Empowering Florida Students: The Florida Center for Research in STEM Is Elevating STEM Education in Every Florida Classroom

April 23, 2025

Group photo of instructors at an AI workshop posing in front of a screen with a message welcoming them.

The Florida Center for Research in STEM (FCR-STEM) was created by the Florida Legislature and competitively awarded to Florida State University in 2006. Housed inside the Learning Systems Institute (LSI), FCR-STEM is shaping the future of STEM education in Florida from the panhandle to the peninsula. 

Three million Florida students and more than 300,000 Florida educators actively utilize CPALMS and its resources developed by FCR-STEM. The workforce and educational development team on FSU's $98 million InSPIRE Initiative is being led by FCR-STEM staff and the institute is currently leading projects on utilizing cognitively guided instruction (CGI) to teach math, math education programs for after-school educators and parents, statistics and data literacy and a school-based intervention for children with math anxiety. 

"For nearly 20 years, FCR-STEM has been researching and implementing strategies to position Florida's K-12 students for STEM careers," said LSI Director Rabieh Razzouk. "Our work developing resources that have been downloaded over one billion times, our direct professional development with Florida's educators and our endless research in STEM education are benefiting children throughout the state.

"Our team comes to work every day to answer the question, 'How can we improve STEM integration and teaching and learning for all students?' They push for a scientific approach to educational research and support open science and experimental design in their work."

The team at FCR-STEM utilizes high-quality research, teacher professional development and innovative resources and tools to support instruction aligned with curriculum standards to pursue its goal. Through impacts on teacher knowledge and classroom practice, FCR-STEM improves student achievement, narrows student achievement gaps and increases student pursuit in STEM fields.

FCR-STEM is impacting every school district in Florida. More than 1,000 teachers in the Florida panhandle are being trained by FCR-STEM staff to incorporate technology, aerospace and advanced manufacturing into their classrooms. Another 2,000 teachers have participated in CGI professional development programs through FCR-STEM research and outreach projects. Our staff provided professional development to 6,500 Florida math and science teachers in 55 districts on the FCR-STEMLearn project. More than 250,000 math and science manipulative kits were distributed to schools statewide.

Two young students working at a table on a math problem.

LSI is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions that bridge theory and practice in education. Our experts' advanced research provides state-of-the-art methods and a clear path for implementation. For 55 years, LSI has delivered systems that measurably improve the learning and performance of organizations and individuals in Florida and worldwide.