MidTN STEM Innovation Hub

The Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub came into existence under the Tennessee First to the Top Project and is housed within the Tennessee STEM Education Center (TSEC)  The Hub moved to the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) center in 2016 and after being originally managed by Metro Nashville Public Schools. The Hub works to connect STEM activities across the midstate region and provides STEM professional development opportunites for educators.

Do you have exciting or new STEM related things happening in your school, district or community that you’d like to share? We want to acknowledge and support your work while also encouraging opportunities to collaborate with the broader Middle Tennessee STEM community. Please click the button below to submit your news so we can share it with the other leaders in our Hub!

The Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub acknowledges the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in our everyday lives. Our world and lives are permeated by STEM, and its impact is immeasurable.

The ubiquitous nature of STEM makes literacy in STEM matters more important than ever. STEM participation helps students acquire skills that are important to their future success in post-secondary studies and careers, as well as in their everyday lives. The Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub is dedicated to helping teachers develop students who can think critically and creatively, who can find innovative solutions to problems, and who can work collaboratively and communicate their ideas clearly.

In order to prepare students for successfully negotiating the world of study and work, STEM education has proven to be one of the best ways to engage students in learning that is rigorous and relevant to their lives.  Multiple studies have demonstrated the connection between high expectations and connecting learning to issues close to students’ lives. Students are less likely to have behavioral issues and more likely to improve overall achievement when they are given original problems and projects. When intellectually challenged to find solutions, students internalize learning and are more capable of transferring knowledge to new situations.

As a means to support rigorous and relevant STEM learning, the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub acknowledges the importance of bringing business and community partners into conversation with K-12 schools to form purposeful relationships that will offer students and teachers the opportunity to experience real-world work situations that demonstrate the importance of both rigor and relevance to the work done in the classroom.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is one of the most frequently cited methodologies for teaching STEM in K-12 schools. It requires teachers to work together to create meaningful interdisciplinary curriculum that will evoke the rigor and relevance so important to student success.  School leaders at all levels must understand these concepts and promote their adoption in schools in order to fully transform education for the 21st century.

Vision and Purpose

The Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub will promote student interest and improve student achievement in STEM in order to create graduates from secondary and post-secondary institutions who are ready for STEM college work and STEM careers.

It’s purpose is to provide a valuable exchange network of ideas and resources for K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and network partners to serve the STEM needs of the middle region of Tennessee.

Contact Information

Kevin Ragland, Ph.D.
TSEC Associate Director
(615) 904-8405  
Kevin.Ragland@mtsu.edu