ETSU pre-service teachers gained hands-on STEM integration experience at West View Elementary, strengthening confidence and preparing them to lead in future classrooms.

“I discovered I actually love STEM!”

That's what one East Tennessee State University pre-service teacher wrote after spending a morning at West View Elementary School, one of the region's four STEM-designated schools.

The student continued: "Even though I did not have a lot of fun experiences in STEM growing up, I have since changed my thoughts and I am excited to integrate STEM into my future classroom!"

That kind of transformation is precisely what ETSU faculty hoped would happen when they took their Early Childhood Education class into a real classroom to see STEM integration in action.

Future teachers see STEM in action

Dr. Alissa Lange, director of ETSU's Center of Excellence in STEM Education, and Ms. Amie Perry, a doctoral student and center coordinator, co-teach ECED 4450.  

It’s a community-engaged learning course focused on preparing future teachers to integrate science, technology, engineering and math across subject areas. They don’t just talk about what STEM integration looks like. They show their students.  

This community-engaged learning course has partnered for more than eight years with Dr. Laura Robertson’s elementary STEM education course in CUAI through the Early-Elementary STEM Collaboration project. Faculty and students from both courses regularly work together.

While some experiences, like the recent West View visit, are early childhood-focused, the two courses continue to plan together each fall, strengthening the collaboration year after year. The team has secured more than $20,000 in grant funding and produced two peer-reviewed journal articles, 12 papers, five conference presentations, and an Open Educational Resource textbook, with ETSU students, faculty and practicing teachers serving as co-authors and co-presenters.

At West View Elementary, the visit was organized by Brennan Allen, the school’s 6-8th grade STEM and CTE teacher. In addition to classroom observations and hands-on robotics activities in Allen’s classroom, ETSU students met with Principal Aaron Christian, Assistant Principal Dr. Brooke Drinnon and kindergarten teacher Rachel Jarrett, gaining a full view of how STEM is embedded across grade levels.

ETSU student shares a laptop screen displaying a coding and mapping project while explaining her STEM work to a faculty member.

"I saw a lot of integration," one student wrote. "I had a hard time thinking on ways to include STEM in math or literacy activities but I saw plenty of simple examples today. Seeing the robots being used in a simple math activity really opened my eyes."

Another student was struck by how engaged elementary students were with their own learning.  

"We were able to ask the kids to show us their work which I think made them feel proud and excited to share. They were very eager to show us their data which surprised me so much because I didn't expect them to know or understand it!"

That same student added: "I would actually love to work here in the future."

The partnership builds on years of grant-supported collaboration between ETSU’s Center of Excellence in STEM Education and regional schools — work that has prepared teachers, supported school leaders and expanded STEM opportunities across Northeast Tennessee classrooms.  

Dr. Chiche Tai, CESE’s assistant director, has collaborated with schools across Northeast Tennessee since 2009 through multiple state and federal grants aimed at strengthening innovative technology integration with literacy and other subjects through his SLICE programs.

A pledge for hands-on learning  

Experiences like this reflect ETSU’s broader commitment to hands-on, community-engaged learning across academic disciplines.  

“We are committed to preparing educators who are confident, reflective and ready to lead on day one,” said Dr. Janna Scarborough, dean of the Clemmer College of Education and Human Development. “When our students see effective STEM teaching in action, they begin to understand not only how to teach it, but why it matters.”

Learn how ETSU prepares students through hands-on, community-engaged learning at etsu.edu/go-beyond.