Cultivating Equity & Opportunity Through Innovation

Presented by Ptosha Maclin and Kris Goddard, from Moore Magnet STEM School

Track: Engaging Underrepresented Groups in STEM

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Time: Session 1, 9:40am

This session addresses how school clubs engage under-represented groups. Attendees will examine how to use time, talents, and teachers to provide all students the opportunity to attend in-school and after-school clubs; virtually and in-person. Through club implementation, students from all backgrounds are introduced to various STEM careers and innovative instructional strategies; equipping students to be able to break generational cycles and make valuable contributions to their own communities.

Fostering Relationships with Community & Business Partners: A Symbiotic Balance

Presented by Jimm Allen and Tim Powell, from L&N STEM Academy

Track: Community Partnerships

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 1, 9:40am

Learn effective strategies to help foster relationships between your school and community partners. With initial creation of a supplemental position, we have not only seen our community partnerships grow tenfold, but, also increased our donation and grant funded income by almost $50,000 in one half of a school year. This growth has helped support our learning goals. We will discuss our process and journey, but also field individual questions and ideate with attendees on ways to implement similar ventures in their school.

STEAM Expeditions-Oh the People You'll Meet!

Presented by Tiffany Griffin-Minor and Dr. Jennifer Berry, from Metro Nashville Public Schools

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 1, 9:40am

Remember the excitement of field trips? This past year has changed how we approach these experiential learning opportunities. Participants will explore how to align virtual and in-person field trip experiences directly to district and state standards, engage community partners, and use current school and transportation structures. Open, replicable, and forward thinking activities are incorporated to explore the impact field trip experiences have on student engagement and attendance.

PBLs in CTE? No Problem!

Presented by Cassidy McAllister, from Gladeville Middle School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Middle

Time: Session 1, 9:40am

Set your students up for success by incorporating PBLs into your classroom. We know that just having students complete a project doesn’t mean that your students are doing true PBLs, are engaged in the content, or learning the content! If you're interested in learning how to build strong project based learning opportunities for your students, from planning to implementing a PBL, check out these tips and tricks. Get ideas on topics, problems, implementation, assessments and more by attending this session.

Future STEM Careers: Preparing Your Students for Jobs that Don't Exist…Yet.

Presented by Nikki Wallace, from Crosstown High School

Track: STEM Career Awareness

Recommended Audience: Middle and High

Time: Session 1, 9:40am

The workforce changes and evolves every day. New discoveries create new jobs. This session will focus on enlightening students about STEM careers now and what the future might hold. This will include how to use Design Thinking, biomimicry, competencies, and equitable teaching practices to encourage students to explore STEM careers. Learn about competitions and methods that will make learning about STEM fun and engaging. Teachers will be given a framework for creating contextual project designs that will gain the interest of your students.

Conquering Coding

Presented by Linda Bugg, from Bess T. Shepherd Elementary

Track: Computer Science

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Time: Session 1, 9:40am

The field of computer sciences is growing exponentially. Students are learning the basics of computational thinking as young as kindergarten. So how to we become more comfortable with computer science to better prepare our students? We get coding! Attendees will learn the basics of coding (computer programming) in an easy to understand format. They will be provided with instructional videos that help introduce the vocabulary and how to complete the levels.

The Future Is Female: Engaging Girls in Coding & Computer Science

Presented by Michelle Bettis, from Hamilton County Schools

Track: Engaging Underrepresented Groups in STEM

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 2, 10:35am

Females are disproportionately represented in STEM career fields. To improve upon this issue, we must remove impediments for girls to take part in STEM learning. In this session, participants will learn how make computer science more accessible by starting a girls' coding club in your class, school, or district. Participants will have to opportunity to code like a girl and participate in a few activities used in our clubs!

Help! I Virtually Have No Idea How to Conduct a Virtual STEM Event!

Presented by Sharon Clark, from East Side Elementary

Track: Community Partnerships

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Time: Session 2, 10:35am

Recent events have led us to embrace the power of a virtual event, but many of us are unsure about how to host this type of event. Attendees to this session will learn innovative ways to conduct a virtual STEM Event (i.e., STEM Night, STEM Fair, Engineering Design Week, etc.). Strategies, ideas, and resources for hosting a successful STEAM event will be shared with participants. It’s time to harness the power of the virtual event and engage with our communities!

Social Entrepreneurship: Striving to Impact People & our Planet

Presented by Jennifer Dye, from Pope John Paul II High School

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: High

Time: Session 2, 10:35am

Students are often the best people to identify critical issues; believing in ideals and hopes that they will make the world a better place. Leveraging these ideals within the context of entrepreneurship can lead to creative solutions and improve the lives of people. This session looks at social enterprises created by students in partnership with Haiti 180, a non-profit serving a western Haitian rural community. Explore how students move through the design process and how you can facilitate your students in becoming social entrepreneurs.

What can PBL do for you?

Presented by Ben Bruce, from Sumner County Schools

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 2, 10:35am

PBL is more than another acronym; it’s a functional tool to improve engagement, incorporate cross-disciplinary standards, explore creative, encourage collaboration, and work with real, relevant issues. Participants will work their way through Project Based Learning (PBL) planning strategies they can take back to their school/district. During the session we will evaluate elements of a good PBL unit, explore a PBL Planning Template created by Sumner County Schools, and discuss reflection tools for evaluating your PBL units.

Putting the “A” in Your STEM Units: Highlighting the Arts & Agriculture

Presented by Allison Bynum and Becky Denney, from Charleston Elementary STEAM Academy

Track: STEM Career Awareness

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Time: Session 2, 10:35am

We all know that STEM is not just a buzz word. STEM is everywhere and STEM careers are not just behind a computer; from Arts to Agriculture, it is ubiquitous. Session participants will gain insights regarding how to incorporate quality STEAM integration within their school while engaging in hands-on activities that promote critical thinking and the engineering design process. Session participants will receive resources on how our school’s journey in STEM evolved into a STEAM Academy through the STEM designation process.

Making Coding Fun & Engaging In The Virtual Setting

Presented by Alberta Jarmon, from Jere Baxter Middle, Metro Nashville Public Schools

Track: Computer Science

Recommended Audience: Middle

Time: Session 2, 10:35am

With the wide world of virtual learning, we know that student engagement is a concern. Teachers want to ensure that all students are actively learning and provided with equitable opportunities. This session will focus on a variety of activities to engage virtual students as they explore STEM and Computer Science. This will include instructional strategies that can be applied immediately and incorporate fun ways to captivate students.

Discovering your inner scientist: Reaching underrepresented minorities

Presented by Dr. Sharon Schembri, from Fisk University

Track: Engaging Underrepresented Groups in STEM

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 3, 12:15pm

This session presents a unique technique to identify and develop science identities amongst underrepresented minorities. The technique is a two-step approach that first identifies student current self through symbolism, with the second step using a creative collage approach to arrive at a performative definition of future self. Once a student's science identity trajectory is established, underdeveloped dimensions related to competence, performance, and recognition can be enhanced.

UTK Outreach: Pre-College Programs for Middle and High School Students

Presented by Jason Moody and Susan Troop, from The University of Tennessee

Track: Community Partnerships

Recommended Audience: Middle and High

Time: Session 3, 12:15pm

Did you know that the University of Tennessee offers several pre-college STEM program opportunities to Tennessee middle and high schools? These programs include the Governor's School for the Sciences & Engineering, the Southern Appalachian Science & Engineering Fair, the Tennessee Junior Science & Humanities Symposium, and the Tennessee Science Olympiad. Come find out more about each of these and how you can get your students involved.

Creativity: Using Nimble Leadership to Develop School Wide STEM Culture

Presented by Michael Ford, from Randolph Howell Elementary STEM School

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Time: Session 3, 12:15pm

What type of leader are you and how can that enhance your school culture? Through the use of the Nimble Leadership framework, this session will explore the key actions a leader can use to implement school-wide STEM culture. Learn about the three components, types of leaders, creativity, and self-efficacy. Explore real life examples from the field of each component in action and discuss how you can implement them in your school.

Coding Calculus: STEM in Action

Presented by Emily McDonald, from Red Bank High School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: High

Time: Session 3, 12:15pm

Sometimes you must become the student to build an authentic and exciting project. In this session, you will experience Coding Calculus as a student. You will explore Google Apps for Education, learning how to create a program/code that computes the derivative and integral of a polynomial function utilizing Google Sheets and Google Apps Script – all with the push of a button. Find out how to implement this project or one like it in your class!

Tennessee STEM School Designation

Presented by Becky Ashe and Deborah Knoll, from Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and the Tennessee Department of Education

Track: STEM Career Awareness

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 3, 12:15pm

The Tennessee STEM Designation is awarded to schools who demonstrate high quality STEM learning experiences, incorporate engineering design thinking, and integrate effective STEM strategies and solutions. Modeling best practices, the designation journey allows focus on continuous school improvement with a multi-step application and evaluation process, schools that receive the designation epitomize rigorous STEM education and represent an innovative spirit. Find out more about the process through this informative and illuminating session.

Scratch your way into Computational Thinking

Presented by Leslie Suters and Cory Gleasman, from Tennessee Technological University

Track: Computer Science

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Time: Session 3, 12:15pm

Computational thinking (CT) is conceptually embedded in core disciplines and naturally connects to STEM. Many interactive models and simulations rely on CT to operate and transfer knowledge. To code simulations, learners must merge CT concepts with content knowledge. This session will investigate best practices and methods of leveraging CT to construct modeling opportunities, along with pedagogical guidelines. No prior programming experience is required of attendees! Participants will have opportunities to program with Scratch Jr. and Scratch.

Global Collaborations: Crossing Borders to Battle Food Deserts

Presented by LeAnn Simmerman and Diego Vela, from Maury County Public Schools

Track: Engaging Underrepresented Groups in STEM

Recommended Audience: General, All

Time: Session 4, 1:10pm

Food insecurity effect people globally, especially minorities and lower class. This real-world problem may seem too large for a school project, but computational thinking is here to help. This session shares Global Collaboration 2.0: a project connecting 3 countries, 15 educators, and countless students. Learn all about the project including how students are making a difference in a global problem and what we learned from them. You will leave with the knowledge, tools, and connections you need to bring computational thinking to your students!

STEM Careers are Everywhere! So...Now What?

Presented by Andrea Berry and Mallory Sterling, from Knox County Schools

Track: Community Partnerships

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Time: Session 4, 1:10pm

This session will focus on how to build STEM career spotlight opportunity in STEM, math, or science classroom. Schools want students to have direct experiences with STEM professionals, but how do you make this happen? This session will show some successes and lessons learned about implementing Community Partnerships. Participants will have the opportunity to network and leave with a quick reference of STEM careers K-8 aligned to the science standards

Collaborate to Make School Great

Presented by Donna Barnes and Lauran Godfrey, from Sewanee Elementary

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Time: Session 4, 1:10pm

Do you ever feel like you are in a rut at school? How about your students? Do you or your students need a boost to get going? Well then, this session is for you! This session will focus on energizing the adults and children in the school building. Whether virtual or in-person learning is happening, attendees will receive ideas to implement a school wide STEM day and invigorate school culture. Let’s re-energize to keep the drive alive!

You Can STEM in a Virtual World

Presented by Lisa Buckner, from Linden Elementary

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Time: Session 4, 1:10pm

These unprecedented times presented challenges unique to education. We have exemplified flexibility and creative thinking, pivoting projects and plans so that students were still engaged and learning. This session will explore how these challenges have offered us amazing opportunities learn new tools and break the confines of the classroom walls. Find out how these innovative new skills have transformed the ways we are able to engage students and energize PBLs.

Define Learning, STEM Career Awareness Provided by the TSIN

Presented by Lisa Wolf and Aimee Tait, from Defined Learning

Track: STEM Career Awareness

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Time: Session 4, 1:10pm

With the ever-changing college and career landscape, how do we ensure each student's interests are being nurtured and they're being set up for success in an equitable manner? This session will explain how Defined Careers can help meet this challenge. Defined Careers can help level the playing field for ALL students with a multi-dimensional career assessment combined with personalized opportunities to virtually experience careers with relevant, hands-on projects across all career pathways.

Anyone Can Code

Presented by Amy Bakaletz and Mark Waxmonsky, from L&N STEM Academy

Track: Computer Science

Recommended Audience: High

Time: Session 4, 1:10pm

Computer Science isn’t just for engineering students anymore; it is expanding into all fields and careers. This session will provide ideas on how to grow interest in Computer Science by exposing all students to coding in an easy, fun, and creative way. Participants will hear teacher experiences, see videos of student testimonials and project examples, and participate in a hands-on coding activity using Micro:Bit devices (virtually). Come code with us!

Northwest Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub, Dyersburg

Presented by Shawna Adams, from Dyersburg State Community College

Recommended Audience: Northwest Region

Time: Session 5, 2:05pm

Did you know that Tennessee has 7 regional STEM Hubs? These Hubs host lending libraries, professional development opportunities, outreach support, competitions, guidance, and so much more. Find out more about your regional Hub and connect with a phenomenal resource in your area.

Northeast Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub, Johnson City and East Tennessee STEM Hub, Knoxville

Presented by Dr. Anant Godbole and Dr. Lynn Hodge, from East Tennessee State University and University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Recommended Audience: Northeast and East Region

Time: Session 5, 2:05pm

Did you know that Tennessee has 7 regional STEM Hubs? These Hubs host lending libraries, professional development opportunities, outreach support, competitions, guidance, and so much more. Find out more about your regional Hub and connect with a phenomenal resource in your area.

Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub, Murfreesboro

Presented by Mandy Singleton, from Middle Tennessee State University

Recommended Audience: Middle Tennessee Region

Time: Session 5, 2:05pm

Did you know that Tennessee has 7 regional STEM Hubs? These Hubs host lending libraries, professional development opportunities, outreach support, competitions, guidance, and so much more. Find out more about your regional Hub and connect with a phenomenal resource in your area.

STEM Innovation Hub, Chattanooga

Presented by Mike Stone, from Public Education Foundation, Chattanooga

Recommended Audience: Chattanooga Region

Time: Session 5, 2:05pm

Did you know that Tennessee has 7 regional STEM Hubs? These Hubs host lending libraries, professional development opportunities, outreach support, competitions, guidance, and so much more. Find out more about your regional Hub and connect with a phenomenal resource in your area.

Millard Oakley STEM Center, Upper Cumberland STEM Hub, Cookeville

Presented by Darek Potter, from Tennessee Tech University

Recommended Audience: Upper Cumberland Region

Time: Session 5, 2:05pm

Did you know that Tennessee has 7 regional STEM Hubs? These Hubs host lending libraries, professional development opportunities, outreach support, competitions, guidance, and so much more. Find out more about your regional Hub and connect with a phenomenal resource in your area.

West Tennessee STEM Hub, Memphis

Presented by Dr. Stephanie Ivey, from University of Memphis

Recommended Audience: West Tennessee Region

Time: Session 5, 2:05pm 

Did you know that Tennessee has 7 regional STEM Hubs? These Hubs host lending libraries, professional development opportunities, outreach support, competitions, guidance, and so much more. Find out more about your regional Hub and connect with a phenomenal resource in your area. 

A Recipe for PBL Success

Presented by Greta Knudson and Katherine Dibb, from Croft Middle Design Center

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

In this presentation, participants will explore a simple structure to more effectively create PBLs and STEM lessons, specifically focusing on Defined Learning's G.R.A.S.P. model. Participants will discuss innovative ways of designing schedules to allow teachers to plan, create, collaborate, and reflect. Strategies discussed can be utilized in both the virtual and in-person classrooms.

Blast Off with Rocketry- A PBL

Presented by Robert Paxton from John Trotwood Moore Middle School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Middle

Be prepared to Blast Off with Rocketry and allow your students creativity to Defy Gravity! In this presentation, participants will explore how to utilize the engineering design cycle and aerospace engineering while soaring through 5 hands-on, minds-on lessons based on rocketry. These can be done individually or as a curriculum and correlate with standards at each grade level.

Can't Spell SUMMER without STEM (well, you can but why would you want to?

Presented by Lori Blanchard from Cosby Elementary School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Make this summer a STEM summer! No more "I'm bored!" No more "There's nothing to do!" This presentation is your resource for a week's worth of STEM activities to keep learners engaged throughout the summer.

Card Sorts for the Virtual Learner

Presented by Dwayne Hardin from Head Middle Magnet School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Is your classroom virtual and cannot use a card sort like you would in a classroom? Do you want a different way for students to study? Card sorts have been around for quite some time, but in this presentation, you will learn a different way to use a card sort, and send it to students to use and play with. Those watching this presentation will need a Google account to implement this tool.

Creating the Vibe

Presented by Katie McKee and Amy Cawood from Midway Middle School

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: Middle

The goal of this presentation is for educators to have a better perspective of what it takes to become a TSIN STEM school and continue growth with STEM education.

Failing Forward: F(inding Success through) Alternative and Innovative Learning

Presented by Jenna Burke and Risa Elder from Sycamore Elementary School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

Discover how to teach your students to think like engineers and embrace the idea of failing as a vital part of the learning process. Participants will learn strategic ways to present collaborative problem-based learning opportunities that connect science, history, and engineering concepts while promoting failures as a magnificent opportunity to learn, even virtually. Participants will leave with a few “ready to implement” challenges.

From Here to There to Anywhere: Virtual and Hybrid STEM Instructional Strategies

Presented by Tabitha Hembree and Betsy Pillow from Campus School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Following the presentation, participants will be able to implement best practices and innovative instructional practices for hybrid and virtual STEM learning. Participants will be equipped with the tools to build equitable and adaptable STEM programming for their elementary classrooms.

Inte"Great": Integrative STEM Lesson Planning

Presented by Amanda McDonald and Lori Stafford from Waterville Community Elementary School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Learn the power of intentional planning through STEM integration. This collaborative and concise planning process will begin with STEM as the driving force followed by the integration on all subject areas. Participants will gain insight into both unit and weekly planning. A template and planning materials will be provided for participants so they can easily begin their planning process. 

It’s a Party in S-T-E-M: Celebrate STEM All Year Long

Presented by Tabitha Hembree and Betsy Pillow from Campus School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary

Following the presentation, participants will understand best practices for planning year-long STEM events in schools. Participants will be equipped with the tools to build equitable and adaptable STEM programming to build STEM climate and culture.

Small School, Big Culture!

Presented by Tiffany Wilkinson and Misty Brown from Oakmont Elementary School

Track: Small School, Big Culture!

Recommended Audience: Elementary

After this presentation, participants will be able to start developing a plan of how to successfully build school culture and integrate STEM.

STEMtastic Leadership

Presented by Jessica Holloway from Hamilton County Schools - Office of Innovation

Track: School Culture

Recommended Audience: General, All

Do you want to encourage, grow, and facilitate more STEM teacher leaders in your schools or districts? Participants explore methods for building leadership teams around the STEM Designation attributes. Structures and processes will be shared and discussed on how to develop and engage STEM teacher leaders.

The Why of STEAM: Blurring the Lines of Art and STEM Education

Presented by Jeramy Blair and Kester Nucum from Tennessee Tech University

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Middle and High

This presentation will investigate the origins, practices, and philosophy of STEAM Education through the lens of a visual arts professor and an undergraduate computer engineering student. Participants will explore how to un-silo disciplines, intersect with universal themes, integrate creativity, and think like artists and scientists simultaneously. The presentation will provide innovative ideas to spark new STEAM-based mindsets in K-12 schools.

TN Chamber - Supporting Rural Educators-connecting students to in-demand careers

Presented by Jared Bigham from the
TN Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Track: STEM Career Awareness

Recommended Audience: Elementary and Middle

In this presentation, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce will help participants explore two career-focused programs that provide Tennessee K-12 students the opportunity to explore careers and connect with local companies, the TN-CAPS (Career Awareness Preparation System) and the Learning Blade systems.

What a girl wants, What a girl NEEDS

Presented by Amy Haney and Sonya Hatfield from Oliver Springs High School

Track: Engaging Underrepresented Groups in STEM

Recommended Audience: High

After this presentation, participants will be inspired to start a girls engineering program at their schools. Resources, contacts, and community support will be shared with participants to provide an easy establishment of a girls engineering program. Contact information will be provided to help participants support young women engineers.

Why you don't really need to know it all!

Presented by Cathy Bryant from Avoca Elementary School

Track: Innovative Instructional Practices

Recommended Audience: Elementary

This presentation will share the experience of transitioning to student-centered learning during after school and summer STEAM SQUAD programs.  After this presentation, participants will embrace the structured chaos and help students develop collaboration, problem-solving, and communication through STEM activities. The presentation will provide resources to help plan student-centered learning activities.

Would You Hire a First Grader?

Presented by Tamera Crews from Mt. Pleasant Elementary

Track: STEM Career Awareness

Recommended Audience: Elementary

With an increased focus on career options, this presentation will hone in on the importance of career discussions as early as elementary school. Participants will explore the importance of these discussions and how to incorporate them in early education lessons.