VCEPT

Virginia Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers

Project history

The National Science Foundation awarded a five-year grant to a consortium of Virginia colleges and universities with the goal of improving the math and science backgrounds of our graduates who intend to teach elementary and middle school.  The original grant ended in 2001.  Various assessment and follow-up activities have taken place since that time.  The last scheduled activity for the project was a series of workshops at which teachers who are graduates of VCEPT schools learned activities that they could use in their classrooms while they were participating in final assessment activities for the project.

The Fall 2004 workshops 

K-8 teachers who have graduated from the major VCEPT partner schools (Longwood University, Norfolk State University, University of Mary Washington, and Virginia Commonwealth University) during the period 2000-2004 were invited to attend a specially designed VCEPT workshop during Fall 2004.  At the workshop they had an opportunity to learn AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science) activities that they could use in your classroom.  In addition, they were able to talk about their initial teaching experiences and help college faculty consider possible changes to their teacher preparation program.

Five workshops were held at four locations:  Longwood University (Farmville), Norfolk State University (Norfolk), University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg), and Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond).  Each school hosted two workshops and each workshop was limited to thirty participants.  Participants were accepted on a first-come basis, and each participant could attend only one workshop.  Participants could attend a workshop at any of the locations, regardless of where they graduated.  Each workshop was one day. 

The rest of this site gives information about the original VCEPT project.

Quick Reference

Links to other NSF collaboratives for teacher preparation     

Links to related projects    

This page was last updated on 08/14/06

About the VCEPT project

This project officially finished in 2001.  This web page, which will be maintained for an undetermined length of time, provides an account of the project, contact information, and links to some of the products.

The Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation has awarded $5 million to a consortium of Virginia colleges and universities involved in a project designed to better prepare elementary and middle school teachers for teaching math and science.

The five year project, called the Virginia Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (VCEPT), is led by Virginia Commonwealth University. Other schools involved are Longwood University, University of Mary Washington, Norfolk State University, Germanna Community College, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, and Tidewater Community College. The Mathematics and Science Center, a regional consortium of school divisions in the metro Richmond area, also participates. In addition, Virginia Union University, the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary are participating as limited partners.

The project focuses on boosting the knowledge and interest of prospective math and science teachers. The overall goal is to develop and implement programs for prospective K-8 teachers which will prepare teachers who have strong scientific and mathematical backgrounds, who enjoy math and science, who understand and appreciate what is known about the type of teaching that enables students to learn, and whose teaching will reflect their scientific and pedagogical knowledge. In short, the goal is to educate teachers with a commitment to provide high quality instruction in mathematics and science and the ability to act on this commitment. Another goal is to help prepare future teachers to meet the recently adopted Virginia Standards of Learning.

In addition to regular college faculty in the collaborative schools, the project uses clinical faculty chosen from among the most effective teachers of mathematics and science in the region to improve our overall teacher preparation program, including, particularly, the inservice experiences of prospective and new teachers.

We also enlist college students in our teacher preparation program to work with the faculty as teacher apprentices.

Each summer the collaborative sponsors a weeklong science and math colloquium for college faculty, clinical faculty, and teaching apprentices.

An annual four week summer institute is held, featuring courses which are being developed by the collaborative.

Meetings of working groups are held throughout the year.

The Collaborative is committed to improving the preparation of teachers in all programs across the state and to improving the quantity and quality of mathematics and science courses taken by all prospective K-8 teachers in Virginia. Its partner in this enterprise is the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition. All courses developed as part of the VCEPT program must meet
the VCEPT course criteria.

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Standing Committees

VCEPT has several standing committees that are responsible for various activities:

Communication/Dissemination
Evaluation
Colloquium/Summer Institute
Teacher Apprentices
Technology
Training and Role of Clinical Faculty

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Course Development Teams

VCEPT Course Development Teams are developing and revising courses in these areas:

Introductory Biology
Introductory Chemistry
Computer Science/Information Technology
Geology/Earth Science
Mathematics
Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science
Methods in Mathematics and Science
Methods in Physics
Integrated Science
Introductory Statistics
Science Museum of Virginia

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Two-year College Role in Teacher Preparation

Two-year Colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) are playing an active role in the preparation of K-12 teachers. Some of these activities are described below.

     Call for Exemplary Activities
    Teacher Preparation in the Virginia Community College System
     Proceedings of the 1998 Conference on the Role of Two-Year Colleges in Teacher Preparation
      

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Related activities

Participating VCEPT institutions have implemented the following activities and programs:

University of Mary Washington
     VCEPT and related activities

Longwood University
    1998 Summer Clinical Faculty Institute

Virginia Commonwealth University
     Advanced Scholars Program

Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition
     The Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

College of William and Mary
     Flying by the Numbers

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VCEPT people

VCEPT activities are planned and administered by the VCEPT Steering Committee. For a list of members, click here.

For more information about VCEPT, contact any of the following people.

    Reuben Farley (VCU)  (804)828-1319 x121  email him
    William Haver (VCU)  (804)828-1301 x123  email him
    Bob Webber (Longwood)  (804)395-2192  email him
    Marie Sheckels (Mary Washington)  (540)654-1334  email her
    Philip McNeil (Norfolk State)  (757)823-8820  email him
    Roland Moore (J. Sargeant Reynolds)  (804)786-7374  
    George Bass (College of William and Mary)  (757)221-2323  email him
    George Rublein (College of William and Mary)  (757)221-1873  email him
    Loren Pitt (UVA)  (804)924-4926  email him
    Julia Cothron (Math and Science Center)  (804)343-6525  email her

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Other NSF Collaboratives for Teacher Preparation

There are currently 17 Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) sponsored by the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) of the National Science Foundation.  DUE maintains a list of links to the home pages of CETP projects. Principal Investigators for CETP projects also enter a summary of project information into the NSF DUE  Project Information Resource System (PIRS).

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Links to related projects

Many of the VCEPT schools are participating in a FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of PostSecondary Education) grant to better prepare middle school math and science teachers.

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VCEPT Voice Newsletter

VCEPT publishes a newsletter, the VCEPT Voice, every Spring, Summer, and Fall. The newsletter is available in paper form, and can also be viewed or printed here using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Issues

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COMMUNICATION/DISSEMINATION
Standing Committee

Charge
    To facilitate communication between groups within VCEPT and to disseminate VCEPT information and products.

Committee Chair
    Reuben Farley, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email him.

Return to the Standing Committee list.

EVALUATION
Standing Committee

Charge
    To develop and implement methods for evaluating VCEPT activities and products.

Committee Chair
    George Bass, College of William and Mary.  Email him.

Return to the Standing Committee list.

COLLOQUIUM/SUMMER INSTITUTE
Standing Committee

Charge
    To plan and implement an annual Summer Institute and an annual Colloquium at a participating VCEPT institution. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to pilot courses developed or revised by VCEPT; to prepare additional faculty to teach these newly developed courses; to share effective teaching and learning approaches; and to publicize the work of VCEPT to a wide audience. The Colloquium provides an opportunity for college faculty and clinical faculty to come together to learn about new pedagogical techniques in science and mathematics. Included in the colloquium each summer will be organizational meetings of VCEPT, recognition of NSF Teaching Scholars, demonstrations of effective teaching practices in grades K - 16, and an opportunity to visit classes in the Summer Institute.

Committee Chairs
    Loren Pitt, University of Virginia.  Email him.
    William Haver, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email him.

Return to the Standing Committee list.

TEACHER APPRENTICES
Standing Committee

Charge
    To develop plans for recruiting and retaining student teacher apprentices in VCEPT programs.

Committee Chairs
    Ena Gross, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email her.
    Venitta McCall, Mary Washington College.  

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TECHNOLOGY
Standing Committee

Charge
    To develop the VCEPT Web site and to advise other VCEPT groups in the use of computer technology .

Committee Chair
    Bob Webber , Longwood University.  Email him.

Return to the Standing Committee list.

TRAINING AND ROLE OF CLINICAL FACULTY
Standing Committee

Charge
    To develop and implement activities for training K-8 clinical faculty.

Committee Chairs
    Julia Cothron, Mathematics and Science Center.  Email her.
    Sandra White, Mary Washington College. 

Return to the Standing Committee list.

INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop an introductory biology course.

Committee Chairs
    Werner Wieland, Mary Washington College. 
    Joe Chinnici, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email him.

Return to the Course Development Team list.

INTRODUCTORY CHEMISTRY
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop an introductory chemistry course.

Committee Chairs
    Don Shillady, Virginia Commonwealth University. 
    John George, University of Mary Washington. 

Return to the Course Development Team list.

COMPUTER SCIENCE/INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop a general education course for computer literacy and computer applications.
    To develop a course to prepare prospective K-8 teachers to serve in a computer/technology resource role.

Committee Chairs
    Bob Webber , Longwood University.  Email him.
    John Arehart, Longwood University.  Email him.

Return to the Course Development Team list.

GEOLOGY/EARTH SCIENCE
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop a course in geology.

Committee Chairs
   Grant Woodwell, Mary Washington College. 
    Jody Hayob, University of Mary Washington. 

Return to the Course Development Team list.

MATHEMATICS
Course Development Team

Charges
    To develop an Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics course, to be taken by all prospective K-8 teachers and other students. It should have a minimal mathematics prerequisite and be of interest to the general student body. It should emphasis the application of mathematics in social decision making, management science, and other applications of discrete mathematics that the general non-science student body can appreciate. K-8 teachers who complete it should be knowledgeable about the material included in the Virginia K-8 Standards of Learning.

    To develop a pre-calculus course intended for people who want to become lead teachers in mathematics in grades K-8.

Committee Chairs
    Gwen Turbeville, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.  Email her.
    Bill Haver, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email him.

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INTERDISCIPLINARY MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop an interdisciplinary course in mathematics and science.

Committee Chair
    Phillip McNeil, Norfolk State University.  Email him.

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METHODS IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop a course for teaching methods in mathematics and science.

Committee Chair
    Sharon Emerson-Stonnell, Longwood University.  Email her.

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METHODS IN PHYSICS
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop an introductory course in physics.

Committee Chairs
    Bob Gowdy, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email him.
    Adam Niculescu, Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Return to the Course Development Team list.

INTEGRATED SCIENCE
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop a science course that spans several scientific disciplines.

Committee Chairs
    Ann Sullivan, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.  
    Joe Chinnici, Virginia Commonwealth University.  Email him.

Return to the Course Development Team list.

INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop and refine a general education introductory course in statistics..

Committee Chairs
    Bob Johnson, Virginia Commonwealth University.  
    Donna Jovanovich, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.  

Return to the Course Development Team list.

SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA
Course Development Team

Charge
    To develop hands-on science experiences.

Committee Chair
    David Hagan, Science Musuem of Virginia.  

Return to the Course Development Team list.