CEEMS is honored to work with communities, schools, educators, educators, and families on a number of STEM education related projects. Highlighted below are selected CEEMS and partners programs and projects. We are grateful for the multiple grants and partnerships that have supported our work.
The East Tennessee STEM Hub builds promising partnerships between local schools, universities, and businesses to support STEM education across 13 counties in the East Tennessee Region. CEEMS partnered with the East Tennessee STEM Hub to present and develop STEM Resources for Teachers and Families and continues to offer regional school and community-based STEM events. If you are interested in having support for a school or district STEM event, contact the East Tennessee STEM Hub at [email protected].
Explore these resources that include the following:
- STEM Sparks: Videos of activities that Spark interest in and learning about STEM
- Ask a STEM Educator: Help Space
- STEM Stories: Interviews of STEM Professionals
- Our favorite online resources for K-12 learning
Related Publications and Presentations
Maples, A., & Hodge, L., Chulin, C., Gonzalez, C., Gonzalez, R., & Galbraith, A. (2026, October). Evaluating STEM community engagement through a culturally responsive lens. Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) Consortium Conference 2026. Knoxville, TN. [Interactive Workshop]
Maples, A., Hodge, L., & Kim, N. (2024). Gaining insights into community engagement efforts: Learning from preservice STEM educators. Journal for Community Engagement in Higher Education.
Hodge, L., Kim, N., Maples, A., Gonzalez, C., Carter, B., & Bennett, C. (2023, May). The East Tennessee STEM Hub [Conference presentation]. Tennessee STEM Innovation Network: Sparking Curiosity. Nashville, TN.
Lawson, M., King, N., & Hodge, L. (2019, April). Family Math and STEM Nights: K-12 Potential. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, San Diego, CA.
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The East Tennessee STEM Hub (ETSH), Union County (at risk), and Scott County (distressed) partnered with CEEMS to develop and implement this project, which was funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The problem statement was developed in light of data on education and poverty and as part of discussions with key stakeholders. The project had two core aspects.
- STEM Micro-credentials These credentials were designed for community members including K-12 teachers, administrators, high school students, University and community college students, and parents. The STEM micro-credentials included 4 options: Coding, Design Thinking, STEM Perspectives and Problem Solving, and Data Analytics. These micro-credentials built on work that we have done previously in these areas for teachers and students. They were developed to adapt to a range of experiences and expertise to meet learners where they are. The micro-credentials were offered virtually with two optional f2f meetings to build community and address any questions or additional supports that are needed. CEEMS provided a cost share for 20 participants to attend.
- Job and Internship Fair This event was designed and implemented through our network of school district and STEM industry partners to connect participants with opportunities in industry.
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The Growing STEM Teachers to Grow the STEM Workforce was established to address the shortage of highly qualified math and science teachers nationally and in the state of Tennessee. The East Tennessee STEM Hub, Fentress County Schools, and Union County Schools partnered with CEEMS to develop and implement this project. The project was supported with funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and Battelle.
Related Publications and Presentations
Cheng, K., & Hodge, L. (2019, February). Community Collaborations: Forming Partnerships Between University, Schools, and Local Districts to Enrich Math Education. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL.
Harper, F., & Hodge, L. (2019, February). Partnering to Support STEM Learning for Minoritized Youth and (Future) Mathematics Teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Orlando, FL.
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The VolsTeach for Appalachia Noyce Scholars program focused on preparing talented community college undergraduates majoring in math and science who have an interest in working with students in high need school districts. It was first authorized under the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 and supported 32 students through scholarships, field experiences, and mentoring.
Related Publications and Presentations
Hodge, L., Kim, N., & King, S. (2019, July). Recruitment and Identity in a STEM Teaching Internship. Poster presented at the 2019 Noyce Summit, Washington D. C.
Kim, N., King, S., & Hodge, L. (2019, July). Recruiting Teachers for VolsTeach for Appalachia. Poster presented at the 2019 Noyce Summit, Washington D. C.
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The East Tennessee STEM Hub is a proud yearly participant of the UTK Libraries’ Big Orange STEM Saturday (B.O.S.S.) Conference! The conference aims to connect high school students to university STEM resources and career opportunities.
Find more information and see details about the 2027 B.O.S.S. conference here: https://lib.utk.edu/about/boss-conference-scheduled-for-february-27-2027
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This is a design-based research project that seeks to 
understand how elementary students make sense of data through the creation of data visualizations. Seed grant funding from the UT Office of Research and Engagement makes this project possible. Joy Bertling and Joshua Rosenberg, associate professors in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, are collaborators on this project.
Related Publications and Presentations
Hodge, L., Bertling, J., & King, S., (2021). Supporting Statistical Literacies in the Context of a Data Visualization Project with Elementary Students. In P. Short, H. Henson, & J. McConnell (Eds.), Age of Inference: Cultivating a Scientific Mindset.
Rosenberg, J. M., Hodge, L., Bertling, J. G., & King, S. (April, 2020). Art as a context for data science: Exploring fourth-grade students’ data visualization practices. In J. M. Rosenberg & B. D. Chen (Chairs), Exploring data science across the curriculum and across grade levels. Symposium to be conducted at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Hodge, L., King, S., & Hu, Q. (July, 2020). Creating Access to Engaged Views of Mathematics and Teaching Through Informal Learning Spaces. Paper presented at the 14th Internation Congress in Mathematics Education, Shanghai, China.
Hodge, L., King, S., & Bertling, J. (2019). Mathematizing, visualizing, and power (MVP): Students creating statistical literacies through popular representations. In M. Graven, H. Venkat, A. Essien, & P. Vale (Eds.). Proceedings of the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 1, p. 4-141. Pretoria, South Africa: PME.
Hodge, L., King, S., Bertling, J., & Rosenberg, J. (July, 2019). Mathematizing, visualizing, and power (MVP): Students creating statistical literacies through popular representations. Poster presented at the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Pretoria, South Africa.
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The Math Counts Projects encompassed the Math Counts Institutes (MCI), ITQ Math, STEM, and Modeling (MSM) professional developments. Each project focused on providing opportunities for rural educators to discuss and improve teacher learning in math pedagogy and content in the following Tennessee counties: Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, and Scott. The project was funded by the Tennessee Department of Education and Math and Science Partnership grants (MCI), in addition to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s Improving Teacher Quality grant (MSM). The Math Counts Projects facilitated partnerships between the Tennessee counties, CEEMS, the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis.
Related Publications and Presentations
Hodge, L., & Walther, A. (2020). Social justice through the eyes of teachers in rural Appalachia. In R. Cordova and W. Rey (Eds.), Educating for Social Justice: Field Notes from Rural Communities.
King, S., Hodge, L., & Kim, N. (July, 2019). Elementary teachers’ learning in the context of a professional development project in Rural Appalachia. Poster presented at the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Pretoria, South Africa.
Lawson, M., & Hodge, L. (July, 2019). Reimagining mathematics teacher knowledge: Resource knowledge and its implications. Paper presented at the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Pretoria, South Africa.
King, S., Hodge, L., & Kim, N. (2019). Elementary teachers’ learning in the context of a professional development project in Rural Appalachia. In M. Graven, H. Venkat, A. Essien, & P. Vale (Eds.). Proceedings of the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 1, pp. 4-149. Pretoria, South Africa: PME.
Lawson, M., & Hodge, L. (2019). Reimagining mathematics teacher knowledge: Resource knowledge and its implications. In M. Graven, H. Venkat, A. Essien, & P. Vale (Eds.). Proceedings of the 43rd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 1, pp. 4-61. Pretoria, South Africa: PME.
Kirkpatrick, Y., Chen, T., & Morgan, A. (November, 2019). Feng Shui, and the History and Trends of the Periodic Table. 3D Learning: Full STEAM Ahead – A joint conference of the TN Science Teachers’ Association (TSTA) & TN Math Teachers Association (TMTA). Murfreesboro, TN.
Hopkins, T., Kirkpatrick, Y., & MacTavish, E. (November, 2019). The End of the Wild Novel: STEM in Reading. 3D Learning: Full STEAM Ahead – A joint conference of the TN Science Teachers’ Association (TSTA) & TN Math Teachers Association (TMTA).
Murfreesboro, TN.
Kirkpatrick, Y. (2019, October). Topics and episodes in the history of science and mathematics: To support culturally responsive, inclusive, multicultural approaches to teaching and learning. 26th Annual Conference of The American Association for Teaching and Curriculum. Birmingham, AL.
King, S., Kim, N., Hodge, L., & Lawson, M. (2017). Conceptualizations of and access to resources for rural mathematics teachers’ mindsets and identities. In NNN (Eds.) Proceedings of the 41st annual meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, (Vol. 1, pp. XX-YY). St. Louis, MO: University of Missouri at Columbia & University of Missouri at St. Louis.
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The STEM Ways with Words built awareness on literature that supports connections between STEM and literacy. The East Tennessee STEM Hub maintains the instructional and professional learning materials from this project.
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The Marian E. Oates Teacher Enrichment Award is a professional development scholarship for outstanding middle school science teachers from Tennessee counties including Anderson, Blount, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Roane, Sevier, and Union. The award was established by UT alumnus, Marian E. Oates, to encourage education related to earth and environmental sciences and conservation and is awarded annually by CEEMS.
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Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. CEEMS supports the state tournament held at UT Knoxville in the spring. . .