination activities: an annual week-long science and mathematics colloquium and an annual four week long institute featuring courses which are being developed by Collaborative institutions. This Collaborative will impact policies required for preparation of K-8 teachers, improve the nature and quality of instruction in mathematics and the sciences, improve in-school experiences of prospective teachers, enhance recruitment of qualified teachers of science and mathematics (particularly for underrepresented groups), and promote the dissemination of materials and approaches within the Collaborative and beyond.

The Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative (O-TEC), a consortium composed of K-12 schools and two-year, and four-year institutions from across the state addresses concerns in the teacher preparation system, from recruitment through pre-service training and into the early years of teaching. A series of summer academies recruits talented youth from under-served populations and allows potential teachers to work under the direction of classroom teachers to present model lessons in science and mathematics. Activities at two-year institutions of higher education feature the development of courses articulated with four-year institutions and formulation of a curriculum for para-teachers. Engineering faculty are participating in development of general education courses that are appropriate for teachers, and particular attention is given to retention of new teachers and their professional growth during the early years of teaching. O-TEC is training experienced teachers and building administrators to provide support in science and mathematics teaching through state entry-year committees. A summer in-service program brings new teachers together after their first year to share experiences and address concerns about content and pedagogy. O-TEC sponsors sessions for entry-year teachers at meetings of the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association and Oklahoma Council for Teachers of Mathematics to encourage professional participation. O-TEC institutions also provide consulting for entry-year teachers who experience difficulty and provide some equipment to new teachers. Use of technology is a component of all activities and several modes of evaluation provide feedback for guidance.

Five colleges of the City University of New York (Brooklyn College, College of Staten Island, City College, Hunter College and Lehman College) together with New York University, are part of the New York Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation formed to restructure the preparation of prospective teachers of K-12. The Collaborative goal is to increase the number of college graduates entering science and mathematics teaching at all academic levels, and better equip them for teaching these subject areas to New York’s culturally, ethnically, economically and linguistically diverse population. New links are being created: on the college campus, between education and liberal arts faculties, and among the various science and mathematics faculties; in each borough, between colleges and school districts; in the university community, among various colleges; and city-wide, between all participants and local science-rich institutions and museums.

The Collaborative is engaged in six interrelated clusters of activities, including: 1) developing new approaches to teaching and assessing science and mathematics in college courses, so that prospective teachers themselves experience learning in ways envisioned by national reform efforts, and become familiar with exemplary curriculum resources; 2) establishing a new program for middle school teachers; 3) developing new training materials with special emphasis on design of curriculum units which reflect collaboration among faculty of varied disciplines and school teachers, and that utilize the urban context; 4) providing student support and career development, including follow-up of first year teachers and internships in settings such as college tutoring centers, school classrooms, and local science museums; 5) recruiting promising students into teaching; and 6) developing exemplary field sites for student teachers.

Ten institutions form the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence (LACTE): five universities/colleges (California State University, Dominguez Hills; California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, Fullerton; Loyola Marymount University; and Occidental College) paired with five allied community colleges (El Camino; East Los Angeles; Fullerton; Santa Monica; Glendale Community Colleges).

The goals of the Collaborative are to: 1) increase the number of mathematics/science majors from underrepresented groups who are planning on teaching as a career; 2) refine the present course of study at each institution to reflect the necessary integration of mathematics, science and technology in the pre-service content preparation of undergraduate students; 3) develop an experiential component for future elementary mathematics/science specialists and secondary science and mathematics teachers; 4) establish a support network for the prospective teachers; and 5) promote professional development in education for mathematics and science faculty.

The Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (ACEPT) is comprised of a large complex of public higher education institutions which serve urban and rural areas in Arizona with high ethnic minority populations. The Collaborative consists of Arizona State University (science, engineering, and mathematics faculty), Maricopa Community College District (10 colleges in the Phoenix metropolitan area), and the Dine` College (formerly Navajo Community College). ACEPT collaborates with and has its goals aligned with the Phoenix Urban Systemic Initiative project. Through the Arizona Systemic Collaborative, ACEPT has established a formal affiliation with many other private and publicly funded science and mathematics teacher preparation reform projects in the Phoenix area.

Specific innovations are focused on the mathematics and science preparation of pre-service teachers. They include: 1) a new middle school endorsement with a secondary certification which has science and mathematics options; 2) reform of elementary curricula - introductory physics, chemistry, geology and mathematics; 3) reform of secondary curricula – biology, mathematics, and physics; 4) a new integrated curriculum, project oriented laboratory science course, Patterns in Nature, intended as a capstone science course for elementary education majors; 5) incorporation of computers and other multimedia devices into the reformed curricula; 6) increased field experiences for pre-service teachers; and 7) a significant increase in the number of teachers well-prepared in science and mathematics who are members of underrepresented groups. The particular experiences planned for the novice teachers include: being paired with supervising teachers who will support appropriate pedagogical methods for teaching science and mathematics; and receiving rich and stimulating field experiences which will allow them to utilize the teaching methods learned from the ACEPT curriculum within their own classrooms.

The El Paso Partnership for Excellence in Teacher Education includes the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the El Paso Community College, and the three major public school districts in El Paso County in a fundamental transformation of teacher preparation that is grounded in and contributes to systemic reform in K-12 education. The Partnership will sponsor activities contributing to five major goals: 1) to recruit more students into mathematics and science teacher preparation, particularly more students from underrepresented groups, and provide support and financial incentives for those planning to become teachers; 2) to revise and enhance curriculum at both the lower- and upper-division levels so that prospective teachers achieve high levels of both content knowledge and pedagogical skills; 3) to enhance the teaching skills of mathematics, science, and teacher education faculty so that they can both better impart content knowledge and model exemplary pedagogical behaviors; 4) to provide support for new mathematics and science teachers as they enter their profession; and 5) to establish and sustain a continuous conversation among key stakeholders (mathematics, science and education faculty, and public school teachers) on the improvement of mathematics and science teaching and learning.

The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) with Aims Community College, Colorado State University (CSU) with Front Range Community College, and Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD) with Community College of Denver, are partners in the Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative (RMTEC). CSU, a research-oriented, land-grant university, has the largest secondary science teacher education program in the state; UNC, a university with a state-recognized mission for teacher education has one of the largest elementary and middle school teacher preparation programs nationally; and MSCD, a four-year college in downtown Denver is committed to training teachers for urban schools and is the site of the largest middle and secondary mathematics education program in the state.

Reform efforts are directed toward student-centered, experiential, inquiry-based curricula and instruction developed with sensitivity to the educational needs of women and people of color. The goals of the project are: 1) to develop collaboration between the primary institutions, community colleges, and local school districts; 2) to improve the ways in which mathematics and science preservice teachers are prepared for careers in teaching, with emphasis on restructuring, reforming and/or developing innovative curricula and instructional methods for teaching education, mathematics, and science; and 3) to recruit and retain those sensitive to issues of women and ethnic minorities into teaching careers in the fields of mathematics and science.

Restructuring efforts include field-based, interdisciplinary "linked classes" in which students register simultaneously for two separate classes taught in conjunction with one another. Other restructuring efforts involve the redefinition and combining of classes into new class offerings. For example, general education methods classes and discipline-based methods classes have been combined into one two-semester offering taught by education and discipline-specific faculty. Other reforms occur within individual classes introducing such innovations as Small-Scale Science, multicultural mathematics and science, and cooperative learning. Teachers-in-residence (secondary schoolteachers recruited from local school districts to work on campus) join the RMTEC community as educational partners in the redesign and implementation of educational reform. At the end of their term with RMTEC, most teachers-in-residence return to their local secondary schools but continue to play many roles within the RMTEC institutions; serving as cooperating teachers for RMTEC student teachers; aiding in the selection of other like-minded cooperating teachers; and providing faculty inservices for local school districts based upon their RMTEC experiences. RMTEC provides a multitude of faculty development opportunities involving all members of the RMTEC community including workshops, Curricular Reform Seminars, and regularly scheduled team meetings.

The Temple University’s Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Education, and Engineering & Architecture, the Community College of Philadelphia, and the School District of Philadelphia are developing a new model for the education of prospective K-12 teachers which integrates new teaching methodologies with mathematics and science core content courses. Since Temple University, in conjunction with the Community College of Philadelphia, is the major teacher preparation institution for the Philadelphia School District, this will have a systemic impact on the more than 200,000 students in the Philadelphia School District and serve as a national urban model. The Collaborative is revising selected basic college mathematics and science courses to reflect closely the pedagogy and content that the students will need as teachers. These revisions include enhanced faculty/student interaction, appropriate instructional materials, and inquiry-intensive methodologies as well as new technologies. Several courses are being developed and modified, including, for example, a team-taught cross-disciplinary science course and a cognitive psychology course. Prospective teachers are participating in practica early in their pre-service training at selected Professional Development schools. Practicum supervisors join pre-service teachers in seminars to reinforce content and pedagogy. The model includes expansion of Temple’s five-year teacher education program in which students who major in Arts & Sciences and minor in education are certified after completing their 5th year. University and Community College faculty participates in intensive staff development and cross-class visitations with School District teachers.

Institutions within the University System of Maryland, Anne Arundel Community College, Catonsville Community College, Prince George’s Community College, Baltimore City Community College, and Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Prince George’s County school districts are designing, implementing, and evaluating an innovative interdisciplinary program to prepare teachers who can provide exemplary mathematics and science instruction in elementary and middle schools. Design and development of the project’s course and field experience components are being guided by the following basic principles: 1) Teachers should learn science and mathematics through instruction that models the practices they are being expected to employ during their teaching careers; 2) Courses and field experiences should integrate science and mathematics so that teachers will know and can take advantage of the connections between individual disciplines; 3) Teacher training programs should include substantial field experiences that engage the prospective teachers in the genuine research activities of business, industrial or scientific institutions and the science and mathematics education activities conducted by science centers, zoos or museums; 4) Teachers should develop their ability to use modern technologies as standard tools for research and problem solving as well as for imaginative classroom instruction; 5) Field experiences should be provided in school settings that enroll children of below average and average ability, as well as those in gifted and talented programs; and 6) Teachers should receive sustained support during the critical first years of their induction to the teaching profession. Throughout the five-year development period, continual formative evaluation, research on the process of teacher education, and a variety of dissemination activities are being conducted to inform others of the outcomes of this emerging model of teacher preparation.

The primary goal of the Louisiana Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (LaCEPT) is to reform mathematics and science teacher preparation programs in Louisiana in the spirit of the K-12 national standards for school reform, guided by the objective of making these programs relevant to life in the age of information technology. Other major goals are to increase the quantity and enhance the quality of mathematics and science teachers in the state, and to extend and institutionalize reforms into the 21^st century.

Funded jointly through NSF and the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund, LaCEPT is guided by a Steering Committee composed of campus representatives as well as representatives of other statewide reform programs such as the Louisiana Systemic Initiative Program) (LaSIP) and the Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP).

LaCEPT has awarded almost $4 million in competitive campus renewal project (CRP) grants. Fourteen private and public campuses involved in teacher preparation have received CRPs over the past four years. In addition to the CRPs, a NSF/LaCEPT Teaching Scholars program is designed to recruit minorities and other outstanding preservice students into the teaching profession. The Faculty Mentorship and a Faculty Intern program place subject-matter faculty into LaSIP summer institutes for K-12 teachers and into LaCEPT reformed courses. Each January, LaCEPT sponsors a statewide conference for 400-plus faculty and administrators, featuring presentations by nationally prominent leaders in the reform effort. LaCEPT also encourages intensive summer workshops on topics of current interest for regional or statewide groups of college faculty. During 1997-99, the Regents initiated major revisions to the way in which both Support Fund programs and campus academic programs are reviewed, and created a special funding source from the Support Fund for the continuation of reforms: assuring institutionalization of reforms.

The STEP project is designed to bring about large-scale improvement in the preparation of science and mathematics teachers in Montana and to serve as a national model for rural areas with significant minority populations. STEP is developing new alliances that form a statewide, interactive network consisting of school systems, tribal colleges, community colleges, private colleges, state universities and colleges, the State Office of Public Instruction, the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Montana Science Teachers Association, and a number of related on-going NSF funded projects in the state: the Systemic Initiative for Montana Mathematics and Science (SIMMS), Six Through Eight Mathematics (STEM), All Nations Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP), NETWORK Montana (NIE) and Keystone (LSI).

The project is providing the following: at least two years of early career support for mathematics and science teachers in a rural setting; model teacher preparation field sites in K-12 partnership schools; increased numbers and better preparation of mathematics and science teachers from Native American Communities; a telecommunications network-based model for fostering teacher preparation in rural states; strong faculty teams to redesign curricula and courses; strong support for participating faculty and teachers; dissemination of new ideas in preparing teachers; an increase in the number of women and minority teachers in mathematics and science; and use of field sites as "living laboratories" for research on effective mathematics and science teaching, pre-service teacher supervision and the training of university science and mathematics educators in rural settings.