On January 8th and 9th, twenty Tennessee middle school teachers attended a CASE AgXplore BriefCASE teacher training and certification at Middle Tennessee State University that was hosted by Dr. Kevin Ragland and Dr. Chaney Mosley, both Associate Directors in the Tennessee STEM Education Center and faculty members in the School of Agriculture. Teachers in the program explored a variety of topics surrounding agricultural literacy for middle school classrooms. In this “farm-to-fork, hands-on-course” teachers both learned and performed a variety of activities and experiments; from learning how to evaluate contaminated water to evaluating soil samples and testing grains. The purpose of the grant is to help increase teachers’ agriculture content knowledge and self-efficacy through fun, engaging lessons that they can bring back to their classrooms. 

The training is supported by a three-year, $500,000 USDA NIFA Professional Development in Agricultural Literacy grant awarded to Drs Ragland and Mosley. The grant covers training costs and certification for participants, as well as travel, start-up materials for the teachers' classrooms, and a stipend for participants. 

Four additional AgXplore certification events for over 80 teachers will be held at MTSU during the summers of 2024 and 2025. 

AgXplore participants preparing soil samples

Teachers test growing media for water holding capacity

This work is supported by USDA-NIFA-PDAL grant # 2023-67037-39939

The Southeastern STEM Education Research Conference was held at Middle Tennessee State University on Friday and Saturday, January 12th - 13th, 2024. The conference brought together approximately 110 STEM education researchers throughout the southeastern U.S. to engage in conversations about current research and findings and their applications to practice in K–20 learning environments as well as informal STEM education.  The conference included a keynote address, a poster session, oral presentations, and an early career panel and hosted researchers from colleges in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia. 

The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. David E. Drew, a Professor of Education at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. He holds the Joseph B. Platt Chair in the Management of Technology and his principal appointment is in the School of Educational Studies, where his teaching focuses on quantitative research methods, statistical techniques, and data analytics. For ten years Dr. Drew served as dean of the School of Educational Studies. 

The Early Career Panel, sponsored by East Tennessee State University Center of Excellence in STEM Education, hosted panelists of varying disciplines and levels of experience in STEM Education—from doctoral student to assistant professor—to answer questions and discuss career opportunities in STEM Education. This panel served as a networking event and worked in tandem with the poster session to welcome recent graduates and attendees early in their careers. MTSU’s very own Samantha Fletcher, a Mathematics Education doctoral student, and Dr. Katy Hosbein, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, sat on the panel this year.

Pairing sustainability with innovation: measuring student performance in a foundry-guided intervention

Poster session in the atrium of MTSU Science Building

Who wrote it better? A comparison of AI and teacher created lessons for high school mathematics

MTSU's 2014 College of Basic and Applied Science 147 million dollar science building where S²ERC events primarily take place. 

The 19th annual Posters at the Capitol event was held by TSEC on February 14th, 2024, where eight Tennessee universities participated in showcasing undergraduate STEM researchers and their work.  The event at the Tennessee State Capitol aims to engage legislators with Tennessee undergraduates' STEM research projects.  Legislators were encouraged to meet students from their districts and see, first-hand, the outstanding research being conducted by undergraduates across the state. Governor Lee addressed the students about the importance of STEM education and available STEM careers in the state.

This prestigious event hosted 57 participating students from eight universities around Tennessee.  Nine of these were MTSU undergraduate students that were selected to present their research.  Other public universities included Austin Peay State University, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, University of Memphis, The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and The University of Tennessee, Martin.

Congratulations to the MTSU student presenters, pictured below, on their outstanding research:

Audrey Lauerhass

Isaiah Kam

Rose Gutierrez

Eden Anderson

Sydney Robbins

Cole Huddleston

Tori Bascou

Lindsey Tran

Ariel Nicastro

On February 17th, 2024, TSEC along with numerous MTSU faculty, staff, and students hosted the MTSU Regional Science Olympiad for middle and high school students in Middle Tennessee.

The Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to increasing student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing recognition for outstanding team achievements in 23 STEM-related events. 

Middle and high school students were offered event opportunities that span biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, engineering, and inquiry. Groups of 15 students develop teamwork while problem-solving throughout the year in preparation for each event, then compete in the one-day regional tournaments.

In Division B (Middle School) and Division C (High School), each of the events is categorized into 5 different categories; Life, Personal & Social Science, Earth & Space Science, Physical Science & Chemistry, Technology & Engineering, and Inquiry & Nature of Science. Winners based on the aggregate scores of each of these divisions are listed below.  The top 5 teams in Division B and top 4 teams in Division C qualified for the State Science Olympiad tournament in Knoxville in early April.

A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all of the faculty, staff, and students as well as industry volunteers who generously gave their time and expertise to make this event a huge success.  The event was supported by the MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences and in part by a $40,000 grant Dr. Kevin Ragland received from Battelle Education through the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network.

Division B Winners

1st - Merrol Hyde Magnet Middle School, Coach – Elizabeth Axley

2nd - Fred J. Page Middle School, Coach - Meredith Michell

3rd – Central Magnet Middle School, Coach – John Lee

4th – Rossview Middle School, Coach – Bridget Harding

5th – Smyrna Middle School, Coach – Becky Shaffer

Division C Winners

1st – Ravenwood High School, Coach – Avrill Buerstetta

2nd – Father Ryan High School, Coach – Cornelia Crooke

3rd – Hume Fogg High School, Coach – Andy Mangrum

4th – Central Magnet High School, Coach - Joshua Burns

Can't Judge a Powder event, hosted by Dr. Gregory Rushton

2024 Science Olympiad Award Ceremony

The NSF INCLUDES Alliance: The Alliance for Students with Disabilities for Inclusion, Networking, and Transition Opportunities in STEM (TAPDINTO-STEM) is a collaborative research project funded by the National Science Foundation. MTSU Professor, Dr. Sarah Bleiler-Baxter, directs the TAPDINTO-STEM program at MTSU, supported by STEM Faculty Mentor, Dr. J.C. Saunders, both from the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Eight student fellows in Fall 2023 and six student fellows in Spring 2024 were funded to participate in this program.

As a group, we have been purposeful in learning about various disabilities and how they impact undergraduate STEM students. One of the resources we have utilized in doing so is The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Knowledge Base through the University of Washington. The DO-IT website “contains over 800 Case Studies, Promising Practices, and Q&As regarding accessibility of technology, college, graduate school, and careers for individuals with disabilities.” Our TAPDINTO-STEM group was inspired by the content and structure of the cases, so we decided to create a few of our own for the MTSU campus based upon the experiences of our student fellows. In this newsletter article, we present the first of several cases to be printed in the TSEC newsletter, authored by Emma Lloyd and her TAPDINTO-STEM peers: Emma and Forensic Science: A Case Study on Accommodations for a Psychiatric Disorder.   We hope that the questions for Science faculty and students will be used as a reflection tool by STEM stakeholders across MTSU who are interested in better supporting students with disabilities.

Background

My name is Emma, and I am a Forensic Science major. I have a psychiatric condition called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD). I have been in treatment since 7th grade, but these are chronic conditions that require lifetime treatment and are poorly understood. This affects my academic work by making personal relationships with peers difficult, causing emotional outbursts and intense anxiety, feeling disconnected from my surroundings, and making it hard to focus.  

Access Issues

In high school, I had complications with getting official accommodations through my principal and the school system, and I was too embarrassed to push and pursue it. I was valedictorian and president of so many extracurriculars, and I couldn’t let other people know what was really going on. However, I had wonderful teachers who would allow me to come up with accommodations for their specific classrooms. My biggest challenges in school came from emotional outbursts towards my friends or teachers I was particularly close to, leading to embarrassment or not being aware of my surroundings and myself, causing it to be terrifying to attend school. It also caused me to dissociate during stressful periods, such as exams, affecting my grades and occasionally causing me to not turn in assignments on time. When I got to college, these symptoms only worsened with stress and since these weren’t teachers that I had known for years, but only for a few weeks, they were understandably less helpful. This caused me to miss classes, and not turn in assignments on time, and I was unable to form any connections for the first few years of college. However, I didn’t believe I qualified for disability accommodations so I didn’t do anything about it. 

Solutions

I had a wonderful forensic anthropology teacher, in my Junior year, that explained the Disability & Access Center and how it was available for those with psychiatric and invisible disabilities, not just visible. She helped me reach out to them and apply. I talked to some of the kindest people there who were willing to work with me to create accommodations that fit my needs. There are a few continuing issues. The complications came from the actual professors. Some, especially those in STEM, less so in Anthropology, refused to respect my attendance accommodations. They would make it clear that they do not think I need them, or they would require me to attend class on Zoom with my camera on, which isn’t part of my accommodations. I have also had issues with inaccessible classrooms where if I need to step out, which is allowed per my plan, I have to jump through hoops to get back in the class. However, in general, once I realized the possible support our campus offered, I was better set up for success.

Questions for Faculty

1. Would you be more comfortable with a camera recording or having a proctor for students with accommodations taking tests, and why?

2. Are you aware of what resources you have access to for learning about disabilities you are unfamiliar with that may be present in your class?

3. What are your thoughts on the D2L auto-recordings? If you teach a lecture that is not auto recorded what are your thoughts on student recordings?

4. How could you make your classroom friendlier to accommodations that involve leaving the classroom in the middle of class?

Questions for Students

1. How does knowing another student has a psychiatric disability affect your perception of their intelligence?

2. Would you be willing to help a fellow student with attendance accommodations if they were to miss class?

3. What is a reasonable accommodation for attendance, and if you were to put yourself in the shoes of someone with a disability, (how) would that change?

Chaney Mosley, Ph.D.

Associate Director

Dr. Chaney Mosley, MTSU School of Agriculture assistant professor of agricultural education and TSEC associate director, was recently awarded a three-year $549,560 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to conduct applied research to investigate virtual reality career exploration and training initiatives in six rural Tennessee libraries.  Participating libraries include Clay County Public Library, Altamont Public Library, Fentress County Public Library, Millard Oakley Public Library in Livingston, Adams Memorial Library in Woodbury, and White County Public Library. 

Dr. Mosley will be working in partnership with Mary Ellen Sloan with James E. Walker Library, Dr. Kevin Ragland with the Tennessee STEM Education Center, Dr. Ying Jin with James Madison University in Virginia, and Carly Altman, a doctoral student in the Math and Science Education program. 

EJ Presley, far right, with virtual reality company Transfr, shows attendees how to use the VR technology

The project offered Transfr VR training to participating librarians in March who will use this training to show what different jobs are like and the skillsets needed using virtual technologies to “adults looking to make career transitions or enter/re-enter the workforce, veterans, teenagers, immigrants, and refugees, individuals with disabilities and senior citizens, at no cost to patrons,” Mosley said. The project will then survey and interview staff and participants about ways the experience may help with workforce outcomes, advancing technical skills, and creating employment opportunities.   

The project aims to create publications, presentations, podcasts, testimonials and a best practice guide to help share results and promote the widespread adoption of VR programming in libraries. The partnership between MTSU and the Institute of Museum and Library Services will provide exciting opportunities for workforce development, benefiting under-skilled library patrons, staff, employers and communities.

Middle Tennessee State University alumnus, Arielle Woodmore, shows off the equipment

The 12th annual Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub’s STEM Expo was held April 3rd, 2024, in the Student Union Ballroom at MTSU.  Tennessee STEM Education Center organized around 300 5th - 12th grade students who worked independently, or in teams of up to five students, to prepare and present at the STEM Expo.  Sponsorship came from Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences, and Tennessee STEM Education Center.

Students from all over Middle Tennessee exhibited top level research to showcase their STEM exploration in science, technology, engineering, and math. Event coordinator and Tennessee STEM Education Center associate director, Kevin Ragland, noted “From student interviews, the judges said how confident and innovative they were with their ideas and how diligently they had practiced and prepared for the expo.”

Three age groups of students (5th-6th grade, 7th-8th grade, or 9th-12th grade) chose one of four content areas, agricultural STEM, engineering, STEM research, or technology to practice communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. 

Overall winners by age category:

5th – 6th grade

1st Place - Aaron Academy

2nd Place - Overall Creek Elementary

3rd Place - Overall Creek Elementary

7th – 8th grade

1st Place - Stewarts Creek Middle School

2nd Place - Blackmon Middle School

3rd Place - Liberty Creek Middle School

9th – 12th grade

1st Place - Oakland High School FFA

2nd Place - Stewarts Creek High

3rd Place - Pope John Paul II

A sampling of awards won by Midstate middle and high school students participating in the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub STEM Expo. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Jeremiah Abernathy, center, a student at Stewarts Creek Middle School, answers a judge’s questions. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

300 middle and high school math and science students from across the Mid-state attend the STEM Expo. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Thanks to those institutions and businesses that allowed their employees to donate their time as volunteers!

STEM EXPO was supported by MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the Tennessee STEM Education Center, and the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. 

 Echell Eady, Ed.D.

Assistant Director of Recruitment & Community Engagement

New Assistant Director, Echell Eady, Joins TSEC

Echell Eady recently joined TSEC as Assistant Director for Recruitment and Community Engagement in the Tennessee STEM Education Center. A first-generation college graduate, she is especially passionate about helping eliminate barriers to education, particularly in STEM. Dr. Eady joins MTSU full-time after several years of part-time, project-based, and collaborative contributions to the University. Dr Eady also has several years of experience in postsecondary administration and workforce development. Dr. Eady earned her B.A. in Political Science from DePaul University, her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Governors State University, and her Ed.D. in Leadership and Professional Practice / Educational Administration from Trevecca Nazarene University. We are excited to have her join TSEC!

 

Melanie McQuistion recently joined the Tennessee STEM Education Center as the new Program Assistant. Melanie joins MTSU after an eclectic background as a middle school science teacher, event coordinator, and educational assistant.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from Tennessee State University. 

Melanie brings her passion for STEM education to TSEC and is committed to serving and supporting our campus initiatives and community outreach. While she has lived all over the United States, Melanie has resided in Middle Tennessee for the last 20 years.  She enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Melanie McQuistion

Program Assistant

TSEC is fortunate to have formal partnerships with faculty across STEM education on campus. One of the ways we achieve these partnerships is through the Associate Director and Faculty Fellow programs.

TSEC welcomes any permanent, full-time faculty member, from any academic unit, with a demonstrated commitment to the mission of the Center (i.e., to improve K-20 STEM education both locally and nationally by identifying and addressing critical issues that promote access, equity, innovation, and leadership).

Email Dr. Gregory Rushton with questions.

 

Grants Submitted

 

Advancing the Culture of Teaching in STEM through Diffusion of Strength-Based Reflexivity, Beiler-Baxter, S.K., Gardner, G., Rushton, G.T., National Science Foundation (NSF), $1,334,669, 2024-2029.

S-STEM: Scholarships for MS and PhD Students in Data Science (S4DS), Gamble, K., Wu, Q., Wallin, J., Rushton, G.T., National Science Foundation (NSF), $1,999,076, 2025-2030.

Transformed Learning: Transform Engineering and Science Laboratories with New Dimensions, Zhang, H., Rushton, G.T., Henderson, R., Seipelt-Thiemann, R., National Science Foundation (NSF), $899,493, 2024-2027.

 

Active Grants 

 

Agri-analytics Fellowship: An interdisciplinary approach to expanding career pathways for undergraduate students. Ragland, K., Jin, Y., Cui, S., Mosley, C. USDA-NIFA-REEU. $749,443. 2023-2028.

 

AgXplore Professional Development Institute for Middle School Agriculture Teachers. Ragland, K., Mosley, C. 2023. USDA-NIFA-PDAL. $500,000. 2023-2026.

 

An Investigation of Virtual Reality Initiatives and Workforce Development. Mosley, C., Sloane, M.E., Jin, Y., Ragland, K. Institute of Museum and Library Services. $549,574.

 

Beginnings: Creating and Sustaining a Diverse Community of Expertise in Quantum Information Science (EQUIS) Across the Southeastern United States. Terletska, H., Rushton, G. T., National Science Foundation (NSF), $264,322, 2023-2026.

 

Collaborative Research: A Delphi Study to Develop and Assessment of Departmental Culture Effects on Biology Graduate Student Teaching Professional Development. Gardner, G. (PI), Marbach-Ad, G., Miller, K., Schussler, E. NSF ECR. $238,371.

 

Collaborative Research: Exploring the Impact of Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship Programs on Teacher Retention: The Role of Motivation, Leadership, and School-Work Environment, Rushton, G. T., National Science Foundation (NSF), $214,350, 2020-2024.

 

Deeper learning professional development for high school agriculture teachers, Jin Y., Mosley, C., Song, C. USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), $450,000, 2023-2025.

 

NSF INCLUDES Alliance: The Alliance of Students with Disabilities for Inclusion, Networking, and Transition Opportunities in STEM (TAPDINTO-STEM), Bleiler-Baxter, SK. National Science Foundation (NSF) EES- 2119902, $109,000, 2021-2026.

 

Preparation and Refinement of Postdocs in STEM for Disciplinary-Based Education Research (PROPS for DBER). Gardner, G. E., Rushton, G. T., Kaplan, J. J., Bleiler-Baxter, S. K., Barnes, M. E., National Science Foundation STEM Education Organizational Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (STEM Ed OPRF), Federal, $1,249,445.

 

Promoting STEM Within the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub. Ragland, K. Battelle Education. $40,000. 2023-2024.

 

Research Initiation: Embodied and Student-Centered Robotics in the Professional Formation of Engineers. Zhang, H., Rushton, G. T., National Science Foundation (NSF), $199,683, 2023-2025.

 

Sub-award: NEXTGENeration Inclusion Consortium: Attracting and Engaging the Underserved in the Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences Workforce. Mosley, C., Ragland, K., Carter, J., Cui, S., Haruna, S. USDA-NIFA-NEXTGEN. $901,626. 2023-2028.

 

Using Research Practice Partnerships to Take Preliminary Steps towards a Full-fledged Investigation of the Influence of Teacher Leaders on STEM Teacher Effectiveness and Retention, Rushton, G. T., National Science Foundation (NSF), $75,000, 2023-2024.

 

Barth, S. G. Criswell, B. A., Smith, W. M., Rushton G. T. (2024). Modeling how professional development interacts with teacher leaders’ outcome expectancies and school environment perceptions, International Journal of Leadership in Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603124.2024.2307877.

 

Fateh, S., Ayangbola, O. T.,  Reid , J. W. ; Zakher, S. Kirbulut, G., Demet, Z., Phelps, A. J.,  Malone, A., Rushton, G. T. (2024). Small Group Conversations in a POGIL-based Class: How English Learners Engage in Joint Knowledge Construction Process to Reach a Shared Understanding, Journal of Chemical Education. In Press.

 

Ndembera, R.; Zhu, Y.; Ray, H, G,; Rushton, G. T. (2024). Which factors contribute to standardized test scores for prospective general science teachers: An analysis of the PraxisⓇ General Science Content Knowledge Test. Discover Education. In Press.

 

Talanquer, V., Cole, R., & Rushton, G. T. (2024). Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Classroom Level. Journal of Chemical Education. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00839.