TCE Students Help Educate Holston Middle School 

Kyra Shaw knows how valuable one interaction can be for a student. During her sophomore year at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, Shaw’s chemistry teacher invited her former professor to conduct a combustion demonstration.  

“That really sparked my interest in combustion analysis, and then rockets, which led me to majoring in aerospace engineering,” said Shaw, a freshman at the University of Tennessee. “I have always wanted to find a way to be the link to for someone else to get into rocketry or any type of engineering. I wanted to be that person for them.” 

Shaw found the perfect opportunity this semester through the Tickle College of Engineering Office of Student Success. Coordinator Courtney Wahlen told Shaw about a chance to interact with students at nearby Holston Middle School.  

Wahlen was contacted in August by Kelley Corum, the technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge coach at Holston, about the school’s attempt to get a STEM designation. Tennessee STEM school designation was developed to provide a “roadmap” for schools in the state to successfully implement a STEM education plan at the local level. A school that receives Tennessee STEM school designation will be recognized by the Tennessee Department of Education for its use of STEM teaching and learning strategies. All K–12 schools serving students in Tennessee are eligible. 

As part of the yearlong process, Holston needs to have STEM-focused classrooms and teach engineering to their students. Corum asked if UT would be willing to help give presentations to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes. 

Wahlen has managed to get multiple UT student organizations, clubs, and an entire class to visit Holston this fall to share STEM lessons with the students. 

“The visits from UT students are important to our school because it exposes students to post-secondary pathways and makes post-secondary opportunities relatable,” said Corum, in her 18^th year at Holston. “These visits benefit Holston students by giving them an opportunity to apply STEM concepts through hands-on activities. These experiences are always more exciting when led by the college students who are more relatable and bring with them an enthusiasm for critical thinking and problem-solving skills.” 

Learning through teaching

Shaw is a member of the Student Space and Technology Association (SSTA) at UT. The organization visited Holston to conduct a rocketry demonstration. The SSTA students led an activity in the classroom to build a rocket out of foot-long PVC pipe, masking tape, and paper. The Holston students created their own decorated rockets to take home. 

After the rockets were assembled, the SSTA students demonstrated how to launch them using an air compressor at Holston’s outdoor track. The presentation allowed the Holston students to explore concepts in aerodynamics, engineering, and rocket design. SSTA members also told the Holston students about the aerospace program at UT and their organization. 

“I really enjoyed the experience. I loved talking with the students and connecting with them,” Shaw said. “This experience further solidified the fact that I love to help and teach young students. It brings me great joy to do an event like this and I hope that I can coordinate another event again soon.” 

Jessica Jeffers, the Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program coordinator for TCE, took her engineering fundamentals service-learning class to Holston earlier this year. Jeffers asked her students to create a 40-minute lesson plan and implement the plan at the school.

Four UT students, including junior mechanical engineering major Isabella Wade, visited a sixth-grade classroom with 28 students. The UT students led the Holston students through an engineering design activity that used marshmallows and toothpicks to build a tower. They brought a 3D-printed Smokey created at the Min H. & Yu Fan Kao Innovation and Collaboration Studio as a prize for the best designs. 

“The most fascinating thing to me was they’re already being prepped for success at sixth grade. I went to a public school as well, and I wasn’t taught anything engineering until 11th or 12th grade,” said Wade, a Memphis native. “They built the structure, and they knew that the foundation was the most important. If their tower was leaning, they changed plans and put more support on the other side.  It was amazing they could come up with that on their own at that age.” 

Future collaborations  

TCE is planning to send more students to Holston during the spring semester. The schools have also discussed having eighth graders from Holston visit UT to perform an engineering activity and get a tour of the campus. 

“I’d like my students to do this every semester, because they get to actually design an entire lesson plan on the front end and see what went well and what they could improve in the future,” Jeffers said. “They were able to combine theory and practice and share with Holston students what it was like to be an engineer. It was a great day overall.” 

If anyone is interested in visiting Holston Middle School, please contact Courtney Wahlen at cwahlen@utk.edu or (865) 974-1981. 

Contact 

Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)