Goal

To improve the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pre-school through college

 

Purposes

• Conduct research on the learning process

• Demonstrate best practices

• Reward and support innovative teaching

• Model best practices in teacher preparation

• Provide enrichment for P-12 students

• Build partnerships to support STEM programming

A Greater Vision

Tennessee Tech University recently articulated a vision to be one of the best universities in the nation through a commitment to the life-long success of its students. With the Center for Teaching and Learning, Tennessee Tech can affect the life-long success of students long before they plan on attending college.

The Center will allow TTU faculty from a variety of fields to collaborate and conduct research in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The results from that research can be shared, transferred and applied with teachers and students from pre-school through college.

Research results can be piloted in courses, workshops, class modules, presentations and exhibits in the Center. The ultimate goal is to improve the teaching of STEM subjects from pre-school through college, improve the learning of STEM subjects at all levels, improve teacher education programs in all STEM fields, and increase grant funding and support for STEM fields at all levels.

Tennessee Tech University’s emphasis on scientific innovation and technological excellence provides the ideal home for such a Center. TTU faculty members, already deeply involved in research, community service and development, will discover rich opportunities through education research. Their work will then help better prepare the students they will teach. The university’s partnerships with federal, state and local agencies offer unique opportunities for collaboration. TTU’s relationship with programs like NASA and Oak Ridge National Laboratories will open avenues previously unexplored.

A variety of TTU departments have already begun to form partnerships with regional P-12 programs for professional development and enrichment activities, including the Upper Cumberland Teachers Councils in Science and Math, Project VECTOR – Retaining STEM students, College of Engineering Math Science Partnership, President’s School on Emerging Technologies, and the Upper Cumberland Middle Grades Math Partnership.